Ugh, this took a long time to finish. Ugh. But lots of hints, literally a fuck ton of hints for you to jot down in your non-existent notebook fo things.

GAME OVER

Chapter 9 [An Anomaly]

~~~~~

There's a knock outside of Seto's base, causing Adam to perk up from his search for a book. He stiffened when he saw Ty's tall figure outside the entrance. Adam felt himself grab a book and use it to shield his face, not that it does much for him. Adam realized that Seto never looked up, he was looking over a book as he stood by the cauldron in the center of the room.

"Adam is in here if you are looking for him, Ty."

"Eeep! Seto!" Adam squeaked.

Ty walked in, his footsteps were even and quiet. Adam wished he could just vanish from Ty's eyes.

"So...mind tell--"

"It was an accident! I swear!" Adm shouted, interrupting Ty. Adam felt a hand yank him by his shirt.

Adam was brought dangerously close to Ty's face as his red eyes cut through Adam, and Ty yelled, "An accident? How do you explain running off an accident! Give me my card back, that girl is still here because of you!"

Adam fumbled for his pocket and pulled out the card Ty had given him, he dropped it. Ty dropped Adam and picked up the card.

Adam felt like a screw up, stupid, stupid, stupid. Why couldn't he stay focused for more than 10 minutes.

"Now listen here, I've had it up to my wits end with you. This is a professional setting in which life or death is very real, you can count your screw up as costing lives--"

"Ty, you're disturbing the peace--"

"Dammit Seto, I'm in the middle--"

"You may head the AHD, but Level I is not in your jurisdiction. This is my domain to do with as I see fit, and if I say you are disturbing the peace, then you are disturbing the peace."

"And look, if Adam is that much of a screw up, then I will keep him down here until I see he is fit to return to any level higher than I. That will keep him out if your hair long enough to get some peace."

"Fine, he does not set foot on the ravine pathway until he shapes up," Ty hissed, turned away, and walked out of the room.

After several moments Adam started to wail, his hands clutching on to Seto's shoes, "Setooooo! Ty hates me!!!! My hero hates me!"

"Get off me you damn fool," Seto responded with a kick to Adam's face.

"Ow," Adam sat up and rubbed his forehead.

"Now stand up!" Adam did as he was told, Seto had his hands on his hips, and still despite the fact that Adam was taller, the guy was still intimidating, "Listen here Adam, you've gotten on everyone's nerves for the last time. Here and now I'm going to make you more Player ready, and you will do as you are told, no questions asked. You will not allow anything to distract you, and most of all, you will not become a distraction. Do I make myself clear?

"Yes sir!" Adam gulped, he wasn't sure if he was ready for this.

~~~~~

Please send help. Send lots of help.

It seemed that for the short time Adam has been staying here, Seto was only going easy on him....

Really easy.

Never in his short life, 19 years to be exact, had he been this afraid of a human being. Oh dear Notch, what had he done to earn the wrath of this frightening--

"Stay focused!" Seto's staff came crashing down on Adam's head, he howled in pain and whimpered, "The greatest way to gain the focus you need to quit being a nuisance is through potion making! If you do not focus, it may very well blow up in your face!"

Smoke exploded into Adam's face, queuing the explosion that Seto was talking about. He coughed and fanned the smoke away, at least this one didn't spit fire.

"Try it again! It isn't hard to make a splash potion of weakness, I've even written the steps down nicely for you!"

"But, Seto, it's hard! And I'm not even a sorcerer like you," Adam whined in despair.

"For the last time, anyone can make potions, it's actual magic and enchanting that will kill anyone less than a magic using OP," Seto huffed in agitation, "Now, again!" His staff hit Adam once more. And Adam howled in pain once more.

Now, this was only one of the things Seto made him do. The other was studying. And here Adam thought he'd finished school since graduating his Tier 1 class. But that fact mattered not to Seto.

Seto had floated several large towering stacks of books into Adam's empty side room. And Adam was required to read all designated pages and chapters to which afterwards he would be quizzed on the knowledge. This, Seto said was training him to be less of a dimwitted fool. Of course Seto was one of the smartest men alive, so he probably called many people a fool.

Reminds me of a time not long after Seto's father was killed when the young boy was given an audience with the king. Since his mother was also a magic user, and Seto was slated to be the next one to replace his mother. It was during this time that Seto had called the king a 'dimwitted fool'. Imagine the look of shock on the king's face at the time, it was one of the funnier moments that I wrote into the Etoriis. It always makes me chuckle.

Now since Adam's torturous tasks aren't really all that interesting, nor important. I thought maybe you dear listeners would like something else to hear. I realize you really don't know much of this world, the history of Etoriis, how Rekrium came to be cursed and the reasons for their curse. You hardly know anything of the secrets the AHD hold, the pain my dear children bear.

Ah! Unfortunately I can't really tell you much, I know telling would ruin the fun. But perhaps I can let slip of a mysterious gift.

Only OP's should be able to possess magic. Magic is a force that steals life if attempted by any Rank less than an OP, not to mention the ability to use it must be in the OP. For example, Tyler is just a regular OP with no ability for magic. And there are even more complications that come with magic.

Take Seto's staff for example, in the crook of its top it carries the pieces of gems the color of ice. Magic that steals the life of weaker souls must also be channeled through a gem that best represents their character.

In Seto's case, a diamond represents that which is precious frozen in ice, waiting, waiting, for the coming of a spring to thaw its heart. Seems a bit harsh, but the poor guy doesn't really have much of a working heart.

But with all this talk of being an OP, possessing the ability, and a gem to channel that ability, what if I said their was an Exception.

The rank of an Exception varies, from the OP-Player (Seto), to the Player-Mob (Ross & Barney). But there is more. What if I said that there was the possibility of a being that shouldn't posses magic, but does anyways.

A direct line of my descendants from a kingdom lost from human history, possessing uԍppiqɹoℲ ɔiɓɒW. Magic which should never fall to human hands, as decreed by the Gods. Unless they are of my direct descent--

Oh! Look at the time, not that it really exists where I live. But I think I've been rambling for quite some time. A good week should've passed, or perhaps more... Perhaps Adam is doing better.

I really should pay attention, what if I missed an important detail of history. That would be a tragedy as the keeper of this world's history. Really now, one of you listeners should've stopped me, I almost got carried away.

Ah, there Adam is. Covered in burns, scratches, and well a lot of bruises.

Adam stood waiting as Seto inspected his potion handiwork. After over 3 weeks of work Adam had perfected all forms of potion down to memory, except a potion of healing. And here Seto would determine if he finally mastered it, and if so. Seto would let him use it, because oh dear Notch he was ready to double over in pain. That staff of Seto's deals one hell of a bruise.

"Hmm," Seto was swirling the contents of the bottle around, the colors changed from pink to red, to purple and then back to red. Seto stopped and then said, "No. Try again."

And the potion was tossed away like the failed trash it was.

Adam didn't not groan however, "Yes sir," was all that he said. Because if he said anything else, Seto would probably hit him again.

And so Adam set about to redo his efforts.

7 nether warts finely crushed to really allow their juices (and their rotting smell) to come into full effect.

One glistening melon, all the seeds still within.

3 grams of glowstone dust, ground to a soft powder that if inhaled would probably kill Adam.

All these ingredients thrown in at the right moment in time to allow the perfect potion of healing to exist.

Adam felt a bead of sweat form and drip down the side of his face. The fire under the cauldron made the heat in this area hard to breathe in. As he threw in the ingredients he waited for the color changing to pass before scooping it's liquid into bottles and placing them in the brewing stand. Here they would finish and with time they would hopefully be just right.

"Whew!"

"Now that you've done with that--"

"I already finished all the pages and chapters you requested from the books. Do you have any more I can read?"

Seto looked at Adam for a moment with a look of suspicion, before saying, "Fine. Just put anything you grab back. This is the only break you're getting."

"Thank you!" Seto nodded and left the main room to go down the hall. Adam hummed a happy tune as he looked at the books on Seto's shelves. Adam found a grey book about the mobs of this world. He thought that why not, sounds useful.

He grabbed that book and was about to head back to his own room.

A powerful wind blew through the room. Papers flew and scattered and the sound of the large book on Seto's desk opening could be heard. Adam panicked at the mess and thought, oh Notch. Seto is going to kill me!

Adam peered into the hallway and saw no sign of Seto. He hurriedly began to pick the papers up and prayed Seto wouldn't notice a thing.

Adam breathed a sigh of relief, and returned the papers to his desk. He noticed the large book open to the page with that image of those people and that poor child in the center.

He felt an odd pull to that image. Like it held something about him.

Adam's fingers grazed the page the image was on, and the world changed.

Two kingdoms locked in war, the peace shattered. A family broken and separated before one kingdom crumbled and vanished. Quite literally. And there was a man, brown scruffy beard, blue shirt the color of the sky taking pen to paper. His words formed on the pages, the very words Adam touched now, everything that happened was being written. Adam knew this man. He was sure of it. Stories of him. The first--

"Adam! What is this!" Adam was knocked out of whatever trance he was in. Seto caught a glimpse of something odd, he was suspicious.

"Adam," he said sternly. Adam was on the ground staring into space, he hadn't blinked. His brain couldn't comprehend what was happening.

"What was that?"

"What was what?"

"I think..." Adam mumbled then shook his head. It was nothing, just another one of those weird things again, wasn't the first, probably not the last, and had no importance so whatever, "nevermind, sorry. I was going to close the book, it just blew open honestly."

"Blew open? We're at the bottom of a fucking ravine; we don't get wind that strong down here."

"I don't know?" Adam shrugged, "It just happened while I was picking this book--"

"You know what, it doesn't matter. Just...Just shoo. Go read your book, I will clean up," Seto sighed and rubbed his temple. Seto let his staff slam on the ground several times. The papers that Adam had quickly grabbed were reorganized, the book was closed. Seto began to clean up and Adam quickly rushed off.

Ah, peace and quiet finally for Adam.

But for Seto, it was not peaceful, or quiet. It's never been peaceful for Seto, and it was only quiet when it was just him and his studies.

And Adam, that kid was strange. Very strange, he wasn't sure what to think of him. A kid picked up on an accident, forced into his care and had strange tendencies. He was honestly annoying and wished he would drop dead so he could have his quiet again, but something was off about him.

Something was off in general. Like the kid itself was an anomaly he could not figure out.

But anomalies are things that don't fit into the pattern, so what pattern did the kid disrupt? He wasn't sure, but he was sure that something wasn't right. That the kid shouldn't be here, not in what is to come, whatever is to come. 

~~~~~

Theories?

I hope you all enjoyed! 

I also made that GAME OVER extras book, it has only one thing in it, I'm just lazy whoops.