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/Later.../

On his way back to the Inn, Dale ignored everything and everyone on his way.

He had no time to deal with these players or whatever business they had with him... After all, some of them would constantly try to engage with the Villagers to see if they could get or learn something new...

At the very least, Dale greeted the Villagers that he met on the way, since due to his choice, most of them remained in the Village instead of going to the Crop fields.

It seemed some of the consequences of his actions were already showing...

As for how Dale could tell who was a Villager from who was a player...

It wasn\'t difficult to distinguish a player from them, players would always be filled with gear or clothes Villagers wouldn\'t possess… At least for now.

The only ones that are remotely as close to them are Misgurd and Testros, but those 2 are easily recognizable.

By the time the Villagers of Resko start to use equipment and other things, he would\'ve already memorized their faces. Or so was the plan...

(I forgot if HardCore players can see the name tags of other players or not...)

/Creak.../

""HEY!""

Once he arrived at the Inn and opened the door, he was welcomed by the children as always, but very much like before, he wasn\'t here to play.

He had refused them so many times Dale even felt pity for them...

However, the Children seemed eager to play, grabbing his hands and completely ignoring his plight...

Thankfully, he was saved by Illia, who had come back from whatever she was doing in the morning.

She said she was sorry for not being there to say good morning to him, that she had something to do in the Guild...

However, Dale wasn\'t offended by it in the least.

And while she made a small meal for his hungry stomach, Dale played with the kids to satiate their hunger for fun.

Once he was done, she handed him the book Jyter had written…

The copy of the Records of the Mirrored Planes!

[Records of the Mirrored Planes(Incomplete) /Copy/]

[The book contains within it the fragments of a tale of untold heights…]

[Within all possibilities...]

[Consuming the book will give you access to a new compatible Class]

\'!... Wait!\'

\'I can still get a Class from it?\'

This shocked Dale…

\'My initial plan was to simply read it as to have an idea of what each Class was about and then use the main one to Get the desired Class...\'

\'I would then keep the copied version for further study and reference in the future, but things change now.\'

If this book could be copied… Then didn\'t that mean he could sell these Classes to other people?

But he shook his head in denial almost immediately after.

\'I can\'t let myself be blinded by profit, I alone am enough.\'

\'If too many people start using High-end Classes, then its value would plummet, and that is the least of said problems.\'

\'Besides, I don\'t know the worth of these Classes, they could be pretty weak or extremely specialized for all that matter, which isn\'t a problem by itself.\'

\'And even if I knew, would other people accept paying for it?\'

\'It\'s too bothersome to share this with anyone, so it\'s better to remain silent.\'

\'Money is good, but not when it becomes detrimental to my goals... It is a tool for me to reach an end, not the goal.\'

...

After thanking Illia for the meal, Dale gave her a book as a gift, something he had kept in his inventory for such situations.

It was the sole cookbook in the entire collection he recovered yesterday from the Commander\'s Office... At least, the solely dedicated one he managed to find.

He didn\'t know why there was a cookbook in there, or if Illia could even read it, but he did know that it wouldn\'t do him any good to hold onto it when there was someone that could make use of it.

Since food can give him buffs, if Illia learns how to cook better and make more varied plates, wouldn\'t that work well for him?

Not only him but everyone else?

"This is?... Oh my... Thank you Dale! I\'ll make you something delicious next time." Illia said with a wide smile as she clutched onto the book tightly

[Illia is grateful to you for giving her such a precious Book, she\'ll do her hardest to improve and to make the best food you\'ve ever eaten!]

[Your gift has touched Illia!]

[Illia\'s intimacy has increased]

While he was still half stunned by these notifications, a small emerald heart appeared atop Illia\'s head, making Dale\'s expression go dark.

[DING]

[Resko Reputation +2]

[Total Reputation: 199]

[DING]

[Reputation cap reached!]

[Territory Quest, I\'m an Elder? Has activated]

[After many ups and downs, the time has come for you to be recognized as an irreplaceable Cog of Resko.

>Requirements:

Talk with Edimund, the Honorary Village Head

]

"Hm?"

As Dale turned around after Illia left, he received a notification from the Game system.

\'Reputation Cap? So it won\'t rise past a certain level on its own?\'

\'Well, I didn\'t expect a rise in the first place, but I\'ll take it.\'

\'I was planning on talking with him later anyway, he still has a reward pending to give me...\'

\'Just one more thing to talk about when we do meet…\'

Dale smiled and continued climbing the stairs to his room.

…

/Clack!/

Dale locked the door and sat on his bed, putting David on a table next to it.

He closed the window and tried to relax before asking:

"So?... Any words now?"

"..."

/Silence/

"Really? It\'s not time to joke around..."

"..."

"... You\'re making me feel weird for talking with a statue…"

"Heh!"

"Just let me have some fun once in a while." David said smugly as he blinked

It was so sudden that Dale flinched…

"You always choose the best times to speak, huh?..." He remarked as he rested his head on the pillows

"Practice."

"Over the decades, I startled many Popes, it was my favorite pass time."

"There was even an unwritten rule to never let their guard down around me, especially during the night… Ahh, good times."

"My biggest achievement was having one of them slip and drop their denture on the ground... HAHAHA, that was Golden..."

He then mumbled in a low tone:

"I was then locked in a room for a week but..."

"..."

\'I feel bad for the old people that had to live around him…\'

"So enough of this, let\'s start this meeting." David said with a serious expression as he turned to look at Dale

"I\'m sure there are many things you wish to ask me, so I\'ll try to answer them the best way I can."

Dale nodded and asked:

"In that case, here\'s my first question, why didn\'t you say anything before?"

David shook his head in disappointment:

"Because I used all of my energy previously, I told you it would end up within a day, it was just a bit sooner then I expected… Especially after what happened…"

"Hm? What do you mean?"

"Oh, Dale… You really piss me off sometimes, do you really think you\'d been able tp survive that on your own? Think it over..."

"?..."

\'Survived alone? Did I overlook something?\'

He tried to remember the System Log, and he remembered the lines…

[... An undetermined force has slightly healed your Heart]

It could only mean one thing…

\'I remember now... Why did I overlook this?\'

\'Sigh, I\'m tired...\'

Noticing his expression, David said:

"I was there, using my energy to make sure your heart didn\'t implode Dumbass." David said with an annoyed expression

"It was really hard... Your heart was consistently corroding due to the pressure caused by your own, ever-building Mana..."

"Really! Out of everything you could\'ve done during that situation, you decided to open your Heart Gate? Do you have a death wish or something?"

"Was life too \'unfulfilling\' for you? Perhaps your last encounter with that thing in the Catacombs and in the Wall wasn\'t enough to make your heart beat?..."

Dale scratched his head in embarrassment...

"... To be honest I…"

But David interrupted him again, saying:

"I know I know… I was there… I was very much aware you didn\'t know what you were doing."

"I just had to let this out since for a moment, I really thought you were a goner."

"... Well… It would really help me if you told me what had happened…"

\'This guy sure knows how to piss someone off...\'

"Dale, my friend… What would you do without the good old me?..." David asked with a sly smile

"You\'re getting annoying…"

"Humph…"

David focused and said:

"Let\'s start simple, your body, and the Heart Gate…"

"As the old man said correctly, the Heart Gate is kind of a Human invention, a tool made in the past to help the weak Humans strengthen themselves in the face of adversity or simply due to boredom and their never-ending curiosity..."

"In fact, originally, Humans had nothing to do with Mana as that was how they were created."

"And it wasn\'t until the Heart Gate operation was invented that the Magic path opened itself to Humans, and Wizards and Mages became a thing."

After thinking for a while, Dale asked:

"In other words, in the distant past, Humans did not have anything resembling it, and a ritual of some sort had to be done to create it?"

"Is this the reason why, despite most Humans having the Heart gate due to the actions of their ancestors, it\'s still so brutal to open it?"

David nodded.

"You can interpret it as that, though I\'m sure there are still a dozen other factors left to be discussed to explain it all..."

"I\'m not exactly your guy when it comes to such niche details..."

"You seem to know about a lot but at the same time not." Dale remarked as he relaxed his back against the wall

"Ha! That\'s what I am, I know about a lot, but don\'t ask me why..."

"Anyway, we went off the path a bit... So uh... Humans had to make the Heart Gate operation, and uh... Okay, I remember."

"You see, as I said before, Humans weren\'t born with this feature, but after it was done, it turned into one, being passed down to others over time."

"But the key thing here is in the first line... Not a feature, to awaken it, or better put, create it, an entire... "Operation", had to be performed."

"What?... So you\'re telling me that it\'s like surgery?"

"Yes, at least, in the past."

"Long ago, this operation was mandatory, and it was even more brutal than what you experienced today."

"It eventually ended after several successive generations, becoming part of Human Biology."

"Although not quite as integrated as most would\'ve wanted."

"And it\'s not like that is unique to Humans, other creatures did similar things over time, adapting... Evolving... Humans just did it by themselves."

"For those born with a grand lineage, opening it is just a matter of when or if they have the necessary drive, it\'s painless and simple, after all, it literally runs in your veins..."

"However, like most things, it still requires you to put in some effort, even if that effort is minuscule when compared to most..."

"For those that are rich, but lack a grand lineage, or lucky, opening it is just a matter of resources and time, it may still be painful and tiring, but the Level of pain they suffer is incomparable to what the last group has to go through.."

"For the rest, the poor and the untalented, it\'s a matter of gruesome training and perseverance. Such was the case of your teacher and old man."

"It took him decades to have all of the things at the right places, and many years of training to finish that process."

"The explanation Testros gave you was pretty accurate, the Heart gate is like the Human Heart, it pumps Mana from A to B, and that in itself, although simple, opens many possibilities."

"What people fail to consider is why it was made since you see, although Humans weren\'t made to hold mana, nor interact with it, someone still tried to defy their own body."

"Doesn\'t that sound pretty stupid?"

"That is Humans are known to be a pretty determined and stubborn race..."

"There will always be that one person that thinks differently and does the impossible until the next one goes and continues... This is what makes Humans powerful, it\'s their ability to leave a Legacy behind for someone else to continue."

"You talk as if there were other races to compare Humans to..." Dale said Ironically as he chuckled slightly

"They aren\'t the subject of our discussion..."

"Wait there are?!"

"Dale focus."

"..."

\'He said this on purpose... Now he wants me to agonize over it due to curiosity...\'

"From what I know, the main reason why they made it was so it could act as a foundation, and to allow Humans to achieve higher stages in a simpler and more methodical way."

"Humans love to be methodical..."

"And this goes all the way to the very Gods and how they made Humans…"

"What? Now you\'re going to pull Gods into all of this?"

"Of course I am? How can I talk about the Human body if not mentioning their creators?"

Dale frowned and asked:

"Are you telling me the Gods created Humans?"

"Yes? Is there something wrong in this assumption Dale?"

"..."

"... No… Continue…" Dale said as he shook his head

\'Urg… Well, this could be how Humans of this world came to be... Not the case in the real world...\'

"You see Dale, the Heart Gate didn\'t just come into being."

"It had a purpose, one that was made by referencing other things already contained within the Human bodies… 2 other Gates to be correct."

Dale\'s eyes widened in surprise.

"The Human Body has more gates?"

"Indeed it has, one within your Mind, to lock it into place, and one within your Soul, as to keep your soul protected from the outside world until your death."

"When the Soul Gate opens, it allows your Soul to… Well..."

David became pensive.

"To go to whatever afterlife you believe in… If you are worthy of it."

Dale then asked:

"What happens to the unworthy?"

"Their Souls remain, most crumble, completely disappearing forever, not entering the path of the beyond..."

"It is a form of punishment, to be abandoned and not embraced by the Divine, confinement, to be solitary in a world that has moved on without you."

"Others attach themselves to other things and objects in order to last... Sometimes, their own individuality and Soul are so strong that it allows their Souls to exist by itself."

"Ghosts... Phantoms... And similar creatures."

"Most become abominations, corrupted due to their exposition to the outside world..."

"Souls are very delicate Dale, and under any circumstances should you allow harm to reach it, else unpredictable consequences may follow."

"Some of those Souls, you could say they are lucky... Or the most cursed of them all, are collected by the Gods that are allowed to influence this field of the world..."

"Such as the depressed God of death."

"... Depressed?"

David smiled sarcastically...

"Man… If you read his Testament you\'ll understand… Just how depressed the God of Death is..." David said as he closed his eyes

"In any case, the Heart Gate was made by mirroring these 2 other Gates, a… Intermediate Gate so to speak, to help Humans in their path of opening these 2 other Gates."

"I can understand that." Dale replied with a nod

"But what I can\'t figure out yet is why would they want to open them?"

"If we open the Soul Gate, wouldn\'t that be akin to dying, just that with extra steps?"

"For the current you? Yes, for those that can? Not quite."

"It\'s complicated, but for those that achieved a deep enough understanding of... Things... These Gates end up as nothing but limitations for whatever goals they have…"

"Of course, it\'s not like they need to rid themselves of it, however, most times, these gates only serve to stop someone in their tracks..."

"What was once a means to protect now ends up as a burden for them to run."

"So in a sense, the creation of the Heart Gate is the protest of Humanity against the Gods, a way for them to say that they\'ll persevere and one day unlock themselves from the \'seals\' imposed on them."

"Even if that wasn\'t the purpose of the Gates... But Humans do not listen, preferring to believe in whatever truth they deem the most sonorous to their ears."

"And this is what makes you all, Human."

Dale frowned…

"I have 2 questions, why would the Gods limit us, and what would happen after the 2 gates are opened?... Let\'s say by someone who knows what they\'re doing?"

"I was waiting for this question…"

"The reason why they sealed the Humans is unknown to me, and like I said before, part of me even believes that they never did…"

"The Soul Gate seems rather explanatory of its purpose, don\'t you think so?."

"Perhaps the Humans themselves were created with those as a side effect, or in another sense, they are required for them to be… Human."

"So in that sense, unlocking the Gates is akin to ridding themselves of their Humanity..."

"As for the other question, if someone was to rid themselves of their limitations… Probably not much would change, to be honest."

"Your mind would be set free and so would your Soul, however, instead of immediate power, it\'s more about removing the restrictions, it\'s the freedom that comes with it."

"Humans grow stronger through their creations, to fight creatures they made swords, bows, and martial arts, to fight hunger they developed agriculture, and so on."

"By ridding themselves of those limitations, the amount of things they can do increases, and so does their power."

"For example, with your Heart Gate, the number of things you can do with Mana are now almost endless."

Dale rested his head on the straw pillow once more and said:

"Hum… I don\'t quite get it, but I guess I got the hang of it?"

"It\'s normal, this wasn\'t supposed to be a simple subject to ponder about, you should definitely use the rest time you have to inform yourself more about it all though."

"I\'ll also try to help you while we wait."

"But to make it simple, I\'ll resume everything in a simple way, the basic idea of this subject for you to understand…"

"The Gods or something imposed these limitations onto Humans."

"The Humans then Developed the Heart Gate as a way of reaching higher levels of power, understanding, or whatever, in a simpler manner."

"Generations passed, and what was once a gruesome process is now an inherent part of the Human body."

"And now, here we are… But this isn\'t all you wanted to know right?" David asked with a half smile

"Of course not… I still don\'t quite get what enlightenment is, and why did the old man get younger…"

David cracked his neck, almost losing balance, saying:

"Yeah, there is a lot to cover..."

"Alright Dale, get yourself comfortable, it\'s time for a few more explanations…"

…

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Notes

This chapter was quite hard to compile as it had deep ties with the lore.

I\'m quite excited for the next few chapters as the ideas I have are quite good, I just hope they go out okayish...

Most of the time, like any other person, I have these ideas on the shower, but when I try to implement them, they get distorted...

You can\'t even begin to imagine the level of Lore talk I have when I\'m halfway to sleep in my bed...

If only I had a recorder...

It\'s a sad reality to live in...