The Systems Challenge-Chapter 459: About Traveling Between Worlds

Heather seemed pleased with having the dagger, though Elmo wondered if she'd ever get the chance to use it. He didn't expect anything major to happen. As they were just going back to the dungeon they'd started in.

The announcer hadn't indicated that anything had happened with it since they got the portal sealed away, not to mention the fact that they'd already dealt with the goblins in there. So, it wasn't like they'd have a horde of goblins waiting for them like they had last time.

Maybe a few had gotten away, but Elmo couldn't imagine their numbers could have gotten so large that they'd be a threat in so short of a time. As even if they kidnapped women to increase their numbers, it took Heather a few months before she'd given birth to her goblin-child and that was when she'd been taken a few weeks before they'd sealed the portal.

Though, as they travelled on back to the town they'd first reached after having left the dungeon after resting through the night after receiving the dagger they'd been promised, Elmo found that he was worried about what to expect. He hoped that there wouldn't be anything unexpected. Like when they'd first headed towards the capital from this town.

Elmo didn't like the memories of what had happened on the road, and how they'd been nearly killed, but he held to the fact that the people who'd been behind that attack had either been killed or arrested, so there shouldn't be anything standing in their way.

Which made Elmo wish his own imagination would stop creating scenarios of what could be waiting for them on the road. She seriously doubted any of that could happen, but his mind kept churning out one after another, despite Elmo's own aggravation on the matter.

He wanted to think that it'd only be a day and a half walking to get to the village, but he recalled that it had taken longer because of the fight with the men who'd attacked them. Maybe he was wrong, but that's what he recalled. Of course, it could even be a two and a half days as he thought about it. As he felt like some of his memories about that were a little fuzzy. Fuzzy enough that he wasn't completely confident about how long it'd taken then.

However, a new conversation topic was struck when they were late into the first afternoon of the trip to the village. A topic he couldn't help but wonder why it hadn't been broached before. He knew that he'd been wondering about it, but he hadn't even been the one to think to ask about it.

"Hey, Kim," Bart asked. "How's the research into traveling between worlds coming along? You've had that book since we left the library, so what'd you learn so far?"

Kim sighed, as if she really wasn't that interested in talking about the book and Elmo couldn't blame her. He wasn't sure he'd be able to understand something so complicated. Something that was so far out of the realm of his understanding that it may as well be theoretical particle physics for all the good it'd do him. freёnovelkiss.com

Elmo was about to say as much when Kim replied, "I'm still trying to work out a few things that the book mentioned. Such as is the world I'm on the variable that goes into the void or am I that variable? I'm also not sure if I'd be able to power it, since I don't have any MP like Elin and Elmo have, but if I can figure it out, I'm sure I can explain it to them so they could com and be the transportation between worlds."

Bart's eyes widened and he realized the can of worms he'd just opened up. Not that Elmo had much sympathy for him. While he understood about Kim wanting him and Elin to be the transportation, he wasn't sure he followed about what the 'void' that Kim mentioned was. Maybe the book would explain it, but at the moment, he felt like his brain might melt from the confusion Kim's statement brought on.

"Uh..." Bart stalled, clearly not giving up, but unable to figure out how to respond to that.

"It's simple," Elwin said. "If you can, use the book to send something to the other world using one of those two... uh, methods you mentioned and then bring it back using the same method. If it survives, then you'll know that was the correct option."

"What if both are correct?" Owen offered as soon as Elwin had finished speaking, earning a scowl from Elwin. "While you're not trying to send the whole world through, you're still sending something that could be considered a part of it."

Kim merely shook her head. "No, it explained it in an earlier Chapter, that each piece is separate and different. That if you think of it as part of the greater whole, that you'll send the entire world, which... well, the book explained it in a way that's hard to verbalize, but I got the impression that it wouldn't be pretty." Kim paused for a moment as she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Though, Elwin's suggestion might work. There was a Chapter on sending other items to other worlds, which I guess is much like how those running this competition sent us here."

Elwin looked smug at Kim's added statement, as if he'd done something impressive. Something Elmo figured wasn't that great, no matter how much he told himself it was. Not that Elmo was of a mind to disabuse him of that idea.

"What if you treat it like threading a needle?" Heather offered. "You could think of where you're going as the eye of the needle and the path you'd take as the thread."

"Oh no. Nonononononono," Kim said, with a burst of nervous laughter. "There was a Chapter on that. It said something like: Do not threat the needle. Treating the process as threading a needle runs the risk of creating a stable connection between the worlds targeted. As such, the gravitational forces between the worlds would tear both apart. Only by destroying the passage would the effects stop, but it's impossible to predict how much time one would have to do so. Seconds? Less than a second?"

"Uh, forget I suggested it," Heather said hurriedly, looking like she wished she actually hadn't suggested it.

"How close are you to being ready to conduct a test?" Patricia asked lazily, as if she wasn't as interested in the subject as Elmo was certain she was.

"Actually, if I can figure out a few more variables, I'm pretty sure I can see what would happen and see if I could send something out," Kim answered, not seeming like she even noticed Patricia's tone.

"So, how long do you think that might take?" Jonas asked as the sun reached the horizon, just barely visible through the trees.

"How about you describe everything you've figure out so far about moving between worlds," Owen suggested. "I think it's probably about time for us to stop for the night. Which means you could share with us everything you know."

Kim sighed, looking like she really didn't want to do that. "Fine, but if I do, anything I haven't figured out is yours to deal with, okay? This has been making it hard to sleep sometimes with how it won't leave my mind alone when I'm trying to sleep sometimes."

"Yeah, you shouldn't read it when you're going to bed," Patrick advised. "You should only read it when there's plenty of light."

Elmo couldn't say that he'd have said anything like that to Kim, but it appeared like Kim wasn't bothered by the statement like he'd have assumed she would have been.

"I'll collect firewood," Elin offered before anyone could say anything else. Elmo wasn't sure if he should go too, but that option was taken from him when Elin grabbed his wrist and added, "Elmo'll join me."

Then before he knew it, he was getting dragged off into the trees, accepting branches Elin picked up from time to time. Elmo wasn't sure what Elin's reason for dragging him out there was, but he was confident he was going to learn soon enough.

Though, Elin didn't seem to be in a rush either way. All Elmo knew was that neither of them had had a chance to leave their packs with the others, which only added to the burden Elmo was already carrying with each branch Elin handed him or set on the stack already in his arms.

He wanted to ask why she'd dragged him off, but at the same time, he was hesitant to find out what that was. He was sure that she had a reason, but if she wasn't talking about it, he wondered if maybe she'd been uneasy about broaching the subject to begin with.

He hoped that it wouldn't take too long, as eventually he'd either collapse under the weight of the branches or they'd have to return the to group at some point. Which would end whatever chance Elin wanted of talking about whatever it was that she wanted to speak about.

Elmo was drawing a blank of what he thought it might be.

However, when Elmo felt his arms start to ache under holding the branches in the same position for several minutes, Elin sighed and turned to him.

"Have you had a chance to figure out how I could have a child with Kim, yet?"