Chapter 56 - Back

"If, for instance, the reason why I was able to come here in the first place was because of a threat to my life, then I suppose that I can just do that again to go back here!" Gem exclaimed with an emphasized hand gesture to herself on the screen reflecting her face in the new Stat-hut interface.

"But I need to confirm that first. If threat was not the answer, then I guess I would regret going out of this place rashly. I would lose my only chance of being able to upgrade these pesky level zero skills with these tasks! And heck! I'm not even sure if doing these tasks outside of Solitude would even count!"

"I have a lot of questions yet none of you two could answer them… gaah, how pathetic!"

[I am sorry master.] Mr. Gemini's voice was clear despite the thickening fog of calming mist that seemed to work on Gem but only to an extent where she could still be annoyed.

Gem had been going about these concerns for an hour already and even managed to continue doing the physical exercises that were supposed to be the requirement for Solitude and Liquity's level ups but there was another problem.

It said daily tasks, which meant she needed to do them for a certain amount of days- that were not even stated until when. 

Time inside Solitude runs the same way as the real world's time.. So if she were to assume that her tasks would take a month to complete, she was sure Venedette and the others wouldn't like it very much. Plus she had important classes to attend in the real world aside from leveling up these skills. So she really had no choice but to go back.

Good thing the calming mist was helping her think clearly amidst the pressure of being alone in this wide space of emptiness.

So in summary, Gem had two choices in hand. One was to go back to the real world, which apparently, she could do willingly. But in doing so, there was no guarantee of return nor task completion from the outside world regarding the requirements for level up. So if she couldn't level up her skills by the end of her daily tasks, she might need to face death again- if death was the reason why she was able to go to Solitude in the first place just like the last time.

Or she could stay in Solitude until she finishes all the tasks for at least a month… without food, communication, or the beautiful day and night skies. 

Just the white walls, Stat-hut's new interface, her healing slimes, and nothing else.

[Would you like to stay in Solitude for a little bit more, Master?] Mr. Gemini asked again after exactly an hour of him asking that same question before.

But unlike an hour ago, Gem seemed to have come to a conclusion this time. She took a clue from Mr. Gemini's cyclic alarms, making her decision also based on her and her companion's sanity in the real world.

She was willing to take the benefit of the doubt just to make the people she left behind in the real world feel secure. They were also the reason why she wanted to upgrade these level zero skills anyway. 

She was well aware of Venedette's trauma with what happened to Demi, so why would she leave her without notice? She promised to repay her kindness and not run away from them.

And although she was not actually running away from her promises, leaving without notice would make her look exactly like that.

So she had to go back. 

She had a lot of questions to be answered from the outside, and if things didn't work out, she still had her physical strengths to rely on. And the keys to the Salamandite's locked book and storages.

There were a lot of possible solutions for her problems in the outside world, unlike here where her two assistants could not even answer a simple question regarding her powers.

"Yes please, take me back," she said reluctantly and started dispersing slowly within the thin air immediately right after Mr. Gemini's response.

[Affirmative, Master.]

***

"BOMB!" Lei shouted abruptly following the mist smoke that he mistook for another one of his smoke grenade toys. 

But unlike a real smoke whose fog was dry and more opaque, this bomb felt cool against their skin. It was damp like mist and the smell was somewhat similar to a sweetened ice cube. 

"This smells too good to be a bomb." everyone thought in their minds.

They were enticed by the refreshing feelings being brought to them by the sudden air gush.

And Lei had no knowledge of such a bomb being made within his kind, so he calmed down naturally, but unbeknownst to them, it was the effects of the calming mist from Mr. Gemini all along.

The fog was stronger in size and substance than a mere smoke grenade. It had a pleasant smell that would clear anyone's minds from doubts and strong feelings including Venedette's wrath to her mother and the Queen's annoyance to her righteousness.

It managed to leak from Solitude dimension when Gem went back to the real world. But instead of the energetic Gem that everyone was expecting, Gem flopped down to her bed without being noticed because of the thick calming mist clouding their vision out of each other.

It was the muscle cramps and exhaustion that made Gem flop down on her bed immediately after leaving Solitude. She was too preoccupied with the pressure of making an immediate decision for her life earlier which caused a delay to all her painful senses, but when she finally had her rest, it was when everything bad kicked into her thin muscles.

She did not realize the dangerous thing that she did to her body when she decided to jump into such an extensive routine without proper warm-ups and practice all in one go.

Perhaps, she was too young to experience all of this. But on the bright side, she was able to enjoy the training slightly, despite the bad services she encountered within the broken records and them non-accomodating systems, she was still able to fill her hopes up of finally being helpful to Venedette and Fily's research about Salamandites and their hidden powers.