As he turned the handle, the prompt was automatically accepted. His vision went black. That was not to say that he passed out, or fell asleep. This sensation was different. He was fully awake and aware. In his hand he still held his staff, and over his shoulder he had his satchel. In his other hand, he held the rope with the king in tow. They travelled through this vast blackness together, and Pi’ve could faintly remember the last time he was transported. He had been confused and went with no choice, but now he was travelling willingly, and he knew where he was going.

  CRAASHH!

  Clink. Clink. Clink.

  Pi’ve appeared in Gaudol’s library from where he had been transported all that time ago, in exactly the same place. Except now he had a king in tow, and the sleigh. And not just any king of old, but the king, Oarios the Third. He appeared beside a table where a round globe, which was a map of the underwater city, and a goblet stood. The table had been crushed and the map had crashed to the ground smashing, spilling water all over the floor. It was a soul crushing sound. If Gaudol was here, he would surely know that Pi’ve was here too.

  His face tense and with shoulders raised, Pi’ve slowly turned around to see the damage. Water from the round, water-filled map had entered the lower end of the shelves, surely destroying some of the books. As he turned, he saw a man in glasses with something small and shiny in his hand.

  ’What are you—’ It was Gaudol. He did not seem surprised that Pi’ve was there, but he was apparently surprised by what was laying on the floor beside him.

  ’Oh, is that the jars from the pantry? I apologise.’ Pi’ve said humbly, remembering that he had thrown a couple of jars with crabs in them, breaking them… but that was a long time ago, surely. ’I will make sure I—,’

  ’Wait. Wait now just for a puny moment— I just—’ Gaudol said, looking around as if he had not seen a library before. ’I just saw you in that chair, sleeping with a book on your chest.’ He said, but Pi’ve did not remember ever seating himself in a chair, at least not doing so himself. Then, pointing with the hand holding the shiny object, he said ’I thought “I’ll just have to wait. He needs sleep.” But what in the name of the scales on my fins are you— have you been— What is going on!?’

  What Pi’ve wanted to do, was to tell Gaudol everything. He felt awful, because he had broken Gaudol’s trust when he broke those jars, and he had snooped in the bookshelf which he had been told was forbidden. Then he had been thrust into a strange place where he had learned magic and found a long forgotten king, and to top it all off, fought a Black Upir. He had loot, a king in tow, a staff, robes, all of this he did not have last time he saw Gaudol— He wanted to say this, but one thing had struck him: all this time in the tutorial… it must have been weeks, if not a month— why had Gaudol not asked where he had been all this time?

  ’I want to tell you what has happened, Gaudol—’

  ’You better!’

  ’—But I just wonder… how long was I away?’

  ’Away? Away from where? You have seemingly been sleeping after you smashed that jar in the pantry! I came home fifteen minutes ago, smelled fish or the like and went to check it out. I saw you in that chair, reading some book I do not know, and then I went to check about that smell. I found glass all along the back wall! I was just about to return to my alchemy, to let you sleep some more, when I heard what sounded like an explosion from in here…’ Gaudol said, clearly flustered and agitated. He had obviously seen something he did not expect, and did not know how to process this information. ’Now, you are standing here with a cloak, a staff,’ he was counting fingers in an exaggerated fashion, ’a satchel I have never seen before, a belt, well, clothes which I did not give you. Where did you get that? And what is that,’ He squinted. ’Did you take that from me?’ He did not say it in an accusatory way, but out of overwhelmed confusion. ’And what is that! Who is that? Is he dead?’ Pi’ve saw Gaudol’s mind work on overdrive to process it all.

  Pi’ve had no chance to interrupt the merman as he spoke. And honestly, Pi’ve understood why he was reacting this way. If Gaudol had been in here just a couple of minutes ago, then he would have seen him sitting in that chair with totally different clothes, no staff and certainly no king. Suddenly, Pi’ve had spawned with lots of equipment and his library in a state of complete havoc.

  ’So… I haven’t been away for many weeks?’ Pi’ve said. Surely all that time spent in the tutorial had not been only in his head. It had really happened, he was sure of it. The things he had brought, and what he had learned were proof of that.

  ’No, you have not been away for weeks… I have been away for only a couple of hours, in that time, you moved from my alchemy room to here.’ Then Gaudol let out an extended breath. ’Pi’ve, are you alright? Please tell me what is going on.’ He said, concern coming through at last.

  In that moment, Pi’ve knew from the words and expressions of Gaudol, that he was expressing worry for Pi’ve. He may have been wrong, but that did not change the fact that Pi’ve decided on that interpretation of Gaudol’s words to share just about everything that had happened; how he found the quest, and how after he had learned how to cast light, the quest had changed. Him being chased by beasts outside the cave, and him unlocking it in the nick of time. Escaping the cage trap, and then the beast inside the cave. The struggle of realising that the king was actually Oarios III, and then how he escaped through the cave. He of course left out that he had checked out the forbidden bookshelf, but that did not matter because Gaudol rightly suspected him of doing so, and Pi’ve did not dare say otherwise. Pi’ve waited for even more words from Gaudol and his reaction.

  The sigh of an exhausted mind and a sitting merman later, he finally spoke.

  ’It is hard to believe, Pi’ve, what you are saying. I am not saying that you made it up, or that you have imagined it. I can see plainly that something has happened, but the reality is that I have never heard of this ever happening before…’ He brushed his forehead a couple times, and then said ’and now you have a King to deliver? To Thergiam?’

  ’I have.’ Pi’ve said nodding. He knew it was hard for Gaudol to take this in. In fact, as he was telling the story back, he did not feel like he was telling his own story. The story of Pi’ve, the boy who had always been a sailor. ’It is the final part of the tutorial that I have not finished.’

  Gaudol let out a long breath. ’Let me see the book.’

  ’What book?’

  ’The one you had laying on your chest.’

  ’Oh.’ Pi’ve said. He had unconsciously placed the book in his inventory. He took it out, the book suddenly appearing in his hand. Gaudol jumped.

  ’What did you just do?’ Gaudol said.

  He forgot to mention that the new satchel was magical. ’I found an item that gave me something called an inventory.’

  ’Inventory? You mean inside the satchel?’

  ’Well. When I entered the cave, there was a chest with some potion bottles as I said, and this satchel. It gave me the inventory. It says: The inventory is an artificial spacial room within the system where you may hold items for storage. I can store up to a hundred items in there.’ He had told him about the inspect skill he had, and how it worked. Pi’ve told Gaudol, while Gaudol looked at Pi’ve, understandably with some disbelief.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  Gaudol leaned back in his chair, squinting his eyes. He was probably churning through his thoughts, pondering if this was the most peculiar thing that had happened yet.

  ’And— how many items do you currently hold in there?’ He asked after some time, deciding, presumably, that it was not the most peculiar thing to happen today.

  ’Hmm,’ Pi’ve hummed, and brought up his Inventory. ’Twenty… two. Twenty two. There’s rope, the previous satchel, the kings crown, his pin. Eeh, the armour of the knights, shields and swords.’ Pi’ve explained. ’Curious— a full armour set counts as one item…’

  ’Wait— no. You have armour inside that satchel, do you?’ Gaudol said, the disbelief in his voice became impatient, and without another word said, Pi’ve conjured a whole armour piece from his inventory, and without warning it stood as if a man was inside on Gaudol’s library floor. Gaudol jumped back in fright as if the armour was here to rob him, eat his pickled crabs and then kill him.

  ’Four.’ Pi’ve said, and brought out one more. Then one more, and the last one too. They stood in a half circle, facing Gaudol as he sat there tongue-tied. In that moment, Pi’ve saw that he had gotten no new items as rewards from the tutorial, but remembered that he had a quest to be finished before he received them.

  With wide eyes Gaudol leaned forward in his chair. ’I do not understand this at all.’ He said, but it came out as just a low whisper. Then Pi’ve placed the armour in his inventory again and they vanished one by one in an instant. After Gaudol’s reaction settled and he sat back again in his chair, Pi’ve placed the last item in his inventory and sat back in his chair too.

  ’I don’t know what to say.’ Gaudol said, all doubt being washed away from his face. He knew now that Pi’ve was speaking the truth, but it seemed like that was the hard part to swallow. ’They just appear out of thin air. There is no delay to it, like darkness in a tunnel when the fire is extinguished. It is disturbing to look at, to be honest.’

  ’Isn’t storages like these normal for wizards to have?’

  ’No. I have never seen one. I have, maybe, heard of them, but i may have dismissed them because i did not think them possible.’

  ’Oh...’ Pi’ve said, a newfound respect for the satchel sweeping over him.

  Pi’ve finally handed Gaudol the book he had read which had taken him to the tutorial. Gaudol began to open the book, and within the same second, Pi’ve could see that he struggled not to put it down right away. He read the text on the page, and he did his hardest to turn the next page. There was an internal battle going on inside Gaudol’s mind. He surrendered to its pressure and shut the book with what looked like spontaneous fright. He placed the book hurriedly on the bookshelf closest to him, and had to catch his breath.

  ’I do not know what book that is, but I certainly did not bring it here. It is mysterious to me. Powerful. Harmful, perhaps. How you managed to turn that page is curious. My head was… but you did. And now you tell me this strange tale… Show me.’

  ’Magic?’ Pi’ve said, and Gaudol nodded. Pi’ve rose from his seat and stepped away from the King, and held his staff firm. He told Gaudol to dim the lights, and Gaudol blew out a couple of candles. As he walked through the room, he remembered again that the floor was covered in water as each step splashed. Then, in annoyance, Gaudol did a swipe of his hand and the water slowly seeped into the floor, and it dried up.

  ’I will have to do the books manually.’ Gaudol said and looked at Pi’ve sternly. ’Later.’ Pi’ve looked on in astonishment, and wondered if he could learn that spell. An idea popped into his head. Pi’ve proceeded to do as he was asked, and set his staff alight. He had his mana valve barely open. The light was dim.

  ’I cannot say that I am not impressed, but mostly I am confused. This whole situation is strange. This is very interesting if you have never been able to use magic before— Do you have more? More power?’

  Pi’ve slowly opened his mana valve, and the light began to intensify, and when Gaudol told Pi’ve to stop, the room was so bright that Gaudol had to shade for his eyes. Gaudol tried to speak after that, but for some reason he could not say anything.

  ’I know more. It is called Corporeal manipulation.’ Pi’ve said and Gaudol frowned as the light dimmed. ’I think you know this one.’

  He focused on the glass shard which Gaudol still held in his hand. It took a while to link with it, being a new item and all. Gaudol asked Pi’ve what he was trying to do, but then he linked with the glass. A couple seconds more and his staff was linked with the glass shard too, forming the three-way connection. Then he forced it to move it.

  He lifted the shard, and as soon as Gaudol felt a tug in it, he let go, and he was astonished to see it fly. Not because he could not do it himself, for he could, and much better too. Pi’ve remembered that he had probably used that spell, or some superior version of it on him when he was rescued down from the dome.

  ’Alright. Enough.’ Gaudol said and seemed to enter deep thought. After a while he spoke again. ’Well, it seems to me, that you have managed to become a wizard on your own. Usually— as in every single case I know of— a wizard needs a mentor to learn magic. This is unprecedented…’

  ’A mentor? Ah, yes. I have heard of that. Does every wizard really need a mentor?’ Pi’ve said.

  ’Yes, they do. Of course, when you have learned a spell, you can push for better control and strength in it by yourself, but that is just the mental and physical aspect of it; nothing new is introduced, only practice and mastery on what you already know. When learning something new, that is where the mentor needs to step in.’ Gaudol said, and paused a puny moment. ’When you start a new subject, let’s say botany, you need a teacher that knows more about botany than you do. Or else, there is nothing to learn. You have no information or direction to guide you on your own. That is what a mentor is for wizards; a teacher, the wizard is the pupil. Mentors are always some higher being, with innate magical abilities; beings born with magical capabilities. Elves, mostly.’ Gaudol said. ’But, it seems that you do not need a mentor. You have learned magic all by yourself, by some miracle.’

  ’I did not learn magic by myself. The tutorial guided me. The entity guided me. Without them I wouldn’t have learned anything.’ Pi’ve carefully unfolded his plan. ’Now that I have exited the tutorial—’

  ’You figured out light magic by yourself. That was before you got help with learning— what did you call it? Corporeal manipulation? You even progressed your light magic without help.’ Gaudol said adamantly.

  After a brief pause, Pi’ve thought for a moment. All this talk about needing a mentor, and every wizard having one, made him realise that he too needed a mentor since he was finished with the tutorial. The entity would not be here anymore; he would possibly not get another prompt helping him in any direction. So, having made up his mind, he went straight to sharing his idea.

  ’I want you to be my mentor.’ Pi’ve said, hands clasped together in a praying fashion.

  Gaudol laughed. Then he stopped as he saw that Pi’ve was serious. Then he laughed again. ’No.’ He said. ’I have to think about it— Pffh. You think I can be— Either way, you have a quest to finish, and you have to bring that man to Thergiam. The king, I mean.’ Gaudol said. At seeing Pi’ve squinting his eyes, Gaudol continued ’You must understand that this was never in the cards when I rescued you, and that this has come as a huge shock for me. I am not really fit for being a mentor. And either way, as I said, a mentor is someone with innate magical abilities. I too had a mentor, meaning that I do not have innate magical abilities.’

  ’Oh, so now being a merman is not having innate magical abilities?’ Pi’ve said sarcastically. ’Is there not a possibility that since I have a direct insight into stats and skills and whatever else the Jin gives me, that with some guidance from you, what you lack as a mentor, the system will supplement?’

  Gaudol shrugged and flailed with his arms flustered. ’But, as I said: I will have a think about it. That is at least not a no.’ Gaudol said. ’Surely, I would think, a real mentor will take you on since you are so far taught already.’ Then he paused for a second. ’Hmm…’ He seemed defeated.

  That was Pi’ve’s opening. He saw in Gaudol’s face that something had made him question his position, and that a little push from him now could tip the scale in his favour.

  ’And you would be fine with another mentor taking me? I am right here, you know. Ripe to be plucked from the pupil-tree, ready to be taught.’ Pi’ve said, arms wide open.

  ’Don’t push me.’ He said, and then smiled. ’No, I don’t think I would be fine with that. I did find you, that’s true… And your case, I think, is too peculiar for anyone outside to know…’

  ’If you take me on— Please, Gaudol, do so— then I will not—’

  ’Perk your ears, kid! If you do not speak to anyone of the system, that... Jin... thing, at all! Of your stats, or the fact that you can inspect items and know what they are, or anything of the sort. The satchel and your inventory too— to anyone— then yes, I will be your mentor.’ Gaudol said, smiled, then lost the smile. It seemed to Pi’ve that Gaudol had not thought thoroughly through what being a mentor meant, but Pi’ve had not either. That was something they could find out together.

  A sigh of relief Pi’ve did not know he needed to let go left him. They went silent once more, rocking on their feet. Pi’ve raised his eyebrows at Gaudol. They laughed.

  ’Alright then. Get on with your quest. Get back here when it makes sense. I would guess that even now other wizards will know that you are one, and they will ask questions as they have not seen you before. But, as faith would have it, you now have a name to blame for teaching you; me— even if it is false.’

  ’Thank you, Gaudol. Really.’ Pi’ve said and he picked up the rope attached to the shields carrying the king. ’Now, how do I leave the bottom of the ocean with this guy?’