Chapter 39

  For a moment, as we traveled through Silver Springs, a part of me felt like I’d been living a dream, and was somehow back on Earth. The city felt… normal. Being surrounded by buildings, by the hustle and bustle of people, the sounds of city life, to a degree, felt familiar. And yet, in the same instance, there were too many differences to go unnoticed. After all, the air was far too fresh and crisp to be part of any city back home. And, well, it was pretty difficult to imagine I was back on Earth with every few feet we were passed by some sort of strange Mun.

  The various creatures rode atop their Tamers’ shoulders, or flew over their heads, or trotted happily alongside their Tamers. Some Tamers road their Mun, opting for their companions to act as transportation, rather than the motorized, self-propelled variety of transportation Silver Springs had to offer. Up above, more than a few Tamers flew, riding atop their Muns, which disappeared atop different buildings. Guy mentioned the city had strict rules about the size of Muns you could have moving about the streets with you, and those large enough to carry their Tamers in the air, were often limited to specialized landing spaces set up for them.

  Immediately, upon seeing Tamers riding through the air atop their Muns, I was envisioning such a thing. My Gearow had evolved into a Graven, and was now as large as an eagle, maybe? I’d never actually stood by an eagle in person, but based on what I’d seen online, the size felt similar. However, there was no way it would be able to carry me on its back. Would it evolve again? Was there a third evolution for my Graven, or my other Muns, for that case? I’d been too caught up in my excitement over my Glimmer-ish, and my eagerness to reach Silver Springs, to spend looking up its information.

  That was, after all, a task I could do here, in Silver Springs. And as we neared the Mun Center, beneath the massive, floating Guardian Crystal, I could feel my excitement swelling even more. Just as Guy had claimed, the Mun Center was nuzzled directly below the floating crystal, the center of the very city, and, smack dab in the middle of the not so small Silver Spring. It was definitely a river, not a spring. Whoever had named it Silver Spring, had been lying to themselves.

  The building was rectangular, reaching across to sit on both sides of the bank, with structures extending below into the river, holding the Mun Center tight, even as the raging waters bubbled and swirled around the posts. There were two water wheels, on either side of the building, that spun rapidly thanks to the river’s flowing current, and I could hear the distinct buzz of electricity being generated. The building, as we neared it, reminded me in some ways, of a Frank Lloyd Wright building meshed together with… a power plant? Was it providing power to the city? What was the purpose of the spinning wheels?

  I realized in that moment that I really didn’t know how power worked in this world. The crystals generated power to some degree, and the world itself had an ambient power source, obviously, that could be pushed outwards by the massive crystals like the Mun Center Crystal of Cogni, and now the Guardian Crystal. But, like, was there a set, maximum output? And after that point, did they need to generate electricity, or power, whatever they called it, in other, more mundane ways? These were questions that I promptly decided weren’t worth my time pondering.

  Upon entering the Mun Center of Silver Springs, it was immediately evident there were a few more differences here from the Mun Center of Cogni. Sheer size difference alone, the crystal within this Mun Center, which pierced through the floor, a glass walkway around it allowing one to see the crystal literally was growing from the river itself, also stretched skyward, sending a pulse of barely visible energy, like a beacon, further skyward. The Guardian Crystal, if I had to guess, was held aloft by that energy, like some perfectly stabilized piece of metal in a magnetic field.

  All around the crystal, dozens of people had their hands placed against it, using the services of the Mun Center. The building was three stories tall, and as large, it felt, as a football field. There were shops within, behind which shopkeepers of very distinct styles waited. Each shop had its own sign, and showed services ranging from clothing sales, to Mun Trades, Appraisals, Counseling services, which made me raise an eyebrow, and many others. Things I would likely investigate later. Right now, I just needed to heal my Muns, check over the entry for my new Glimmer-Ish and my Graven, and then head off to the Keeper.

  “I’ll be right over there,” Guy said, drawing me from my pondering as he pointed to a shop in the room. Behind the counter, was a Traveling Guy, impossible to miss due to the moustache and mullet. The shop counter he stood behind read Information Guy. Because of course it did.

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  “Sounds good,” I said as I tried not to shake my head at the name. Guy offered me a smile and hurried over, no doubt eager to spread all the information I’d been giving him to the other Guys, so they could do whatever it was they intended to with it to maximize their profits and services.

  With no further distractions, well, none strong enough to pull me from my task at hand, I placed my gauntlet against the massive crystal. On contact my flesh tingled, the gauntlet thrumming with power, as I felt my mind connect with the crystal, and the power, the knowledge, of the world. That’s what it was doing, I figured, it was giving me a small glimpse into the vast base of information held within the world, like opening a folder on a computer, preparing to browse. Only, my access was that of a mere, lowly user. I didn’t have administrator rights, and I wondered if my mind would be able to process the information overload that no doubt would assault me, if I did.

  As before, the Mun Center Actions immediately pulled up in my vision. First, I selected Heal Muns, bringing all the Mun in my possession, even the ones I’d stored in my item pouch, back to full life. From there, doing my best to ignore the other options that called to me, especially since I had to defeat the Keeper before I could play with augmentation stones, I selected Inspect Muns. My party of six appeared immediately.

  Cogberus – lvl 20

  HP – 150

  Springer – Lvl 20

  HP – 89

  Graven – Lvl 19

  HP – 78

  Calfer – Lvl 20

  HP – 101

  Pride Cub – Lvl 19

  HP – 97

  Gembra Foal – Lvl 19

  HP – 82

  I selected my Graven first, curious to see what it’s newest entry for its description read, since it had evolved from its Gearow form.

  Graven – Gearanteed Murderer – Never more shall the poor Gearow have to worry about its purpose in life. Gone are the days of flitting around from branch to branch, scavenging bits and pieces of food from the melted bits of slain Springers and Calfers. Whereas the Gearo relies heavily on Calfers and the other Muns of its environment to create food for it, Graven’s are powerfully built and capable. Known to hunt in packs, known as Murders, these dark winged wonders use the sharpened, metallic feathers of their large wings as projectiles capable of pinning their prey in place, allowing them to successfully hunt down and feast upon the smaller Mun of their area. A murder of Graven can easily overcome a Calfer, and when the skies are filled with the dark wings of Graven, it means certain doom for any Gear Pups or Springers who call the area home.

  I’d of course seen the wing attack in action when battling the cultists, but I wasn’t sure how I felt about the description implying Graven’s in the wild used those skills to pin down Gear Pups. Then again, it reminded me that Mutopia did have its own, strange though it may be, working ecosystem in a way, and that the Muns ‘lived’ and carried out daily activities in a similar manner to animals back home… if, uh, a bit more violently. Though…considering they all regenerated as well… was it really morbid?

  Not wanting to ponder morality in a world where humans actively were gaining control of super powered monsters and battling them against one another, I closed out of the prompt, and checked out my Glimmer-Ish. Guy had told me the golden fish, which I’d assumed at first was an abnormal Mun, was different from the Shimmer-Ish. But, I wanted to see what the description said about the fish, and how it differed from its silver companion.

  Glimmer-Ish – Gleaming Catch – The Glimmer-Ish is a fisherman’s wet dream. Whereas Shimmer-Ish are shiny fish, Glimmer-Ish are… super shiny fish. Especially rare, taking on only the unique properties of the tiny deposits of gold within its environment, Glimmer-Ish are, well, worth their weight in gold. And, while their bodies are softer than that of their companions, they are no less reflective, and additionally, become more malleable over time as they grow. It is said, if one can hold off their greed, and resist selling a Glimmer-Ish, that it can evolve into something truly… shiny.

  Vague, unhelpful, and more than anything, ridiculously tantalizing. The description essentially just told me that the damned fish would sell for a good amount of Muney, but that… if I put in the effort to level it up, then, potentially, it would become something… what? The hell was shiny as a descriptor for an evolutionary path? Furthermore… there was another big difference about the Glimmer-Ish, and the Shimmer-Ish. The Silver versions, had a nice bit of HP. They were tanky, and had attacks that could decrease accuracy, as I’d learned during my battle against the cultists. The Glimmer-Ish I’d gotten my hands on… which was level 1… had 1 HP. The thing was certain to die if a strong breeze flew through a battlefield. The thought of actively having it out on the battlefield, to level up, for who knew how many levels… was not ideal.

  Though… I already knew in my heart, I was going to do just that. After all, much as the thought of easy Muney cheered me up, I figured I could make up the value of the Glimmer-Ish by selling off the literal handfuls of Mun Crystals I’d acquire during the damned leveling process of the thing. Once, that was, I was back to leveling Muns.

  Which, I thought as I closed out of my prompts, and removed my hand from the crystal, was right about now.