Earth: The Second

Stone Mountain

A simple wooden carriage drives slowly through the path of the forest. Two brown horses are pulling it, commanded by Adma, who controlled their direction using the bridle rope. With short white hair and blue eyes, that man looked unapproachable if there are any other people out there.

Meanwhile, the road is quiet. There is no other traveler except them and the forest creatures like rodents and birds. 

Maybe, he is cautious of possibilities that could happen in the future, or probably, he is just bored that his companions are spending this afternoon, sleeping in the back of the carriage.

“Shape: knife!” Adma whispered while letting his right hand out of his mantle. His hand that looked like a normal human hand at first suddenly split open, followed by various small machine-like voices, that reshapes from the palm of his hand, to around his wrist.

When the voice stopped, Adma’s hand is now a one-edged knife.

“Edit shape,” commanded Adma. He thinks that the blade could use some revisions. Adma reshapes that blade with some extra jagged around its dull side and bending the tip inward, making the knife not only for slashing but also for gouging things if he needed it.

“A new entry saved as ‘survival knife’,” reported Navigator. This voice inside Adma’s head is always the one who provides him with an explanation of what action he had taken. Adma vaguely remembers, but he knows that in his original time, there use to be things like ‘personal AI assistant’ that exists inside a smartphone.

“Now, if I have a smartphone right now, this trip would not be so boring.”

“A sign of boredom detected, would you like some entertainment?” asked the Navigator, replying to Adma’s previous complaint.

“Wait you can do that?”

“Of course. Entertainment is one of the important aspects to maintain the sanity of the human brain. At the stage of my development, I collecting any kind of multimedia entertainment known to man.”

Adma’s vision suddenly met with a pop-up window that says ‘installing entertainment plugin. Please wait.’

“Cool, let me play video games!” commented Adma.

“Affirmative. Loading pong” said Navigator, and a new window appeared, this time it was showing two bars on each side of the window program, separated by a line in the middle. one of the bars is shooting out a ball made of pixels, and the other bars is moving up and down to hit the ball back.

“...Navigator... What is this?” asked Adma confused.

“This is Pong, one of the first video games, created by Allan Acorn in 1969,”

“What the hell? That is too ancient! Don’t you have something that is a bit more modern!?”

“To unlock modern features of video game cultures, you have to spend an extra 200 USD for a one-month subscription.”

“...You are joking right…?” 

“...Yes, I am.”

Adma let out a sigh. Honestly, for a moment he is panicked. If Navigator really needs to use extra money to function properly, where the hell he would get a dollar in a world like this!?

“Joking aside, while the possibility of me running a high-graphic-intensive render is exist, my state right now does not allow me to do so,” said Navigator.

“How come?”

“Prior to my development time millennia ago, I have forcefully disconnected from the server that connected me to the world data center before I can learn every content inside of it. Therefore, my knowledge of the entire civilization before the catastrophe, probably not as much as you expected it to be,” said Navigator. “This may have a connection with your amnesia, but I don’t really have the answer,” it said.

“So, we’re both without memory, stranded in a foreign land, huh?” mutter Adma. He feels a bit melancholy. At first, he thought that Navigator knows all the answers and would reveal a secret to him eventually, but turns out both of them are in the same boat.

“Indeed, but there is also a possibility that I can do to regain my memory back,” said Navigator. “From all the information you have collected so far, I’ve come to the conclusion that the ‘Ruins’ or ‘Dungeons” that scattered on this land, previously is a world data center of Earth.”

Adma’s expression goes brighter as he heard that. This is a glimpse of hope that he has been waiting for.

“But the Dungeons… Are actually data center?” asked Adma. “From what Kiki has told me, dungeons are massive. Sometimes, it even consists of some levels and is home to beasts and other kinds of monsters.”

“I have taken that into consideration as well. but when I scanned the dungeon structure when we met Kiki. I realized that according to the geographical position on this era, you awake in the same place where you’re buried.”

Again, a question fills Adma’s head. No matter what you see, the ruins are not showing any signs of ‘modern technology’ whatsoever. Instead, Adma only remembers it as some monument that looked ancient and mystic. 

“Is the drastic like that even possible?” asked Adma.

“With the existence of ‘mana’ as a real thing. I suppose that everything can happen in this world right now. There are even possibilities, that law of physic has been rewritten after the catastrophe.” add Navigator.

Adma scratched his chin and thinking about what Navigator has said. A catastrophe that was so massive, it changed the law of physic on earth. when that happens, can this planet still be called earth?

“I guess the only way to find out,” said Adma.

“Which is going to the dungeon right?’ 

A female voice startled Adma from his train of thought. When he glanced back, the curtain of carriage has been opened, by Rika’s hand.

The girl with red hair and round glasses then climbed to the side of the driver’s carriage, she is yawning.

Adma started to feel an awkward air around him.

“Sorry to eavesdrop, but I have heard your self-talk since minutes ago,” she said.

Adma does not answer. She said ‘self-talk’, but he and Navigators are actually talking about some important stuff previously.

“I just want to say sorry if I’m bothering you,” replied Adma plainly. In the first place, he didn’t expect her to understand after all.

“No, don’t be sorry. It’s… Something that you can’t explain to other people after all right?” asked Rika, Adma looked at her meaningfully. “Don’t be mad. I’m actually not sleeping at all. I saw what you are capable to do.”

Rika stares at Adma’s arm. He realized it, seems like there is no use to hide his secret after all since he will always be noticed, one way or another. Adma showed his right hand to Rika, then imagining the command inside his mint.

Suddenly, his wrist transformed into a survival knife.

“This is the secret that you have hiding, right?” asked Rika, looking at that knife with a little bit of surprise.

“Yes. You can see that I’m very different than you people,” said Adma. “This place… No, this world is foreign to me either. There are used to be no ‘mana’, or skills where people letting out fire from their hands. Instead, the need for technology and equipment are always increasing.”

“Ah, I see. Sounds like a very inconvenient world,” commented Rika.

“Inconvenient? This world is the inconvenient one,” laugh Adma. 

“Whatever. I understand now where you get all of that power and strength. A newcomer in the city, that manages to beat up the baddies that rule the people. Wouldn’t that be a nice story?” asked Rika.

“Heh, sure it is.”

***

The cart drive as slow as ever. Adma and Rika sitting in silence until She noticed a stone mountain on the horizon.

“Hmmh! Seems’s like we come near the destination,” she said.

“Destination? aren’t there supposed to be a town around the dungeon?”

“Duh! It’s because we’re not in the dungeon yet! Our first destination is a house of a blacksmith at the top of that mountain!” Rika pointing one of the mountains. Adma realized that there is black smoke coming from the top.

“You’re right… Probably,” said Adma. He completely forgets about this first destination, because all he did just riding the horses in the direction that Gon said.

“Teacher! We are nearing Hepaetus’s workshop soon!” shouted Rika to the back.

The sound of a yawn can be heard coming behind the curtain.

“It’s already time? Man, I’m so tired!” said Gon, AKA: Mr.Green. This man seems so laid back, even after he has lost his shop and the merchandise he sells.

“But you’re sleeping all day, and not even take turn to drive, come on!” complaint Adma.

Rika stares sharply at her teacher. “‘A business is a job where you are able to make money while napping’ I guess you’re really living up to your words, huh? Teacher?”

“Oh, shut up! I’m paying you guys for the job after all! Just do your work properly, and you will get paid!” replied Gon.

“Anyway, who is Hepaetus?” asked Adma. For some reason, this name reminded him of some kind of deity.

“He is a blacksmith that lived in these mountains,” replied Rika, simple and clear.

“A blacksmith? In the middle of nowhere?”

“Not just any blacksmith. He is known as the best on the island, and his creation even becomes a King’s collection. Years ago he decides to stop creating swords for the military and royals, instead, he went to this mountain that riches in materials and continuing his work, away from people’s eyes,” said Rika.

“Seems like a particular eccentric person though,” commented Adma.

“I never see him face-to-face myself, but the Teacher said they used to communicate through letters. He said that he has many invention ideas, but Hepaetus always turns him down.”

“Not ‘turning me down!’” Gon shout from the back. “He is just being envious of my brilliant ideas! If only I can use the forge and acquire materials in this mountain, then I would be the one that surpasses him!” 

“Teach, all you do is creating the concept, Hepaetus even said that many of the designs are not possible from the engineering perspective.”

“Nonsense! I demand a different opinion!”

A little bit confused, Adma stepped into this teacher-student quarrel. “If you’re always get rejected, why come to meet him now?”

“Of course to showing you to that rock-headed smither!” said Gon, full of confidence.

“...What?” replied Adma, confused because have never heard this plan before.