You get pregnant
Thr words hung in the air for a few seconds before Aaron continued, his expression grave. "among other things".
"You're funny", Nolan chuckled, finding the answer as a bad joke. But then he glanced back up at Aaron. The seriousness in Aaron's eyes made Nolan's hair stand on end. "You are joking right?"
"I wish I was", Aaron said, "but in this world, knowledge itself is dangerous".
Nolan paused. This feeling in him was telling you to believe Aaron's world. Currently, his advantage over Aaron was the physical capabilities and this unusually accurate feeling. But Aaron seem to know this world, this story, better than he could ever.
Seeing Nolan get silent, Aaron decided to give him a little nudge. "I will tell you about your issue with those feelings and how to control It. And in exchange, you tell me about those strange abilities you used".
Nolan thought for a bit but then he decided to finally spoke again. "What I used were protect, quick attack and Sword Dance."
"Wait what?", Aaron blurted out. Of course he recognised them. "How are you using pokemon moves?"
"Judging by your reaction, I guess you can't do that", Nolan said. Aaron wanted to retort with "you think?" But held it in.
"When I first woke up here", Nolan continued. "The system asked me to choose four moves", he paused, pondering for a second before continuing, "Well more like, buy four moves".
"Buy?", Aaron repeated, earning a nod from Nolan.
"The system gave me around 10,000 coins at the beginning. I used it two buy my moves. Of course a lot of then were locked", Nolan finished his story.
Aaron thought for second, to digest this information. The system gave Nolan the ability to have four pokemon move likw standard pokemon like how he got the Reader ability from ORV. But unlike for himself, Nolan got this as an auxiliary power rather than a Pathway. It made Aaron feel a little annoyed. Not to mention, the system gave him 10,000 coins compared to his 500.
"That's convenient", Aaron said, genuinely. Having this essentially negated the weak combat ability of a monster Sequence Beyonder. Not to mention he chose ability that would be versatile for him. "Whats the Fourth move?"
"That's my trump card", Nolan dismissed. Aaron decided not to pursue it. He instead asked, "how did you get that much coins? It sounds like a lot".
Nolan stroked his chin in thought, before speaking up again. "I am not sure. Only thing I can think of was that I was had the $10,000 as cash with me that my dad gave."
Why in the world do you have that much money as cash? Aaron wanted to ask. But he instead said, "Seems like you were rich before you ended up in this state."
"Do you enjoy rubbing salt in my wound?", Nolan glared. "Now enough about me. Tell me what is going on with me."
Aaron nodded, but truth be told, he enjoyed knowing he wasn't the only one in a bad state. "As I said, we are in a book. I wont say the name because the name could cause you some problem. I am not sure."
Nolan nodded ans stayed silent.
"You are currently a beyonder, called Monster", Aaron said.
"Fitting name. But what's a beyonder?", Nolan asked.
"I was getting to that. A beyonder is a person who gains supernatural powers from consuming different Potions. There are 22 sets of Potions, each corresponding to a Pathway. You are the sequence 9: Monster of one such pathway", Aaron stopped, and waited for Nolan to ask any questions.
"I am guessing Sequence 9 is the lowers of the set and higher thr Sequence, the stronger I get?", Nolan asked.
"You are sharp for a kid", Aaron praised.
"I am seventeen", Nolan followed up with a retort.
"Exactly", Aaron smirked. "And that feelings you are having is your spiritual intuition. Your Pathway deals with fate and luck. You are sensitive to all sorts of strange things."
"Okay then how can I turn it off?", Nolan asked impatiently.
"You can't. Think of it as Spider-sense. It's always alert and telling you about different things. It could save you in dangers"
"This thing is making me go insane", Nolan clicked his tongue, feeling agitated.
"Relax. It's your potion influencing your personality. Once you digest the Potions effect, it will be much more in control", Aaron spoke. Of course, he himself didn't have a first hand experience to say if that is truly the case or not. All of these were speculations from the book.
"Digestion?", Nolan repeated. He then stared at the air in front of him, as if daydreaming before looking back at Aaron. "The system says my Digestion is at 80%".
"That's...", Aaron was taken aback. Is this fellow lucky even before he got to this world? He could probably digest it fully with just one acting principle.
Taking Aaron's surprise as a positive sign, Nolan continued to ask. "How do I digest?"
Aaron took a second to focus on the matter again before he continued. "By using a secret trick called the acting method. Or as how i like to call it, a roleplay"
"Roleplay?", Nolan locked onto the familiar word, as if understanding things better. "Do I need to roleplay as some character?"
"Almost Correct", Aaron smiled. "You need to act as your sequence name. Example, there is a Sequence 9 called assassin. An assassin needs to act like a proper assassin and formulate corresponding principles of being an assassin. Once you do that and fully digest the Potion, you can drink the next Potion in the Pathway".
"Assassin sounds cooler than monster", Nolan said.
"Is cool until you turn into a woman in the future", a soft chuckle left Aaron's lips. "Anyways, bottom line. Act like a monster, understand your sequence abilities and digest the Potion. Once you do that, you can feel more intuned with the powers."
Nolan nodded in understanding.
"And remember, you are only acting. That doesn't mean you lose yourself to the act", Aaron warned, his tone turning ominous.
"What happens if I do? Do I turn pregnant from that too?", Nolan asked, feeling a sense of unease grip his belly.
Aaron wanted to laugh but he held on. "No, but you lose control and turn into a real monster. These powers come with risk. We are constantly fighting against madness each step". He then thought and continued.
He then remembered a line, "there is a saying among official beyonders", he said. He took a breathe, almost feeling a sense of daze as he began to utter words he only read, "we are guardian, but also a bunch miserable wretches constantly battling dangers and madness."
Nolan felt his skin prick up, his hair stood on end as a sense of awe and fear gripped his heart. "Did I mention how much I hate this world?"
"You have", Aaron chuckled then continued, "Of course, you have an advantage. Because you can always remember yourself as pretending to be Nolan while retaining your original identity. It will help. Like I said, roleplay".
"...I am really starting to hate this world", Nolan finally grumbled. The more he heard, the more he felt like every turn in this world is a potential danger. Even the little silver lining in Aaron's last sentence seemed to faint to be reliable.
"You are accepting what I said easier than I expected", Aaron said, amused. He couldnt fully reject Nolan's sendiment.
"Like you said, my spiritual intuition is telling me all this is right. So I'm just gonna trust it". Nolan then realised something and lasked. "Since we are in a book, what about the main character?"
"That was a fantastic question to ask. But the answer was not something you could be happy about", Aaron sighed, placing his hand on Nolan's shoulder.
"And why is that?", Nolan asked.
"The main story only starts on June 28th of this year. We still have time. But even so", he paused, giving Nolan a sympathetic look before continuing, "you should always stay away from him".
"Huh?"
"Remember when I told you knowing somethings is dangerous? That applies to looking at things too. And his face is one of them for you", Aaron explained. Honestly, he felt bad for Nolan in that regard. "Bottom line, if your gut tells you to do something like look away or close your eyes, always trust it".
For a moment, Nolan remained silent. "...I really hate this world".
"I Understand your sentiment", Aaron said, walking back towards the Cathedral, when he saw his sister running towards him.
"Whats wrong Aria?", he asked, stepping upto her.
"Mother is awake. She wants to see you", Aria replied. Her tone seem dull, losing her usual jolly. It didn't go unnoticed by Aaron. He looked down at her as they walked but he didn't speak up about it. He stayed silent, walking along side the little girl who considered to be her brother.
The two siblings made their way to the room Father Utravsky assigned to them. His mother was sitting up in her bed, which wasn't usually the case. "Are you feeling better, mother?", he asked.
She gave him a weak, yet gentle smile."I feel much better here", she said, before calling for Aria to come sit by her side. "This place truly is divine".
Aaron wanted to say something but he held it in. He was worried his mother would wanna change faith.
Frida's smile slowly faded, as she glanced at him. "What's wrong..?", he spoke up First, holding himself back from calling her mother. He knelt before the woman, who had a much fairer skin, compared to his bronze complexion.
"I am worried about you", he said, her eyes turning helpless. "You..", she paused, as if unable to find words, "I made you take on so much responsibilities... now you got into trouble because of me".
Aaron felt her grip on his shirt. She pulled him close, pressing her forehead against her chest. He was surprised, not knowing what to say as he felt the fabric turn damp.
"I-I..", her voice broke, "I am sorry, son". Aaron could hear the sob in her voice. She was holding herself from breaking down, but he could feel the warmth of her tears burn is chest.
His ears picked up little sniffs coming from behind him- it was Aria. She was crying, unable to control her sobbing but she was holding herself back better than her mother.