System Change

“That’s it?” Derek stared at the spot that Alanah had just been standing. Everything was so… smooth. One second, she was there, and the next, she was gone—only accompanied by a very short flash of light. There wasn’t even as much fanfare in what just occurred as there was when entering any dungeon. “I… was expecting more,” he said.

“As was I,” Avery stepped forward and looked to the same place as Derek was. Then, he turned his head and whispered in Derek’s ear, “It seems like you have a lot to prepare for, so when you next meet her, you’re ready.”

“That does seem to be the case, doesn’t it?” Derek replied as he reached up to touch his cheek. The small peck on the cheek and the words that Alanah had told him didn’t really catch him by surprise. The time he spent with the siren had been very fun, after all. If nothing else, he now had even more of a reason to figure out a way to the woman. “Actually…” he muttered, then turned back to look at everyone. “You all stand back.”

Everyone nodded, and Avery also took a few steps back. Moments later, Derek activated Void Travel and stepped into the portal to the void when it appeared. Silvi, too, hopped up to his shoulder and went inside. Derek pushed his Void Sense as much as he could and searched for Alanah. Her aura was one of the bigger ones that’d he had ever seen, so if he could find anyone, it would be her.

To his dismay, as he pushed and pushed, he was never able to totally locate her. It was like he was on the verge of being able to feel the woman, but he just couldn’t quite do it. Still, just that fact that he managed to feel anything while looking for her gave him hope. I just need to get stronger is all, he thought. Eventually, I know that I’ll be able to move to her. It will just take some time. I hope everything goes well on her end.

“Do you feel anything?” Derek asked Silvi.

“Nope,” Silvi replied. “Restaurant lady is gone. No trace left. Maybe she’ll make more restaurants wherever she went. Very good at making restaurants and food.” It seemed that because Silvi only shared Derek’s Void Sense with him, and she could only have it at level ten, she couldn’t even feel the sensation that Alanah was still out there like Derek could.

“Yeah,” Derek chuckled. “She is pretty good at doing all that, isn’t she?”

Finally, while Derek was still inside his portal and he wasn’t in any kind of rush anymore, he began searching for others who were far away. First, he thought about Silvi Jaccobs and pushed his Void Sense to its limits. He wasn’t overly familiar with her aura, as he didn’t have the senses back when he left Earth as he did now, but he was still able to see and feel her faint aura.

I think I would have to rest a few times if I were to go to her, but I can definitely do it, he thought. That was another good sign. And Silvi still seemed to be in the same place she was the last time he searched for her. After finding Silvi, he focused on locating Jace. His aura was even easier to find that Silvi’s, as, even though he’d never sensed much of it, he’d fought with the man countless times.

Once again, Jace’s aura appeared a large distance away from Silvi’s. Derek just knew that, with the auras so far apart, there was almost no chance that they were both still on the same planet. After that, just for giggles, Derek searched for some of his other acquaintances from Earth. Some were easier to find than others—like Big Jim and some of the other more powerful people he knew from Earth. But there were also a few that he couldn’t find. Whether that was because he didn’t really know them, or because they were already dead, he did not know.

Honestly, he’d not had much of a problem finding people through his Void Sense and Void Travel abilities, so he leaned toward the former explanation—that a few of those he looked for had gotten themselves killed somehow. It was a morose thought, but it was certainly a possibility—actually, it was probably more probable than not. It wasn’t like Earth was safe, after all.

Derek let out a sigh and stopped trying to sense people. He stopped pushing on his Void Sense skill, then turned around and walked back out of the portal. After that, he made sure to shut it because of how dangerous it was.

“So?” Avery took a step forward and asked.

“I feel like I’m really close to being able to sense her, but there is just something in the way. I don’t know if it’s actually something blocking me, or if she’s just so far away that I can’t quite reach her yet. Either way, I can at least feel her—sense that she’s out there—even if I can’t actually locate her.”

“That’s good,” Avery replied. “That’s all that we could really hope for. You’re a monster that continues to grow, so I have no doubt that you will be taking her out on that date in no time.” Avery looked Derek up and down. He was wearing his normal outfit—a pair of blue jeans, his boots he received from the Starfury Leonaris, and a basic black t-shirt. “I do believe that she would appreciate it if you showed up in… something other than your usual garb.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Derek said with a click of his tongue as she looked down at what he was wearing. “This is some of my best clothes. In fact, I’ve already talked to Brandi, and she’s making me a few more sets out of higher quality material as we speak.”

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“Just… think about what I said,” Avery sighed.

“Fine…” Derek relented. I guess I could have her make a polo or something, Derek thought. With the correct material, I guess it could be almost as comfortable as a T-shirt. Derek mentally shrugged. That was stuff to think about at a later time—and only something he’d wear on very, very important occasions.

After that, Derek turned to look at everyone else. Not many showed too much of a reaction to what happened. Stella had many tear streaks running down her face, though. And it seemed like the person who was hit the second hardest was actually the former king. Edwin was slightly trembling and had his head down staring at the ground. He chased after the siren back in his day, and it most definitely seemed that he still had a lot of feelings for the woman.

It was very likely that Edwin had seen the siren for the final time in his life, considering his rapidly approaching old age. So, Derek could understand someone like him being a bit broken up about seeing someone like Alanah leave, and for an unknown amount of time.

Edgar also seemed a little sad, but he wasn’t great friends with Alanah. The man mostly just appreciated the woman’s strength and character. Natalie looked a bit sorrowful, as well. The two women were friendly enough with each other, at least based on what Derek had seen of their interactions. So, for her, he bet that it felt like a good friend saying goodbye for the last time. Overall, Alanah’s departure was a blow for the kingdom as a whole.

“I guess that’s it,” Derek said. “We’re all going to have to work hard to try to catch up,” Derek said. Not everyone knew why she left or anything, but by the way Derek put it, he was sure that those there would be able to piece a little together. Just to be sure, he added, “I’m sure she expects to see some of us soon. She has faith that each of us is capable of extraordinary growth, just as she was.” Derek’s eyes lingered on the former king, as he was most likely the exception, but he didn’t say anything. Edwin was already sad enough without Derek poking at the wound.

Once everything was over, and since they were close to the dragon kennels, Derek walked over to Lyra, who it looked like Alanah spoke to before she left. Lyra always looked like she was sleeping, but Derek knew that she was probably the most vigilant being around. Now that Alanah was gone for the time being, when Derek didn’t have anything else to do, he thought about visiting with Avery’s companion to help train his willpower and Telepathy occasionally. Luckily, the Echoing Willow fight skyrocketed his Mental Resistance skill during the fight, and he no longer had to worry about leveling it.

‘Heya Lyra,’ Derek said as he moved within a few feet of the massive beast. ‘How are you doing?’

‘I am doing well,’ Lyra replied.

‘How is Avery?’ Derek asked. The man seemed to be fine on the outside, but Derek was sure he was a bit broken up on the inside.

‘He will be okay,’ Lyra said. ‘His mistress’s departure has ignited a fire inside him. He wishes to not fall behind.’

‘He’s strong in both power and will,’ Derek said. ‘I look forward to seeing what happens.’

‘Indeed,’ Lyra replied.

‘What about Alanah’s contracted wyvern?’ Derek asked. In the recent days, Alanah had made sure to break the contract with the beast before she left. Since she had only contracted with it, and not bonded, doing so did not come with many drawbacks.

‘He is doing well,’ Lyra answered. ‘He is a little sad and sullen that his former contractor has left, but his intelligence is not high enough to truly miss her. Though, with just his brief time contracted with her, his intelligence has increased at a much higher rate than the others.’

‘Is that so?’ Derek said. ‘What should we do with him?’ he asked.

‘I believe that if someone with a legendary class would try to tame him currently, it would not be too difficult,’ Lyra explained. ‘However, I also believe that soon, contracting with him will become very difficult. He is currently experiencing that loss and is mentally weak. Once he heals, he will be mentally stronger than before—more so than either I or Blitz were when we were contracted. At that time, it will not be easy.’

‘Alanah told me that setting him free was an option if I couldn’t find someone to contract with him,’ Derek said. He was having a difficult time thinking of someone who would fit the description. He was also in a bit of a hurry and worried because he was unsure how much longer he had left on his current world and in his current system. Seeing Alanah go increased that worry.

‘Allowing him freedom would not be a terrible option,’ Lyra said. ‘Avery’s mistress has warned him against attacking people unprovoked, and I believe that warning will last. However, gaining said freedom would be lonely for such a wyvern.’

Hmm… Derek thought. There were still people, such as Brandi and Thomas, who needed to gain strength enough to contract some of the dragonkin if they chose to. However, I’m not sure that anyone else I know has or will have a class of high enough rarity to make taming the creature possible. With that specific wyvern, Derek was stuck.

‘Perhaps we let him have some freedom on a trial basis?’ Lyra asked. ‘I will keep him under control and close and see how he reacts. The option of contracting with him will always be there unless he leaves for good.’

‘That is true,’ Derek replied. Out of the people he could think of, Vanessa, The Shadow Witch, came to mind, along with Marrick and possibly Alanah’s old friend from way back, David. There was also Walter and possibly Clare, but he was sure that Walter wasn’t strong enough—especially with his class being mostly healing based. Plus, he did not have a legendary class. He believed that Clare would eventually gain such a class, but there was no telling how long that would take.

Derek crossed Vanessa’s name off the list pretty quickly. He wasn’t actually sure, but he doubted that the woman had a legendary class. It was a great class, but he just wasn’t sure how great it was. Marrick had already refused, so there was no reason asking again. I am going to have to meet this ‘David’ at some point, Derek thought. He could easily switch continents whenever he wanted, so he put that on his mental list of things to do.

‘We’ll just do that,’ Derek said. ‘Allow him the freedom to roam around the area and observe his reactions. We’ll think of something else later.’

‘Very well,’ Lyra replied. ‘Is there anything else?’

‘That is all,’ Derek said. ‘Do your best to look out for Avery.’

‘I will,’ the winged serpent replied. ‘Please take care and take care of him whenever you can.’

‘I’ll do what I can,’ Derek replied. He patted Lyra on the side of her neck, then turned around. ‘I’ll see you soon,’ he said before walking off in the direction of Savannah. It was time to really see what all Malorie had decided to build, and how Geoffrey was doing it.