Chapter 53

  There was general cheering and clapping from the very empty stands as the battle commenced. As expected, my Cogberus made short work of Julius’s team, leaving absolutely no one surprised. Honestly, it had almost felt too easy, but I knew that was partially because the world itself encouraged growth up to at least Tier 3 for gauntlets, and mostly because I was using a Mun that was unique and much stronger than was fair for a level 20 Mun.

  Videogame wise, I had a feeling this was just finally passing the tutorial, with Tier 2 and Tier 3 being the beginning stages, and likely my Tier 4 Gauntlet attempt being the first actual ‘skill check’ or ‘wall’ that I may come up against. But… that was video game logic, and this, weirdly enough, was real life for me now, in a real world, and I had no idea what would actually happen.

  “Well now that that’s over,” Julius smiled as I unsummoned my Muns, “and I’ve suffered my second loss of the day,” he winked at me. I smiled as he neared me, my neck leaning further and further back to keep looking into his eyes. An impossible task, once he was before me, forcing me to look at the old man’s chest as he held out his gauntlet, “it is officially time for you to take your first true step as a Tamer, and Tier your gauntlet up.”

  Just as he had with Mikael, he had his hand out, palm up. I placed my gauntlet atop his, a warmth flowing between his gauntlet and mine. A prompt appeared above my Gauntlet.

  Begin Tier up?

  Y/N?

  I selected yes, and Julius’s gauntlet erupted in light, which climbed onto my gauntlet, swirling around it, crawling all over it. My skin prickled and tingled as the warm power surged all around. I was torn between wondering if my hand had been plunged into a hot tub, or maybe, digging through hot sand at the beach. It was an impossible sensation to pinpoint, but as the light swirled around my gauntlet, a few things, not visually, changed.

  First, I felt the connection between my gauntlet and mind strengthen. As if a part of code had been unlocked, a general understanding brushed against my mind, allowing me to know I could now tame Muns up to level 30. I could also now use the first two stone slots on my gauntlet, denoted not only by the new know how, but a special glow I could see on my pink and ring finger slots. The glow was mild, but noticeable, though in a manner I knew only I could see, and the words “empty” hovered above them. The other slots were unaffected, and I couldn’t focus on them or pull up any information on them. A further show that the world’s system was indeed slowly unlocking features, and the Keepers were the keys.

  At least it’s not a battle pass. I thought with a laugh. Julius pulled his gauntlet away from mine as the light faded, and I flexed my hand. I couldn’t wait to put augmenting stones into my gauntlet. A trip back to the Mun Center was definitely in order, since I knew I could buy Augmenting stones, as well as potentially create augmentation crystals. Something that obviously needed to be investigated, sooner rather than later.

  Though, of course, before then, I’d promised to talk with Julius, and I was curious to learn more about the world, and pick his brain regarding not only Cogberus, but any other specific tidbits that may be helpful. Such as, where to go from here. And, possible evolution routes of my Shimmer-ish and Glimmer-ish, and what factors would effect those evolution paths. As far as experts went, the Keeper of Silver Springs probably knew the Muns around his town better than anyone alive.

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  “Congratulations Taylor,” Julius’s voice was kind, like a grandparent doting on a grandchild. “All things considered, while the battle may have been one sided, I can already tell you’ve got the makings of a great Tamer about you.”

  I snorted. “I think it was impossible for me to lose that battle.”

  His lips curled upwards. “You’re not wrong, but the fact you have a Cogberus is telling.” He looked around the stands, everyone except for Guy had left. “The fact Guy has taken an interest in you is another factor. And, of course,” his voice was soft, “you’re existence as a Traveler no doubt helps as well.”

  I stiffened again at that last part, uncertain if I should feel threatened or not. I was getting whiplash over if being a Traveler was a good thing, or a bad thing. Whether I should tell people, or not.

  “No need to panic,” Julius said, noting my discomfort, “you may be surprised to know, but you aren’t the first Traveler I’ve encountered.” That did little to help me relax, though it did perk my interest.

  “You have?”

  “Indeed. Just yesterday, actually, a Traveler came into town to take his Tier 2 challenge. He’s been here about a month he claimed.” Julius grinned, “he was definitely eager and enthusiastic, though… his Mun choices were… questionable.”

  “Are you going to elaborate?” I asked. I knew Guy had mentioned there were other Travelers. But this meant there was a Traveler here, or at least, within a day of Silver Springs. Was he from my world? Or a different one? Were all the Traveler’s from Earth? And if so, were they all from the US, or different countries? The Mayor of Cogni had said there were efforts all over Mutopia to summon Travelers, and it had been implied there were, what, hundreds of us? Thousands? It was part of why I had zero regrets over deciding not to let them pressure me into becoming their savior. That was not a job for me. I didn’t want that kind of weight on my shoulders, ever. I had enough trouble taking care of myself, thank you very much. Screw saving the world.

  “No,” he laughed, “just as I won’t divulge information about you, I won’t share anything too telling about any other Traveler’s I’ve encountered. As a Keeper, it’s my job to be absolutely neutral in all things, and I am very respectful towards ever Tamer I face.” My excitement faded, “though, I’ve a feeling you may run into him, if you head North from here.”

  “What makes you say that?” I asked, my curiosity getting the best of me. He shrugged.

  “Just a hunch.”

  A hunch my ass.

  “Alright,” I looked at Guy, who was still waiting patiently. Did I have other questions, certainly. Was I eager to go mess around with augmenting stones, most definitely. Did I have a destination in mind? Yeah. Whatever was to the north of here, which I figured Guy would be able to tell me about…

  My thoughts trailed off. Would Guy leave me? Was I back to travelling by myself, once I left Silver Springs? As short as my time had been with him, I’d weirdly gotten very used to having Guy by my side, acting as my personal guide to Mutopia. What would it be like to travel alone again?

  I shook my head, pushing those thoughts aside. They were for later Taylor. Right now, I had Gauntlet Tier 1 shenanigans to investigate.

  “Guess, unless you have anything else super helpful or interesting,” I began, looking at Julius, “I’ve just got a few more questions to ask, and then, I suppose, I’ll be on my way?”

  “Ask away,” he said cheerily, “the rest of my day is open, and I’m always happy to help new Tamers.”

  “Alright then, I’ll ask until either all my questions are answered, or my mind can’t hold any new thoughts.” And I did just that.