Lyon woke up in a jolt and looked around. Although he still felt groggy, it wasn't the time to think about it. He saw only a gray landscape, extending infinitely in all directions.
The land he was standing on is gray in color. The sky is also gray in color, just a lighter tone. Lyon felt that the ground was very hard and coarse in texture. He stood up and walked in one direction.
While walking, he felt a strange induction, attracting him in a specific direction. As a cautious person, Lyon decided to go in the opposite direction of induction.
He walked for a long time, something he lost track of in the first few hours. He decided to just sit down and wait for a while. After resting, when he stood up again, he began to hear the wind howling. Even though he knew it was the wind, it didn't stop him from getting goosebumps. The howling sound soon became more and more eerie.
Feeling that something is getting worse, he started running towards the direction of induction. It was at this moment he heard a sound of howling, but not of wind.
Lyon didn't look back. He knew that the only action that has a better chance of being alive is to run, and only run. When he was at his rope's end, he found some ruins. He couldn't see what was inside, since the walls were huge even after crumbling. He dashed into the ruined building and looked around, trying to find a safe place.
Lyon found a hole in the rubble, perfect for him to sneak into. Just when he reached into the gap, he felt it. The presence of the monster chasing him is very heavy. Even though Lyon doesn't have any sixth sensing ability, he just knew it was there, looking for him.
The howling continued outside, but it kept getting fainter. Knowing that the monster left, Lyon breathed a sigh of relief, when all of a sudden, the entrance was blocked by an eye, a gigantic eye.
The eyeball kept moving around, trying to find Lyon, but for some reason, it couldn't find him. After looking for a while, it left, but the cave was blocked by something, blocking all light from entering. Lyon couldn't go out from there, so he went deeper inside. He is not nervous anymore, since it was impossible for a monster of that caliber not to find him. He made a weird formation of stones on the ground.
Walking deeper inside, because of the lack of light, he could only rely on his sense of touch. Fortunately, there was only one path for him to go in, no other fork roads in between. As he walked deeper into the path, he found a faint light source in front of him. He slowly made his way towards the light source when he found an open area.
In the center of the area, there exists a pedestal with a floating, glowing stone on top of it. Lyon, who is familiar with all the tropes, decided to check for traps first and foremost. After not finding any, he slowly made his way to the opposite end of the space where there was a passage leading to somewhere.
Lyon decided not to take a glowing stone with himself. Having played many games in his younger years, he knew that taking it out would definitely be a trigger. And most of the time, it isn't a good one.
Just as he was about to leave, he heard a voice. He didn't understand what it was, but he knows the meaning conveyed. It tells him to take the stone with himself.
Nope~!
Lyon knows this kind of s**t when he sees it. He definitely isn't supposed to pick up random mystical stones, much so something that tries to seduce him to do so.
So, Lyon ran.
Unfortunately, he crashed into an invisible wall when he tried to go into the passage. And the same happened when he tried to go back to where he came from.
Hopeless, he just stood in front of the glowing stone. To be honest, it wasn't giving him any discomfort. It was a white light, a bit faint, with a tinge of orange. But it didn't have any sacred feeling with it, it felt more like home.
It felt good, but it might also be a trap. Lyon just stood in front of the stone, waiting for the next words. He isn't going to take it before the voice tells him why.
Perhaps understanding his intention, the voice tells him something, 'If you want to break the situation, take it. We will meet soon, very soon.'
Lyon had no choice but to take the stone. As soon as he touched it, it went inside his body. He could feel the stone inside him, but not literally.
Lyon slowly stepped into the next passage. Not feeling the invisible wall, he slowly made his way through the passage. To his surprise, he could see now. Wow.
After reaching the end, he was surprised to find the stone formation again. He is sure he took the other path, but he still came to the place he started from. Shaking his head, he walked out the now unblocked hole to find out that the ruins have disappeared. He turned around and found out that the rubble behind him also disappeared.
Checking around, he found out that he came back to the place he woke up when he entered this world.
Just when he was confused, he heard a click. And right before his eyes, the world was filled with color. He could feel something was different, yet he could not find anything except for the colors. It was as if everything that had happened was just a dream.
He followed the to the place of induction this time. Whatever that has happened before, he did not want to experience it again.
Walking for a few miles, he saw a hall surrounded in fog, on the side of a mountain. Based on the size, it was clearly not made for humans, probably giants.
When he walked into the hall, he saw a long table with chairs on both sides. Whether the scenery or the setting, everything felt familiar to Lyon.
At the head of the table, a man sat while lowering his silence, just enough for him to not see his face. From the looks of it, apparently he was waiting for Lyon.
"Welcome . . ."
"Oh"
". . ."
Getting a lame reply, the man at the head of the table didn't say anything else, probably because of not knowing what to say.
"You may refer to me as . . . The Fool"
". . . And I would be The Fool if I believed in that."
". . ."
"If you are done, could you send me back? I have a spy to catch and all that. I know It would be Foolish of me to expect you to believe it, but~ . . . I just wanted to say that."
". . . You're no fun anymore, are you?"
"What do you want, Raj?"
The mysterious man, or Raj, just shook his head and snapped his fingers. The next moment, the surroundings shifted to something Lyon was very familiar with.
A restaurant at the end of a street, the last place Lyon was before he got sent to this world. Everything looks the same to him, as much as he can remember of that day. The hustle made him feel homesick.
As much as he hated his life in this world, he still misses the modern world. Sure, he didn't have many friends left, but at least, his life was much better than it is in the new world.
The only reason he could ground himself from the feeling is because of the people. The lifeless eyes of those around him was the only thing reminding him that he wasn't back.
"Have a seat. We don't have much time since you need to go back to catch the spy."
Lyon didn't believe a word coming out of his mouth. With the loss he suffered already, he learned not to trust the man in front of him.
Perhaps sensing the distrust, Raj explained to Lyon, "While it is true that I can stop time or make it slow for the world, I would draw unwanted attention doing that."
"I see . . ."
Lyon took the seat where he sat before being thrown into another world. Although he knows nothing is going to happen, it still feels eerie to sit in that chair. But it seems he has to sit in it, because there are no other chairs empty.
He could sit on the table, but it's filled with food, which probably isn't real.
"So, why am I here?"
"You were supposed to be here much later, but it seems that I underestimated a certain being."
"Who?"
"It's the God~ of this world. You know, the old looking guy. For some reason, he was able to feel you. He doesn't know it's you, so you won't be killed in an instant. But you have to be careful."
". . . How exactly am I supposed to be on guard against him?"
"Hmm~. You can't, my bad. Just don't go out of your way to provoke him or the protagonist."
"Did you forget what my task was?"
"I didn't. You just don't mess with him directly. You can try, but I can't guarantee your life."
"Oh~ Nice~. What else am I supposed to do then~. . . Listen, I know that you don't have something called as conscience-"
"Rude"
"-But~!, I need something for the extra trouble you have caused. Hold up! It's not something difficult. I just want all attribute affinity. You know, since I need to get those floating islands"
The more Lyon spoke about his demand, the gloomier Raj's face turned. Lyon knew from this that it would be difficult for him to convince him, but he didn't back down. He needs the affinity. He wants to major in magic, plus, he also wants the islands, since it would be easier for him this way to finish this task.
"I cannot change what you already have. No, I can, but I don't want to waste it on you. You are not the only one I need to take care of"
"Maybe, but they might not be in the same world as me, right? I need this!"
Both of them stared at each other for a while. Eventually, Raj let out a heavy sigh and said, "Fine."
However, Lyon wasn't having it. He demanded an agreement. It was the only way Lyon could trust Raj.
Lyon checked the agreement before him. It stated a pretty simple deal. Lyon will not hold Raj responsible for his blunder in underestimating his opponent, and in return, Lyon will have all attribute affinity.
There weren't many loopholes in this, in fact none that Lyon could think of. So he signed it with satisfaction.
After that was done, Lyon asked Raj about the future of his simulator. And then Raj explained to him.
"He won't find you. He will feel that something is different when you simulate. So, if he does find you, it will be in the simulation. But we cannot determine 'when' he will find you in the simulation."
That much was okay for Lyon. Any worse would mean he would be incapable of completing the task. He could have asked to waiver the penalty for not completing the task, but he knew that there were limits for these 'beings'.
If he mindlessly pushes them without much consideration, they might just erase him and forget about it. Or maybe, they could just manipulate his mind into becoming their loyal servants.
The only reason Lyon has his free will, is because Raj deemed it interesting for Lyon to have his free will, and that this task is just for his entertainment.
"If you are done, I'm leaving."
"Ok, bye."
". . ."
". . ."
"Send me back."
"Thought you were leaving."
Haah~
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Lyon is a big fan of anime. He cannot be called the biggest, but they were a huge support for him during his troubled times. As a fan of anime, he was also pretty interested in Japan.
He always wanted to visit Japan, and live for a while over there. One of the things he was interested in was tatami mats. Why would they use them instead of normal floors? He always wanted to use them.
He is now experiencing his dream, but if he had a chance, he would rather not.
"Please taste the tea. It's a very expensive variety, though it doesn't matter for me."
Looking at the harmless old couple in front of him with a puppy, he would be lying if he said he wasn't scared.
"I am going to put this statement out there before anything else - I think being deported is better than disappearing."
After stating his thoughts, he drank the tea in front of him in a gulp, almost burning his throat. Then he just looked at the couple in front of him, waiting for their verdict.
"You will disappear if you do not complete your task. You will die even if you succeed, because of me. I decided to talk to you because you do not want to mess with Touya except for the task."
Lyon did not reply to his words, but he has acquitted them. He has nothing against Touya, maybe he was jealous of his simple life, but that's all. He has no reason to antagonize Touya.
"So, do the task. But in moderation."
"What . . . ?"
"While it is true that I want Touya to grow the way you know, I am only Me from the present. I do not possess the emotions of Me from the future. Touya to me is a kind kid who just so happens to check the right boxes. If you were also suitable, then I would have forgotten about him, since technically, he isn't involved yet."
". . . Thank you. But, I think someone will not be happy about it."
"You don't need to worry about him. He gained his power very recently. You could say that he is very unfamiliar with his power, and the capabilities of others who reached this level before him. So, you don't need to worry about it, though."
"Why are you helping me?"
"We know about you. In fact, your misfortune was caused by him. Because it was the first time he did this, he wasn't very good with it, so we knew about you. You are lucky to come to this world. If you went to a world with a setting of violence, I don't know what you could have become."
"Setting?"
"Genre. This world has a simple setting. I decided to make a simple world when making this, so it's not bad for you to survive. In fact, most of us are kind in general, since it promotes the growth of society. There are only a few that are calculative towards their transmigrators."
Lyon took a deep breath after hearing all the information. He feels that knowing anymore would probably overload his brain. So he got straight to the point.
"What do you mean by moderation?"
"You know Touya's powers, don't you? I want him to grow in strength, and fulfill his destiny. As long as you don't disturb it, it's fine by me."
"Then the floating islands?"
"They know that Touya is their master, so it depends on yourself."
"Well, it's a good thing I requested him for all attribute affinity"
"What? Any one who travels through the gap in between the dimensions have all attribute affinity. You might have just wasted a good chance"
". . . Damn it!!"
For the next few minutes, the scene was just Lyon venting his frustration, while the couple kept looking at him with eyes of pity.
Lyon also got to know later that the grey fog world was caused because of the old lady in front of him. She is the Goddess of Space and Time, and she stopped the dream world so that Lyon could get the stone.
"What is the stone for?"
Lyon didn't think the stone was bad, anymore. Since it was given by them for a reason, it might most likely not be something he could guess. So he directly asked them about it.
"It has a few uses, but none you need. It is also a messenger of us to you. We could contact your phone, but that being might notice our involvement. Forget about it. You cannot actively use it, but it is something you will need in the future."
Lyon woke up after bidding farewell to the old couple. He also knew that there would be no more contacts between Raj and him before the end of his task since they would block it for him, but conversely, they also cannot contact him without the stone.
He also inferred from their conversation that they most likely are unaware of the simulator. He did not bring it up either, since he was unsure of how they would respond to this matter.
Lyon stretched himself first before making his way towards the public toilet. He wants to freshen himself first and then simulate again.
Just as he stepped outside, it struck him that he could start the simulation and take care of his work. And check on it after he is done.
After that, he didn't meet any one or had any problems. There weren't any cliches where someone crashed into him and provoked him.
After finishing all that he wanted to do, he did not go to meet the captain, but went back to the stable. He wanted to check the simulation before doing the next job.
Judging by how he feels, he probably got killed before he exhausted himself in reality. Which means, nothing actually. As long as he finds the spy, and a valid proof for it, his job is done.