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Chapter 93

The world spun around us, but the most disorientating part was that as soon as I returned to my other body, our memories collided spectacularly, I split my consciousness into two, and then spent a substantial amount of time apart. Both bodies had substantially different experiences, and we were only able to communicate as if we were two different individuals. However, even that connection was cut off. For one of us, it was only a few days, but for the other, it had been more than a week. The result was that I was stunned, incapable of moving as my mind tried to sort conflicting memories, such as being on both sides of a conversation.

Thankfully, one side had gracefully few experiences. Ever since promptly warning Mara not to expose my presence, I had remained in hiding. I watched as Erika’s brother Tyler nearly had a mental breakdown. Although he had been extremely emotional, he had acted stoically in front of Mara and treated her exceptionally well. His behavior was probably better than when Erika was present. He was treating Mara almost like his last connection to his sister.

He had protected her throughout the entire trip, and while Mara wasn’t evolved, she had managed to keep up with the knight and the boy. Although Mara was reluctant, I had her abandon the cart. Of course, I made sure to hide it, even encapsulating the entire thing before hiding it. To break my barrier, someone would have a comparable amount of strength to blast through my defense which was already some number beyond the trillions. Even a dragon would struggle to break into such a high defense, unless it could manipulate the laws of space and time, like those spatial rifts inside the subspace.

I had to remember that every strength had a weakness, and in this world, even unimaginable stats didn’t make me invincible. If I were tossed into the sun, I would probably burn to death and vaporize as quickly as any human. Strength was only relative to your station in life, just like in any world. After my world was spun around several times, I finally started to get a grip on reality once again.

I could feel my other self lingering nearby, but it no longer was a separate consciousness, I was controlling both parts and all I had to do was bring them physically back together. This would also bring my status back to the original amount. The world around me finally stopped spinning and I was capable of hearing sounds again, although they started distant and distorted.

I knew that I was in a room. After abandoning the cart, the three had ridden hard to make it to the city of Stormberg. As they grew ever closer, my other half had attempted to contact me over and over but found himself unable. Ultimately, he decided to leave it up to Tyler’s contacts. No sooner had they reached the city than Tyler raced to a certain mansion.

They had to wait several hours, but eventually, he was allowed in, while Mara was left outside with the Knight. I remained behind to protect her as well. There appeared to be some barrier around the mansion which prevented my senses from penetrating it. I could force it, but that would have ended up being detected. Ultimately, it hadn’t been a big deal. From the moment I entered the Schrodinger’s box, I had prepared to lose half my body. The true goal had been to reach Stormberg with Mara, which I had accomplished without issue.

The only reason we lingered was because I was curious about what Tyler’s contact could do, and Mara was also still very worried about Erika. Furthermore, Tyler had ordered the other knight to protect Mara, and it would have been problematic if I suddenly showed my face and tried to take her when I was supposed to still be in Shrodinger’s box. Thankfully, he had only entered the mansion a few hours ago. In the end, he hadn’t done anything though. We had managed to escape on our own. It was simply that the timing brought us here.

I was in a rather decadent room.  Standing around me were Tyler, two guardsmen, and a woman. The woman was older, but also rather beautiful. She had silky black hair and her body was covered in a rather crude yet revealing top and bottom. She also wore countless jewelry, most of it made of bone. The only person I didn’t see was Erika, which caused me to frown.

“Mmm! Mm…” I felt someone moaning under me.

I looked down to see myself on top of Erika. Our faces were rather close to each other. Her eyes fluttered open, and then our eyes met.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

Her cheeks turned red. “I-I am…”

“Y-you… get off my sister!” Tyler cried out, pointing to me accusingly.

I coughed, rolling off Erika and getting to my feet. Erika, upon hearing her brother, moved just as quickly, jumping to her feet and taking a few steps away from me like a child caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

“Sister, are you okay?” he asked the same thing I just had, and realizing that, shot me a glare, before stepping forward, putting his body slightly between me and his sister.

“I-I’m fine.” She responded, looking over at me and then lowering her head shyly.

I wouldn’t be a playboy if I didn’t know I had left a good impression on her. If I wanted to, I probably could get her to sleep with me with only a few more days of prodding. First, I’d ask her out. She would agree, and once I showed her a good time, I’d kiss her, but make it seem like I had done it from excitement, not lust, and then immediately apologize and leave like gentlemen. At that point, distance would only make her want me more. I’d ghost her for two weeks, while she continued to think about me more and more. At first, it would be fondness, but then she’d slowly come to curse my name, thinking I had been playing her. That was until I appeared again suddenly in her life, and she would be so grateful she’d pretty much give it all up.

Of course, this ended all of the interactions we had with each other, so it was likely I’d never seduce her, not that I had planned to. She would think of me fondly, but without that kiss, her memories of me would quickly fade, and within six months I’d just be a dim memory. That was probably for the best. It was clear we came from two different worlds. Not only was she Mara’s friend, but throughout my time in the trial, I had come to like her personality a bit. I liked her enough not to seduce her. It wasn’t much, but for someone like me, it would have to be.

“I have successfully retrieved them. As for my fee, I will take what we agreed on. The Schrodinger’s box… as well as 50,000 kilojoules.”

“The box… no!” Erika grabbed her brother’s arm in alarm. “The box is dangerous! It must be destroyed.”

I understood her concern immediately. Lord Maxwell may have been ejected from the trial, but he could still be in that subspace. He was far more knowledgeable about subspace travel than us. He already knew where we came from, so it was possible that he could trace back the portal and even return through it, or pinpoint exactly where we were. As long as the box existed, it created a pathway between us and Lord Maxwell which could theoretically be passed in a moment. She could be pretty clever when she wanted to be.

“Sister, this was part of the agreement for her to save you. I even made sure to include him in the agreement.” He nodded dismissively toward me while holding his sister’s hands.

“She didn’t even save us!” Erika was shaking our heads. “We… I mean, we were sent out from the inside.”

“Assuredly to your deaths.” The woman huffed. “I used quite a bit of ingredients to crack that box open safely. Hours of my time. I demand proper compensation.”

“How can that be?” Erika asked, a bit confused as she looked around.

There was some kind of magical circle on the ground, and there was a smell of various pungent odors having been burnt. She must have been doing something unsuccessfully before our escape, and by coincidence, we arrived at a time when she was capable of taking credit.

“Destroyed?” The woman huffed, reaching out for the box. “This box is indispensable to my research!”

Realizing the predicament we were in, I made my decision. I raised my foot and slammed it down on the box. The box immediately broke into a dozen pieces as my food was in the ground. I destroyed it myself and collapsed the function.