Chapter 38 Companion
"This is not good. Not good at all." Alex muttered to himself as he and Alina felt the powerful presence getting nearer at their location.
"What should we do?" This was the first time that Alex saw Alina being this unsure, and Alex could understand why.
"I think we just have to wing it." Alex replied quickly as he glared at Asteria with the corner of his eyes.
"Boo…" Asteria pouted as she knew what Alex"s look meant. "Ok, I will help you, since I will die if you die!" Asteria then flew from Alina"s shoulder towards Alex"s, somewhat reluctantly.
"Its too late for us to leave now." Alina suddenly said with clenched fists. "Lord Ergo has arrived already."
"I can see that perfectly well too." With his danger sense, Alex felt that the whole building was now extremely dangerous. This was not like this earlier, so Alex knew that this danger came from Lord Ergo himself.
"…" As he realized that he was in dire straits right now, Alex knew that he must do desperate measures if he wanted to survive.
And if Alex had to expose Asteria"s existence to Alina, then he will gladly do so.
"Oi Asteria, Alex whispered as he stared at Asteria. "Is it possible for you to show yourself to Alina? I think we will have a better chance of succeeding if she sees you."
"What?" Asteria looked surprised as she stared at Alex warily. "Why do you want to do that?"
"Well…." Alex tried to lower his voice a little more as he replied,
"Maybe Alina can be our ally you know…"
"Oh, well you do not need to worry about that." Asteria then looked at Alina"s direction as she shouted,
"Oi Alina, it seems like Alex wants to officially partner up with you. We can end this farce already."
"Oh really?" To Alex"s surprise, Alina actually replied to Asteria! "Now I can talk to you freely without Alex suspecting a thing."
"Wait, what?" Alex"s mind was drawing blanks as he saw the entire situation. "How, how could this be happening?"
"Alina could see me since the first time that I appeared in front of her." Asteria said as she plopped on Alina"s lap. Alina then proceeded to pat Asteria"s head as Asteria continued on talking.
"When I realized that Alina could see me, I realized that I can make her my secret ally or something like that. Remember when you accused me on peeping when Alina goes to the bathroom? I only go there because that"s the only place that we can really talk freely."
"Are you sure about that? Because I can feel that you are sometimes checking me out in the bathroom, especially when I am taking a bath." Alina interjected out of nowhere. "Since I like you as my pet, I tried to not get bothered with it. But it seems like you are not happy getting called out on it."
"Huh. I did not see that coming." That was the only thing that Alex could say before he saw Asteria trembling out of embarra.s.sment and shame.
Seeing the chemistry between the two women, Alex realized that they were telling the truth.
With little time left for them, Alex just accepted what he heard as there is no choice for him right now but to just believe them.
"Wait, why are we talking about this!" Asteria said as she shook her head angrily. "We are here to discuss about a way to save both of your a.s.ses! And mind you, Alina has one fine a-"
"I"d rather not listen more to more of your perverted talks." Alex winced, realizing that Asteria actually had something like this on her personality. "So, you said there is a way for you to help us?"
"Yesh, there ish." Asteria mumbled out in reply, as her cheeks were being pinched by Alina, who looked quite unhappy with the small blonde. "However, I am not shure if Alina will agree to thish."
"Why not?" Alina said as she freed Asteria from her cheek pinch. "Is it something that will be dangerous for me?"
"h.e.l.l yes, it will be dangerous for you." Asteria said as she rubbed her swollen cheeks. "But I am sure that if you agree, you will have your problems solved."
"…." At this point, Alina suddenly turned solemn as she seemed to be thinking deeply.
After 10 seconds of silence, Alina let out a sigh as she said,
"If I agree to whatever you are planning, will I be able to save my sister?"
"There is a 100% chance that you will save her if you will agree to my request." Asteria replied smugly as she puffed out her chest. "You can see that I am telling the truth, right?"
"… Yes, you are not lying at all." Alina replied, sounding somewhat displeased with Asteria"s att.i.tude. "But there is a catch, right?"
"Yes, there is a catch." Asteria replied as she tilted her head. It looked cute, but the words that she said in this pose certainly was not cute.
"Once you agree to my request, you will have a high chance of saving your sister. But once your sister is saved, you will be forced to leave your sister for a very, very, long time. As for when you can return, it will be only up to luck and your skills."
"Hold on…" From the words that Asteria said, Alex was able to faintly deduce what Asteria was leading on. "Are you telling me that we should turn Alina into a Traveler?"
"Of course not! Do you think I am an idiot?" Asteria seems to be offended by what Alex said as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. "If we do that, Alina will be forced to leave this place right now, which just beats the purpose of our goal. Besides, you do not even have enough lifespan to do it, so even if you want to turn Alina into a Traveler, it will be pretty impossible for you."
"Then what is your plan?" Alex replied as he crossed his arms too. "Be sure that it will be good!"
"Of course it will be!" Asteria giggled as she sent Alex and Alina one dazzling smile.
Asteria then floated in the air as she asked Alex a question.
"Alex, let me ask you something. What do you call a person who accompanies another person?"
Alex was not sure where Asteria was going on with this, but he decided to play along with her.
"That person will be called a companion, right?"
"Exactly." Asteria"s white teeh glinted as she looked at Alex smugly. "A C ompanion."
Alex did not miss Asteria"s word emphasis, which she made pretty obvious. So, that means…"
"A Traveler cannot just always travel alone." Asteria said, interrupting the words that Alex was about to say. "Sure, a Traveler will have a Guide with him, but the role of the Guide is to guide the traveler. A Traveler will also need someone joining him on his journey. And this someone will be called…"
"A Companion." Alex finished Asteria"s words for him, and he was surprised that the word felt somewhat pleasant to his tongue. "So, you are going to turn Alina as my Companion? Care to explain more about that?"
"Gladly." Asteria replied with another smug grin.
"....."
***************
"Now, it might sound like the Companion is a fairy loose concept, but let me explain it to you quickly."
Alex, Asteria, and Alina all knew that they are under limited time now so Asteria decided to use one of her unique Fairy Magic to impart information to Alex and Alina.
Asteria"s magic skills might be lacking in the offensive and defensive aspects, but it is efficient on stealth and information gathering.
"!!!" Both Alex and Alina felt slight throbbing on their heads as they felt information flowing inside their minds.
With both of their brain capacities improved by becoming Espers, both Alina and Alex were able to withstand the flow of new information.
"So that is how it is huh." Alex muttered as he mused on the information given to him. "It is actually really simple."
According to Asteria, a real Traveler cannot just travel alone. A Traveler must have a group with him to travel, and this group will be real Travel Group.
According to Asteria, a Travel Group will be composed on 3 types of people.
The Traveler, who will serve as the one travelling between worlds and performing missions there.
The Guide, whose goal is to guide the Traveler and purchase items and abilities from the Endless Monarch.
And finally the Companion, whose goal was to join and a.s.sist the Traveler personally on the missions.
In terms of the benefits received, the Traveler and the Companion were just the same.
The Companion"s body will also be rebuilt to accommodate all types of techniques and abilities. The Companion can also buy items and abilities from the Endlesss Monarch too.
But that is only here where the similarity lies.
In terms of lifespan, the lifespan of a Companion is safe from the Endless Monarch, as it will not be manipulated or tampered by the Endless Monarch in any means.
And unlike the Traveler, whose lifespan was used to purchase items and abilities, a Companion uses a different currency for purchase.
This currency is referred to as the Contribution Points.
Contribution Points will only be obtained by the Companion if he/she contributes or helps the Traveler in any way that will be beneficial for the Traveler.
The more that the Companion a.s.sists the Traveler, the more Contribution Points the Companion will get.
This Contributions Points can then be used by the Companion to purchase Items and Abilities, and if needed, extra lifespan too.
When Alex reached this point, he felt somewhat jealous of the companions, as he thought that they had it easy.
But when Alex continued on going through the information given to him, he realized that he was mistaken.
Excluding natural and man-made reasons, there are 2 ways that a Companion can die.
First is by not helping the Traveler at all.
A Companion"s goal is to a.s.sist and help the Traveler. IF the Companion does not do any of this at the duration of the mission, then this Companion will be instantly killed.
Second is when the Traveler dies.
Once a Companion decides to accompany the Traveler, it will be a lifetime choice. If the Traveler dies, then the Companion will also accompany the Traveler until death.
"Wait, now that I see it, it seems like this Traveler-Companion thingy is only meant for couples." Alex thought to himself as he realized that large amounts of trust must exist between the Traveler and his/her Companion if they want to co-exist harmoniously.
Of course Alex did not say his thought out loud, as it will just make the whole situation more awkward.
After scouring more information, Alex also saw the way to become a Companion.
It was actually just simple.
If a Traveler and a Guide sees someone with a good potential to be a Companion, then they will offer it a chance to become a Companion. If that person disagrees, then the deal will be off. Of course, this person"s memory will be wiped away by the Endless Monarch to prevent complications.
"So, what do you two think? Being a Companion is the best choice for Alina now, right?" Asteria said as she looked at the two triumphantly.
"Well…" Both Alina and Alex looked indecisive, as they struggled to say something.
"Oh come on Alex…" Asteria pouted as she saw Alex"s hesitation. "If Alina becomes your Companion, you will receive some bonus gifts that you will surely like! The same thing goes to Alina too! If you become Alex"s Companion, you will also receive some bonus gifts that you will like!"
"Maybe its just me, but you sound like those people that sell stuff in midnight shows." Alex said as he winced from some of his memories. "You just sound the same as them. Cringy, pushy and relentless. No wonder you became my Guide."
"...…."