2. Rebirth Resonance

  One of the new additions to my castle in the lobby was a map room. It had been installed where a broom-closet used to be. The interior was impossibly large compared to how small the closet had been, but I didn’t really care about inconsistencies like that. The entire floor was a scaled model of the continent, with the places I had visited more filled in than the ones I had only studied or heard about. There was, after my most recent visit to the world, a small patch filled in near one of the starting areas in Kordock.

  Kordock was hostile to Yuikon, the nation of my birth and in which I am an Earl. If I were to be discovered adventuring there, I would surely be arrested. But it was also a place where nobody would think to look for me, and when I had traveled there I had been in a mood to be alone. A few days of smashing things with a mace, however, had done much to improve my temper.

  The map wasn’t just a map. I was able to go through my list of those whom I had granted [Mark of Karma], and see approximately where they were. When I had described it to my friends, Phil had said “Cool. So it’s like you have a spy satellite now.”

  The map wasn’t topographical, but it was otherwise very detailed. I was sitting on the Ironrot empire’s side of the map, staring out over the rest of it, watching my friends move about. Or, maybe not my friends.

  Most of them don’t even see me as human , I reminded myself. I’m just a clever machine as far as they’re concerned.

  I had been depressed ever since I had filed a complaint against the Administration using the guidelines established by the DSS. Most of that law I still didn’t understand, but it had given me a better idea of what the gods were, and how they had made the world. And maybe, what I really was.

  Maybe I am just a clever machine , I thought, but maybe humans are just clever animals.

  I looked around the map room, at the little blue beacons that designated people who might be my friends, or might just be role playing with what they saw as a clever chatbot in what they saw as a make-believe world.

  I could just not log back in , I thought. I could stay in the lobby forever.

  Then I immediately dismissed the thought. My little brother needed my help to put him on the throne, and for that I needed to get stronger. I checked the time and sighed, but if I was going to remain active in Yuikonese politics, then I needed to hold court in soon. In a week, there was a party which I must attend.

  Although I wasn’t really ready to come back, I opened the menu that listed all of Travelers who had become canon because of me. It wasn’t a very long list, and most of them were grayed out as being offline. On Earth. Unreachable. My first instinct had been to reach out to Tarisha, but she was unavailable. Daemon was online, however, so I sent him a message.

  I closed the private messenger and stretched, looking down at the map. I wasn’t obligated to return to Lagrea where I had logged out, although if I chose another entry point I would lose the position I had logged out in. If I wanted to farm the gnoll lair in Kordock again, I’d have to make the journey on foot. At least, for five more levels, until I could once more summon Shadow, the half-nightmare stallion that my Great-Uncle Auroras had given me.

  I pushed the source of my steed out of my mind. Thinking of Auroras, who had inflicted me with the curse that had reset my level in the first place, filled me with anger. Helpless rage and indignation, as there was nothing I could do about it. He was the Gray Man, after all. Likely a Worldboss, and probably a very powerful one as well.

  Shadow himself was a source of pride and joy for me. He was a magnificent beast, half again faster than the standard mount, and just … awesome. I was annoyed that I couldn’t summon him temporarily.

  Well, I only needed to push one class to level twenty to reunite with my beloved horse, but with [Rebirth Resonance], I saw no reason not to level [Warrior], [Mage], and [Lord] simultaneously.

  After staring at the map for a few moments, I remembered a task which I had been given some time ago and never completed. I was uncertain whether or not I should bother. However, I was curious to see how the dungeon had formed, and although I was at the upper edge of the level limit, I would still gain pretty good experience from completing it. Whether I chose to challenge the core instance or not, I hadn’t decided.

  I set my entry point on the map to Zhesa City once more and returned to my room to change clothes. I had decided to go as a [Mage] this time, although I had no stat-boosting gear to go with my class now that I had leveled it with Free Experience. I would have to visit the Traveler’s auction network to buy some. My wardrobe was filled with clothes that fit as though they had been tailored to me, and I selected a generic outfit that would make me look like a Native unless someone [Analyzed] me.

  I cast [Illusion Magic: Disguise] on myself, making my hair a sandy blond and my eyes green. I also changed the shape of my face slightly, and made myself look slightly plumper than I normally appeared. Satisfied with the appearance, I changed my displayed name back to Hagi, then selected the option to return to Lagrea as a level fifteen mage.

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