Chapter 25

K: "Thank you very much for letting me stay the night."

Katachi bowed respectfully at the Demant couple.

F: "It's the least we can do for Tonquat's mischief. Please, don't mention it."

Katachi looked at the two and felt up the book strapped to his waist. It had not changed at all in weight, but somehow the book felt heavier than before.

F: "I pray for your success."

N: "Take care."

K: "Before I leave, I would like to know if there's anywhere else similar to the Serene Alcove."

The Demant couple glanced at each other and gave a negative.

N: "I don't recall other places like that."

F: "Me neither. I'm sorry, this is as far as we can aid you."

K: "It's fine, actually. I wouldn't expect myself to be able to find all the Words of Power bundled together in a single town. The world doesn't work like that, does it?"

N: "I suppose not."

K: "Segus bless the both of you."

Katachi rubbed his feet against the soft and comfortable rug on the floor and slipped into his sabots after thirty seconds of enjoying a luxury he could never afford.

*** ***

K: (It's nearing noon.)

He rested his items on the right of a small bench under the shade. He sat at the edge of the bench on the left so the wood chips and shavings would land on the floor in a neat pile. As he worked, his ears were to the street and focused on the gossip about town.

Katachi couldn't make up his mind on where to go. It was a choice between heading South and toward Findel's capital; or going further up North-East and reach Rulid first before heading back to Mielfeud. Therefore, he reached a conclusion – Sit around the busy markets of Bellpot and eavesdrop on the conversations and rumors about.

Hopefully, by doing that Katachi would be able to pick up topics of interest and get a general idea of where he would head next... Or so he planned. It was already noon and Katachi was more-or-less finished with the carving on the wooden dagger. He leaned against the backrest on the bench, closed his eyes and relaxed under the comfortable shade of the tree.

K: (It's no use. I haven't heard anything interesting yet. They mainly discuss things like item price over item quality like Flamgellite purity over price, or Greengut Salmon freshness over size... I should have expected this when I decided to eavesdrop on merchants.)

Katachi's eyes glazed the area, searching for something of interest. He looked up at the clear sky and at the leaves that filtered the sun's rays ever so gently.

K: (I still can't believe the Word of Power I took was actually this... Overwhelming. I had to take the Word of Power before anyone bad misuses it, but I've also destroyed the Sealed Room by taking it. I'm not even sure whether taking the Words of Power can be considered a good thing. I'm kind of scared of using any of the other Words of Power now.)

Katachi thought back to the moment he used 解, the threatening amount of potential it held gnawing at him.

K: (I need to be very, very careful using Rekter's 解. It's similar to 定 in that they are both powerful, but their strengths come in very different forms.)

Katachi let his gaze wander for a good bit at the ringing of the bell tower that signified mid-day, and looked over in the direction of a little girl about six years of age with brown shoulder-length wavy hair playing cheerfully on a swing. She was wearing a shoddy bodice that seemed too big for her with a skirt that had a few strands of thread loose. And, in the corner of his eye...

K: (That girl has a Word of Power placed on her?!)

Katachi caught a glimpse of the girl's shoulder when the bodice slumped, which revealed a golden word beneath.

K: (A Word of Power, right in plain sight... I only managed to catch a glimpse of it. It was for a brief moment, but I definitely saw a イ just below her collarbone. There's probably more to it.)

Katachi planted his feet upright and swung himself forward with momentum.

K: "Excuse me?"

The girl glanced in Katachi's direction wearing a big grin on her face.

K: "What is that thing on your shoulder?"

"Oh, this?"

The little girl gently pulled and stretched the neck hole down to reveal her shoulder and pit. Where the arm was connected to the body lay a barren, golden word – 信.

K: (She has a Word of Power! No, she has a Word of Power placed on her. But if I'm not mistaken, 信 means trust. Why would anyone need to put that kind of Word of Power on a little girl? Maybe she's dishonest or something? Or... Maybe they're manipulating her for some ulterior motive?) "That- that thing on your shoulder..."

"It's a friendship mark!"

K: (She's been made to believe it's a friendship mark? I ought to be careful. Whoever is wielding this Word of Power might be using it as a form of brainwashing.) "Where did you get that friendship mark?"

"I got it from Igtana! He gave it to me!"

K: (Igtana? A man? I should locate him as soon as possible and take his Word of Power before the situation goes out of control. In fact, odds are I'm already in his trap.) "Please take me to where Igtana is! I need to speak to him at the shortest notice!"

"Hmm? Why's that?"

K: (I need to come up with a convincing reason for her? This could be tricky considering that she's younger than me... But the Word of Power should come first. I have to ensure it lands in safe hands, at least.) "Uhm, be- because... That is not a mere friendship mark!"

"It's not?"

K: (No, wait- It's too late. I can't pull back the words I spoke. May as well go with it.) "No. It's not. In fact, that symbol there may prove to be very, very dangerous."

"How so?"

K: (Do I really have to demonstrate this? I suppose this is what I get for saying that it's not a mere friendship mark. I locked myself out of an easy solution when I could have simply said I wanted one myself. I would be able to locate the Scholar immediately if I only feigned interest.) "Let me give an example."

Katachi raised his left arm a little bit, showing his backhand to the girl.

K: (恒定. Constant status – Self.)

As he willed, a 定 surfaced on his hand.

"Wow! You can do that too?"

K: "Yes. Yes, I can. But it's really dangerous."

Katachi drew his wooden dagger from its strap sheathe and forced the wooden dagger onto his chest. Naturally, it would seem ridiculous, pointless and ineffective, but Katachi felt the full strength of his arms forcing the object onto his chest from the dagger's trembling... Though it did not hurt in the slightest.

"How is that dangerous? It's wooden, not metal."

K: "! Good... Good point." (What was I thinking just now? Of course, this wouldn't be convincing! Assuming that she knows the danger beforehand is a mistake. I need to try something more obvious.)

The example would need to be flashy to draw her attention, much like how an infant was attracted to loud noises. At the same time, it had to be simple and void of intricacies to prevent error in judgment. For the black-haired child who over-complicated many of his thoughts, this was a change in gear that troubled him considerably.

K: (Maybe Rhuibat's tale would suffice.) "Do you believe that wooden axes can chop trees faster than metal axes can?"

"That's impossible. Metal is cold, hard and more painful than wood."

K: (Good, let's go with that.) "But have you seen a wooden ax cut a tree faster than a metal ax?"

"I've heard about a story of the young Rhuibat who moved a goddess and he was given a metal ax to replace his wooden one. I think metal would be better at cutting a tree since he cut the tree much faster than when he did with the wooden ax."

K: "That may be. But, what if I use this wooden dagger not meant for cutting trees to chop faster than a metal ax?"

"You can try, but Rhuibat took a few hours to cut a tree as thick as that one."

K: "I can prove otherwise."

"Show me then."

K: (Good. I've got her attention.)

Katachi set the status of his wooden dagger to Constant as well and walked towards the tree calmly. He then proceeded to hack and slash at the tree with a flurry of attacks. It was quite messily cleaved into sideways, but the tree was felled in less than a few moments after being struck at the same wedge repeatedly. That in itself was a feat to behold – Trees were not easily felled, not even with the proper cutting tools.

K: "Does Rhuibat cut trees this quickly, then?"

When Katachi turned his head to look at the girl, she was gawking in awe.

"Wow! The... The tree...! You must be some sort of super berserker or something!"

*** ***

And so the little girl brought Katachi to the unknown scholar.

"Igtana!"

I: "Femmi!"

A young boy about eight years of age with really funky and curly hair greeted the little girl next to Katachi. They held each other's wrists and spun round and round, dancing in circles and laughing merrily.

K: (This boy is the owner of the Word of Power? His hair's all messed up. But why would he need to apply 信 on a little girl?) "Hello, Igtana."

I: "Femmi, who's that?"

F: "This is the super berserker! He cut down a whole tree with that wooden dagger there!"

K: (... 'Super berserker'? What kind of name is that supposed to be?)

Katachi winced at the little girl who was twirling and playing with Igtana's hair. The mystery was solved before the question was even presented.

I: "Really? But he looks so weak! That dagger of his can't be made of wood!"

Igtana walked to Katachi's back and withdrew the wooden dagger from the waist sash. He felt and tested the weight of the dagger himself, he clipped the wooden blade with his teeth and knocked his knuckles on the dagger, and even inhaled deeply at the dagger's blade for any signs of 'metal rust' before being fully convinced that it was a wooden dagger.

K: (He's not planting anything suspicious on the dagger... Or is he? I don't see anything that resembles sabotage, though.)

I: "That's awesome! It's a real wooden dagger! Did you really cut a tree in half? How thick was the tree? Did you use a spell? Can you cut one right now?"

His excitement was easy for anyone to see. Thankfully, the Scholar possessing 信 was not as malicious as he imagined. Katachi was wholly prepared for a fight with some middle-aged crook, not a friendly conversation with children younger than him.

K: "This may be a bit much of me to ask, Igtana... Do you have something similar to this?"

Katachi showed the 定 still glowing on his left hand to Igtana.

I: "Yeah, I do! Here."

Igtana copied him and placed a 信 on his right hand.

K: (That's a relief. He's not a procurator of the mastermind.) "... Igtana, do you mind if I-"

F: "Igtana! Igtana!"

Femmi happily ran over to them and handed him half a piece of bread.

F: "Igtana, here! Today's bread!"

Igtana's face quickly changed into one of gratitude and repose upon seeing the bread. He wiped his smudged hands on his plaid shirt and happily chowed it down with Femmi.

K: (Half a bread- ! Wait... Half?)

Something struck him as a vivid idea. It was such a good idea that should he pull it off, it could very well mean a new world of possibilities.

K: (Half... If bread can be halved, can Words of Power be halved as well? It should be able to, I think. Maybe I can try that right now?) "Igtana, can I have half of that?"

I: "Are you hungry too?"

K: (It's called a friendship mark for them, so I guess I'd play along.) "No, no, your friendship mark! Can I have half of it?"

I: "This? You don't need half, I can just place it on you-"

K: "Igtana, I... Uhm, this is pretty complicated. What I meant was, I would like the ability to use your friendship mark as well."

Katachi wouldn't know what to do if it failed. Perhaps he would have the boy take on a near-death state, forcing the Word of Power out? Or would he simply kill the boy by accident in the process? What if the child had a higher precedence level than he did? Either way, one more Word of Power early on in his journey was bound to be helpful, but had he the heart to deny someone younger than himself the right to live?

I: "Why?"

K: "Because, well, yours looks cooler than mine? Yours has three straight lines and it probably means good fortune or something like that. If it doesn't bother you, can I have it?"

I: "Hah? Oh... Okay then, but is that even possible?"

K: "Is it okay?"

I: "Well, yeah, I guess. I'm okay with it if you can do it."

K: (I've tried 锁定 before, but never 半锁定... Would it work, I wonder?)

Katachi touched the book strapped to his waist with his left hand and focused on Igtana's hand.

K: (半锁定! Lock half within book – 信!)

The 信 on Igtana's right hand faded off on one half, leaving a simple イ behind. Katachi opened the thick book and flipped to where the Word of Power would naturally be – A 言 was found in the page.

K: (Nice! It really did cut into half as I envisioned it... That makes the whole concept possible!)

The resplendent answer to his previous dilemma made the road ahead brighten that much more.

I: "Whoa! Is this... Is this supposed to happen?"

Yet it was folly to believe the solution was universal. To dilute the Word of Power so with two cloud words instead of one, it was a miracle the technique even worked, to begin with.

K: "Don't worry, let me see..."

Katachi picked up a small branch on the floor and gently scraped the paper of the book at its very surface. Slowly, the Word of Power filled up the scratched regions and formed a perfect 信.

K: (It works! Segus, I praise thee!) "It works just fine."

I: "Cool! Do it for my side too!"

K: "Hold still now..."

Katachi dabbed the twig into a small puddle of water next to them and drew 言 on Igtana's hand. Naturally, the Word of Power he once held was restored to its former glory.

I: "Cool! My friendship mark's back!"

K: (I wonder if it will dispel the sigil... Well, I only know one term for 信, but I can try. 相信! Trust Igtana – Femmi!)

The Word of Power surfaced on Femmi's forehead and the two children smiled brilliantly.

I: "Wow! You can place the friendship marks too! That's so cool!"

F: "He can? He can! That's amazing!"

But the outcome was more than confusing for Katachi.

K: (What the-... That shouldn't have worked! I- I... I think? Two Words of Power can affect the same object but they cannot affect the same property. Which means the 信 placed on her isn't 'trust'?)

Then, what explained the sigil on Femmi? On one hand, it wasn't as malicious as he believed it to be since she wasn't forced to trust him. Yet it also meant that there was some possibility he missed. On the basis that Igtana harbored absolutely no ill intentions against Femmi only one conclusion made sense.

K: (Maybe it's actually a beneficial trait?)

I: "Hey, can I place yours?"

Katachi recovered from his trance only to face a question he wasn't prepared for. That query sent him soaking in cold sweat.

K: (I didn't think that far! Uhm...) "Well, Igtana... The thing is, it's not possible."

I: "Hah? Why not?"

K: (Maybe, I can explain it to him in a way he could understand? Even if I have to lie, I must. It's for his own good.) "Because... Because my friendship mark is like a brush. I can draw other friendship marks, but I can't use the drawing of a brush to draw."

Igtana stared at the 定 on Katachi's left hand for a while.

I: "Cool, so in the end, it's just a drawing huh?"

K: "Yeah."

I: "Neat! That's-"

The racket disrupted their conversation and the two children turned their heads towards one of the stalls in public with wide grins on their faces. An old lady hammered the ladle against the soup cauldron and the starved, poor children with ruined rags for clothes ran forth to grab at the charitable foods that were likely facing perishability issues.

F: "Let's go, Igtana! I'm confident that we'll get a couple of bowls this time!"

I: "See you around, super berserker! Nice knowing you!"

They took off quickly, and Femmi was moving in an almost unwomanly fashion. She ran with such recklessness and disregard for safety that it was almost as if...

K: (As if...)

... As if her courage had been forced out of her body, transformed into a destructive, reckless form.

K: (... I seem to recall that 信 has a term related to confidence. Could that be it? But, what is it? I can't recall the symbol at all for some reason.)

He gazed at the children running towards the daily charity event held in Bellpot to feed the homeless with a strange and sullen feeling lurking in his heart.

*** ***

K: (That is incredible. The ability to separate and lock half of a Word of Power into the book opens up so many opportunities.)

Katachi rested beneath a tree in Bellpot, set up his groundsheet and covered himself with a comfortable blanket out at night.

K: ('The symbolism of the Word of Power holds its strength.' Interpreted another way, so long as the symbolism is correct the power will naturally flow and expand. If a mushroom patch was divided into half and left to regrow to the original patch's size, it becomes possible to obtain two mushroom patches much like two copies of the same Word of Power.)

Katachi rested his head against the bag in a snug position.

K: (But whether I can use this to my advantage will be up to me. Still, this is really helpful. I won't have to threaten the lives of those willing to give up their Words of Power!)

Katachi recalled the dilemma this morning after having read the map.

K: (I guess I'll go to Rulid, then Mielfeud after all. I did promise Mother Rin that I would be visiting every so often.)

Katachi gently placed his left hand over the thick book, feeling the ridges of the pages with his middle finger.

K: (The reason Igtana's 信 didn't fade off was that he used Confidence, not Trust. At the very least I now know that 信 can mean either Confidence or Trust, depending on its application. I'll need to keep an eye out for them.)

He stared at the book in his hand. What if his whole journey had been fruitless? What if Katachi's efforts were to be wasted should he be killed along his journey, and the book full of Words of Power hoarded and taken from him? What if others riddled with malice sought the book and used it for their personal means? Would that not defeat the purpose of collecting the Words of Power, expediting the acts of depravity he sought to prevent?

K: (That kid, Igtana... He's a good kid to give Femmi confidence. May the gods grace the blessed child.)

Brooding over it wasn't going to get him anywhere. Katachi needed to survive. He knew that he had to live, to keep the book safe from harm before the destruction of it in proper could take place. The harsh coldness of the night could not permeate Katachi's cover and he dozed off to a light sleep.

But, for some reason, a restless and pervasive feeling kept him from a deep slumber.

He felt that he would come to regret leaving the Word of Power with a vulnerable child instead of killing him outright.