The Abyss Stares Back

Chapter 5: Denim

It took a while for Sen to fall asleep, there was a lot to unpack after his first day in this new world. He had thought he had died and went to some kind of purgatory-like void realm, but then ended up in some new world much like his own, but radically different. He felt lucky to be gifted the power to translate languages, but he wondered who or what had gifted it to him. He was also given some other powers that seemed very weak compared to the adventurer he had witnessed, August Niles, who escorted the deputy director of the investigation branch of the Magic Society. Sen could feel the power oozing out of August, like he barely wanted to contain it, but was forced to for the sake of social courtesy. When Sen felt August’s aura bearing down on him, it made him realize he could feel it coming from most of the people he interacted with, but each one had their own signature, almost like a fingerprint for their souls. He hadn’t noticed them because they were so subtle, and it seemed like most people wanted to hide them entirely, suppressing themselves to the point where no one can read them.

Sen wondered what his own aura felt like, and didn’t even know if he was suppressing it or just letting it out for everyone to see. He needed to know more about his own power.

Sen fell asleep after more than a few tosses and turns, but was able to sleep until he naturally woke sometime in the morning. The mental exhaustion from the onslaught of new information as well as his mana being drained during the divine ritual left him exhausted enough that when he fell asleep, he stayed asleep.

He woke up feeling groggy but decided to get up and get some breakfast. He picked up his gray fitted shirt given to him by Vance off the back of the chair he left it on before he laid down in his decently comfortable single bed. He gave the shirt a sniff test to realize it must be enchanted as well, giving off the subtle aroma of some herb or flower that must be native to the world he now inhabited. He hadn’t smelled it before, but it seemed to have reacted to being worn. He slipped it on and inspected his pants which he was still wearing. They were clean and unwrinkled.

“That’s very nice, but I’m sorry I am going to have to replace you at some point.” Sen said to his pants.

On his way to the cafeteria, Sen thought about knocking on Zulli’s door, but wasn’t keen on her sleeping patterns and decided not to bother her. As Sen rounded the single right turn he had to make in a hallway on the way to the cafeteria, he was stopped by none other than Vance, the magic society official that was dedicated to his case for the entirety of the three years Sen was in a come-like stasis inside a magical shadow-shrouded capsule.

“Sen! I’ve got something for you!” Vance said, his voice level more than conversational but less than a shout. He had a small smile on his face, his thin mustache curling slightly.

“Compensation, for last night. It might seem like we are bribing you and that might be true.” Vance said, emphasizing the “might.” “But I was able to talk Varnus into offering you this as compensation and we can just let bygones be bygones.” He held out one of the magic society’s tablets on top of which sat a sack of what Sen could only think was gold coins.

Sen took the tablet and the sack of gold coins, looking down at them with a begrudged look. If he took them, he felt like he was being bought-off for being mistreated, though they really didn’t hurt him at all, and he left with more information than he had before. He grabbed the sack of coins with one hand and the tablet in the other and looked up to Vance and nodded to him.

“Varnus is really not that bad, I’ve never seen him actually hurt anyone, he just has very straightforward methods.” Vance told Sen.

“I suppose I could let it slide, this was what I needed, after all, and you didn’t take much from me.” Sen responded.

“Fifty iron rank spirit coins in there, and the tablet you asked for, you may keep.” Vance said, pointing to each in Sen’s hands as he did so.

“I suppose I need to get a bag…” Sen said, but was cut off when both items were engulfed in a thin layer of black shadow before disappearing into nothing.

“..Uhh.” Sen said as he stared incredulously at his empty hands.

A shocked look came to his face when a wall of text with a purple background opened in his vision.

You gained: Magical Scanning and Recording Tablet, (50) Iron Spirit Coins.

Your Magical Scanning and Recording Tablet (MSRT) has been placed in your quick-use bar. Objects in your quick-use bar can be used subconsciously and can be used directly from your inventory. You have (1) quick-use slot.

MSRT quick use options: Interface, Scan, Record

“Oh my…” Sen said, his face aghast.

“Sen, I think you might have a dimensional storage space to keep your belongings in.” Vance deduced from watching the items disappear when Sen had mentioned a bag.

“Is that normal?” Sen asked him, his face still in shock. The solid window of text became less opaque as he looked at Vance through it, though he was unsure of how to minimize or close it, or if Vance could see it. Once he had focused on it and mentally asserted that he wanted to close the window, it disappeared.

“It is normal for outworlders to have the magical tools necessary to survive in other worlds. Their racial gifts are usually revolved around being self-sufficient, rather than specialized.”

Sen nodded. He held his hand in front of his chest and thought about the sack of coins. The black silhouette of the sack materialized in his hand and soon it became the same fully colored, fully realized cloth sack that jingled a tinny sound as it dropped onto Sen’s palm. “Racial gifts? Vance, are you going to breakfast? I have some questions I’d like to ask.” Sen asked him as he untied the sack to inspect its contents. Sen fingered out a single small coin that was in fact iron colored. Its sheen wasn’t dull but also couldn’t be described as brilliant, and Sen could tell it was made of some kind of crystal, rather than actual iron.

“I ate on the way here. There’s a croissant stall in between the magic society campus and my home. I’m sorry Sen, I’ve got a lot of work to do today and must get to it. I was told you are free to go wherever you wish, as long as it’s available to the public.” Vance told Sen as he stepped away from the direction of the cafeteria. He turned to face Sen before leaving.

“And Sen, do not be a stranger. If there’s anything you need after I get these reports done, I’ll be sure to do what I can for you. Would you like me to check on you later?”

Sen knew by now that Vance was a genuinely good person but was still faltered by his empathy. Most people he knew on Earth were so caught up in the rat race of their own lives, they usually didn’t care enough to oblige themselves with the concerns of others. He paused before replying.

“That’s okay Vance, I’ll find you tomorrow, sound good?” Sen said, awkwardly raising his thumb in the air.

Vance smiled at Sen and raised his thumb before walking away.

Most the of the cafeteria had been empty save for the few late risers like Sen, and a few quiet night-shifters eating their breakfast-themed dinner. The cafeteria workers started cleaning up the breakfast buffets shortly after Sen had filled his tray. He seemed to be transfixed on the empty table in front of him, but he was carefully reading a wall of text that materialized in his vision.

Racial Abilities (Voidwalker):

Voidspace

Void Affinity

Void Guidance

Bounty from Nothingness

Child of the Nameless

Mysterious Stranger

Voidspace: You have a dimensional storage space connected to the void. The space is bottomless but is bound by your connection to the void. Current Depth: Very Shallow

Void Affinity: Your resistance to dimensional effects is increased. You have increased perception and awareness. You gain increased power with void-based abilities.

Void Guidance: The void will faintly pull you toward a destination of your choosing. This destination must be known by heart. If it is a person or personal item, the person or item must be known and friendly to you. This effect can be circumvented using tracking stones.

Bounty from Nothingness: You can claim rewards from enemies defeated. This effect cannot be shared with members of your party until bronze rank.

Child of the Nameless: Your body has undergone a transfiguration touched by primordial concepts. You gain resistance to higher and lower versions of magic, as well as magic used outside of this universe. This is a growth racial gift and will change as your rank gets higher or lower.

Mysterious Stranger: Language adaptation. Essence, awakening stone, and skill book absorption. Immunity to Identification and tracking effects.

Sen read through his racial gifts over and over in an attempt to commit them to memory.

“This is a lot.” He said to himself as he spooned some hot oats into his mouth. “I’m obviously here to be on some kind of adventure with powers like these.” He closed the window as he had before with just a mental nudge and stared down at the tray of food. He thought about his dinner with Zulli before they were taken into the exam room the night before.

“You should have woke me up.” Sen heard a voice tell him. Zulli was standing right next to his table, and he hadn’t notice her sneak up on him.

“Jeez!” Sen retorted as he looked at her, startled.

Zulli was wearing a more presentable set of clothes than her previous casual shorts and cropped top, this time conforming more to the common culture of the region, a set of dark blue pants with a flowing long-sleeved blouse colored in the Vitesse style of neutral browns and grays. Zulli’s posture didn’t change when she watched him jump in his seat, and he couldn’t read any expression on her blank face, but he suspected she meant to scare him. They shared a look before Sen let out the breath he was holding.

“I wasn’t even sure if you slept, or how long if you did. I didn’t want to bother you.” Sen told her, finally relaxing in his seat.

“Well now I missed breakfast. So how about we go out and I can get a shawarma?” Zulli asked him.

“Shawarma? You guys have that here?” Sen asked her, but he noticed an odd inflection at the translation, indicating his translation power was hard at work. “Oh.” He said. “That’s not what it’s called here, but it’s pretty much the same thing.” He said, mostly to himself but loud enough for Zulli to hear.

“I tried it last week and had it every day since.” She told him. “I’m going to have to find some kind of income for my shawarma habit pretty soon, though. Are you done eating?” She asked him, looking down at his tray that was barely picked through.

“I could go for a shawarma.” Sen said as he picked up his tray and stood from the table. He deposited it into a trash bin, and they made out for the city of Vitesse.

***

Sen couldn’t help but stare in awe at the fantasy-inspired, cobblestone roads and huge sprawling stone and wood buildings of Vitesse. In the distance he could make out what seemed to him to be huge towers and more than one castle in the heart of the city. The Magic Society campus wasn’t located in the outskirts, but it maintained a position that was easy to ship materials in and out of the city by carriage, and so it was built just out of the commerce area and far from the estates of the political factions. On their way through the busy roads, Sen caught a glimpse of the Adventure Society campus when Zulli pointed it out to him. Most of the people were common folk but every so often they would pass by a group of people in robes that denoted their affiliation to a church, or saw a couple of people in all styles of combat gear that implied they were a part of the Adventure Society.

“I’ll have two today, actually.” Zulli told the owner of a small stall. Sen could smell the aroma of the shawarma and was taken back to his other world for a moment before coming back to reality.

“They’re on me, Zulli. I got compensated for last night’s shenanigans and you were part of that too. Actually, we should probably split it half and half now that I think about it.” Sen said as he plucked the air, and a shadow-shrouded sack of coins materialized into his hand. He handed the man at the stall two iron spirit coins, which the man alighted upon.

“Sen!” Zulli shouted, watching him hand the coins to the man. “You just paid for a year supply of shawarmas! How much did they give you?”

“Fifty of these iron-rank spirit coins.” Sen said.

Sen peered around to see several people notice his remark, some with sneers and some with simple surprised expressions. Most people they walked by would stare at Zulli and leave Sen unnoticed. When he saw that most of the people stared at him now, he realized that the iron spirit coins were not easy for the common folk to come by. He degenerated the sack of spirit coins back into his voidspace before drawing too much attention.

Zulli quickly looked at the stall owner. “Leith, consider that a shawarma credit for days to come.” She told him, a finger pointing at him. “I will hold you accountable for it.”

Leith, the shawarma stall owner was a middle-aged man that was almost a round as he was tall, dressed in a traditional Vitesse style. He had a thick salt and pepper mustache complimented by a sharp salt and pepper beard coming out from his chin. He laughed at Zulli, placing the two iron-rank spirit coins in his pocket.

“Of course, my young little raven. And if you promise to bring your friend more often, I’ll even throw these two on the house.” Leith told Zulli, holding out two paper-wrapped shawarmas for her to take.

“If they taste as good as they smell, there will be no need for promises.” Sen told Leith while Zulli took the wrapped goods, handing one to Sen.

Zulli opened her shawarma and placed the end of it where her mouth would be, leaving a crescent shaped emptiness where she would have taken a bite of it.

“We’re going to get you some new clothes, and I know you’ll help me out if I need it, so just keep the money for now.” Her voice seemed muffled as if she was actually chewing the bite of shawarma.

Sen was took a bite of his own shawarma as well. “I like your style, I assume you’re going to take me where you got yours?”

Zulli chuckled. “My experience tells me most men here don’t where girls’ clothes so no. But it’s close by.” She said, walking in another direction down the road.

They arrived at the shop nestled into a quiet part of one of the commerce junctions. The junction was a circular roundabout surrounding a large fountain in the middle. It was large enough that crowds would gather around criers and carts could set up around it selling all sorts of curio.

The shop itself was familiar to Sen, as if he was walking in a shopping center in any large town in America. Two large glass panes on each side of the door displayed mannequins adorned with the shop’s attire. On the left of the door was tailored cloth armor, one was a set of purple combat robes complete with hood and cloak, while the other was a blue set of tightly fitting shirt and bell-bottom pants, lined with a gold cord that shined in the sunlight. Behind the right pane of glass were more casual sets of clothes, ranging from an everyday set of shirt and pants to a full three-piece suit. They walked in the shop to find it surprisingly empty.

“Hello!” A voice came from the back in response to the bell ringing above the door. A stout man about a foot shorter than Sen came from the back, well dressed in a fitted suit with flowing lines and a loose measuring tape hung around his neck. “Welcome to Jerald’s Irrepressible Attire! I’m Jerald, but you can just call me Jerry. I can tell that at least one of you has come from a faraway land and are in desperate need of extravagating your attire. Would I be correct in my assumption?” Jerry asked, his hand movements matching the whimsy of his voice.

Sen and Zulli looked at each other with raised eyebrows, then back at Jerry.

“Mmm. Yes. Indeed.” Sen said, mimicking Jerry’s posh accent as he patted down his plain gray shirt with both hands.

“I see the young lady has visited one of my colleagues, Miss Vortaine. Would I be safe in assuming she sent you my way to adorn your friend here with some of my finery?”

Zulli would have had a large smile on her face if she had a mouth. “Mmm. Quite. Indeed.” Zulli told Jerry in her own posh accent. “I am Zulli, and my friend here has arrived very recently and could use a set of casual wear for general use, post-haste.”

“My name is Senadin, but you can call me Sen. It’s nice to meet you, Jerry.” Sen told Bert, dropping his posh mockery to greet Jerry properly. He held out a hand to shake, which Jerry took with a firm hand, firmer than Sen was expecting. “I think I’d like a set just like Zulli’s, but maybe a little bit more rough-and-tumble, if you will.”

“That is something we can definitely do, Mister Sen. We specialize in attire that will keep you protected and protect itself” Jerry said.

“Just Sen, please.” Sen said. “For the pants, I’d like something special, where I come from, there’s this special fiber layering technique called denim.”