A Budding Scientist in a Fantasy World

“So what exactly do you want from me?” asked the [Priest of the System]. “To put it bluntly, you don’t seem like a typical believer. It might just be a feeling, but I suspect you might not even be from the Church of the System. Someone from the Church of Mana?” He asked. Before Alice could respond, the man kept speaking. “Also, if I am not mistaken, the person who contacted me and asked me to come here is none other than the Immortal Demor. And the other person who is waiting outside of this room is Immortal Ethan, from Illvaria? To have such illustrious people invite a small [Priest of the System] such as myself is quite odd.” The man’s eyes flickered, and he glanced at Alice.

Alice resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Which ‘small’ [Priest of the System] was over level 75? But she didn’t say anything.

“What’s really going on here?” asked the [Priest of the System].

Alice sighed, trying to figure out how much she should or shouldn’t reveal. It was hard to lie… and at the same time, it was hard to tell the full truth. Alice was still trying to put together a way to resolve the overarching crisis once and for all… but she now had a rough path forward. She wasn’t the same lost, bewildered mage that she had been when the crisis started to unfold. She knew how to replace most parts of the System, and an idea for how to replace the parts she didn’t understand. All she was really  missing was a way to propagate her solution to the rest of the planet, and to make sure the last pieces of her plan worked as intended. If she could do both of those things, and repurpose the Society’s Artifact, she would have finally finished solving the problems caused by the collapse of the System. 

All that would be left was monster swarm cleanup and handling ‘manaborn’ monsters… but without the other major problems weighing down every kingdom and empire on the planet, Alice suspected those wouldn’t be unsolveable problems. The countries of this world weren’t incompetent - they just needed the weirdest and most esoteric problems to stop weighen them down, and they could handle the new ‘danger zones’ of the world on their own.

That also meant that Alice needed to start seriously thinking about what came AFTER this crisis. Especially after seeing the Society’s attempt to create a god, she was firmly aware of how abusable her discoveries were. For example, the fact that beliefs, when mixed with mana, could literally alter the laws of reality… how long would it be until some would-be despot forced people to worship them as a ‘god’ if this fact was widely known? If the history from Earth was anything to go by, such actions were practically an inevitability. And that was just the first thought Alice had about how this information could go horribly, horribly wrong. There were hundreds of other ways this knowledge could be abused to break the world in horrible ways. Alice wanted to make her discoveries known, but she didn’t want the world to break and die as a result. So she needed to keep some information to herself, and a small circle of people she trusted.

On the other hand, Alice didn’t see a good way to get the trust of the [Priest of the System] without some amount of honesty. The man wasn’t actually using any sort of lie-detection Perk, as far as she could tell, but something about his gaze made Alice suspect he wouldn’t fall for an obvious lie, regardless of whether or not he had access to supernatural lie detection. Alice rubbed her forehead, before she sighed.

“The truth is… I’ve learned a few things about the System,” said Alice. “The System has lost several of its abilities, due to the way it interacts with the world at large.”

“Oh?” The [Priest of the System] looked at Alice and raised an eyebrow, signalling for her to continue. His expression was faintly amused, almost as if he were thinking ‘this ought to be good.’ It did very little to inspire Alice’s confidence.

“Yes,” said Alice trying to keep her voice from trembling. “In order to supplement the System’s lacking abilities, I’ve been developing some rings, which tap into the very same root that the System itself is derived from - the natural laws of reality itself.”

The [Priest of the System]’s raised eyebrow shot up his forehead. Alice tried not to sweat.

“Is that really the case, Lady Alice? The laws of reality itself?” said the [Priest of the System]. He sounded skeptical. “I doubt that’s quite how things work behind the scenes. Besides, you seem rather uneasy.” His lips curled into a very faint smile, and Alice sighed.

She decided to go for a bit more honesty.

“Look… I can’t talk about some things. Because there are some incredibly abusable aspects of the world that might literally break and kill everyone if something goes wrong,” said Alice. “The Society of Starry Eyes is an example of how some information should not be known. Despite that fact… I am doing my best to save people, and the System, even if I am withholding some information from you. Please believe me. I am doing my best to keep everyone alive and to restore the System. Regardless of whether I believe it’s a god or not, the fact remains that the System fulfills a vital role for the people of this world. It cannot remain in this state.”

The [Priest of the System] studied her face for nearly a minute, while uneasy silence fell upon the meeting room. The man glanced at her, and rainbow mana flickered through his eyes for a moment. Finally, he nodded, and some of the amusement in his smile died.

“How odd. I actually do believe you. Fine. I will try ‘trusting you,’ even though you are obviously withholding information from me. I will even trust that you are doing so entirely out of goodwill, even though I may come to regret this belief. But be warned - if you try to do something that harms the people of Morendia, I will find a way to make you pay for it, whether you’re protected by an Immortal or not.”

Alice felt the urge to sigh in relief, although she managed to suppress it. Best not to break her image of being polite, after all.

“So what do you need me to do? Be honest with me,” said the [Priest of the System].

“What I need you to do is help me spread a few pieces of… news…” said Alice, after a few minutes. She had almost said ‘beliefs’, but quickly realized that using that word would be a dead giveaway for how beliefs and mana interacted with each other. Astute people might have already figured that out, but she should still make it as hard as possible for them to make connections they shouldn’t make. “I need you to help spread the word that I’m repairing parts of the System using magic. The things that I am doing are a sort of… well, repair job, basically. I also need people to know a bit more about this repair job. First, and most importantly, this repair will allow the System to once again build and repair Classes, meaning that people will no longer face ‘Class-madness.’ While you have a different name for it here, I trust you already know what I mean?”

The [Priest of the System] nodded. “I am aware of what you mean, yes. So the System is what was originally responsible for handling this?” The [Priest of the System] nodded. “Since I myself fell to its effects, and you cured me with your own abilities, I suppose I can’t dispute the fact that you can do that. What else do you want me to spread information about?”

Alice sighed. “Well… I’m also trying to repair the other, miscellaneous parts of the System. Specifically, Achievements and how Attributes work. My ability to repair those things is currently reliant on an Achievement, but I’m making progress on expanding it to become more varied and less limited. I’m also figuring out how to repair ‘mana gems.’ Anyone who understand what that actually means is someone I would like you to let me know about, since I’d like to recruit them to help me if they’re willing,” said Alice. She tried to suppress a tinge of doubt. Alice wasn’t entirely sure how belief mana would interact with something if people had no idea what she was talking about. The mana gems Alice had found inside of people’s brains seemed to be far from common knowledge. Alice just had to hope that even if people didn’t know what she was talking about, people believing that she was fixing it would still provide some benefit to her as she repaired the System.

“Fair enough.” The [Priest of the System] eyed Alice a bit more cautiously, and then he grinned.

“Now for the real question. Why do you need me to spread this information? Especially since it sounds like you don’t have a fully functional repair yet. Spreading information that you’re repairing something without having a finished product seems odd, at least to me.”

Alice actually had a response for that question prepared, thankfully. Ethan had helped coach her on it. It was the same problem many scientific organizations on Earth struggled with, and an eternal need for any sort of productive research to occur.

“I need supplies, funds, and manpower ,” said Alice. “I’m trying to patch up the System, and I’m trying very hard to do so… but I’m just one person, and I have a limited number of people and resources I can work with. I need help. My work will benefit the entire planet once it’s finished, so I’d appreciate it if other parts of the world did their part to help me succeed. Illvaria has a group of [Enchanters] helping me put together more rings, like the one I used to cure your Class Madness… but it would be better if more countries were helping out.”

“Ah, so this is a way of spreading the word, and soliciting funding and recruitment offers?” The [Priest of the System’s] eyes eased slightly, and Alice saw some of the thinly veiled suspicion in the man’s gaze disappear. It seemed that Alice’s reason made enough sense to him that didn’t feel a need to pursue it further - much to Alice’s relief. She wasn’t even strictly lying, since she did need help with enchanters and funds - even if that wasn’t the primary reason she was trying to spread word of her actions. It would have probably skirted by any lie detection Perks - not that the [Priest of the System] had used one.

“Hmm… on account of the fact that you’ve helped me, and that I have decided to extend some trust towards you… I will help you spread the information you want known,” said the [Priest of the System]. “If you need funds, I can also contact a few other smaller churches for some funding, although we’ve spent a lot of what we have trying to help people in these trying times. I’ll also send some letters to some [Enchanters] that I know that might be a good fit. Do you have any magic seed types in particular that you need to prioritize?”

“Pure mana, and open seed slots. There are a few types of mana I have discovered that are useful for helping repair specific problems the System used to manage, but as far as I know, most of them were either unknown or unused before now. So I need people who are willing to spend a seed slot on a potentially weird or useless magic seed. I can help with magic seed formation, since I’m sure people are struggling to do that as well,” said Alice. “The System used to help with magic seed formation, but that also stopped once it started encountering problems.”

The [Priest of the System] looked at Alice thoughtfully, and Alice felt another sliver of worry creep into her mind. Would he learn something about the System that would leave it open for horrendous future abuse? Would Alice indirectly be responsible for the destruction of the world or something, a few hundred years down the line? Alice tried to silence her doubts. She was already committed to this path. If she achieved Immortality, as Ethan suspected she would, she could work to contain the problems her haphazard dash towards a solution had caused. Even if she somehow failed, Alice felt that others would carry on her work. She could hesitate, and she could plan for the future - but she also need a solution now, or the world would die. 

Alice sighed, and glanced at the [Priest of the System]. He looked back at her with an impassive face. “Very well. I will put you trust in you this once, Illvarian girl. Is there anything else you needed me to convey?” He asked.

“No, this was everything I was hoping to get out of this meeting,” said Alice. 

The [Priest of the System nodded], and his expression contained an unexpected trace of amusement. “In truth, when I came here, I am not quite sure what I was thinking. The… ahem…. ‘Class Madness’, as you call it, certainly had quite the impact on my mental faculties. As much as I am unnerved by your presence in Morendia, as well as some of the implications of your actions… I do admit, it seems as though you are trying your best. I appreciate that, at least.”

The two shook hands, before the [Priest of the System] left. Alice met with a few other [Priests of the System], afterwards, and used the same ring to cure any mental disruption caused by their class mana. Once Alice showed undeniable proof of her abilities, backed by Ethan’s influence and Demor’s reputation in his home country, most of the [Priests of the System] agreed to work with Alice. At this point, Alice was more relieved by the fact that it was easy to secure cooperation from local forces… but she was also more than a bit worried. People tended to be more willing to overlook minor issues when real crises unfolded in front of them, because they recognized how inherently dire the situation was. It was a good thing that people were cooperating with her… but what did that mean for the world as a whole?

Alice sighed, and tried not to think about it as she met with priest after priest. Eventually, night fell, and the endless array of meetings finally drew to a close, allowing Alice to sleep for the night.