Adjustable World: Tefter

Part one:

[A Knowledge granted by the Insight, originating from a near distant future]:

Date: [REDACTED]

Location: Outside of Pashtrik

Unkempt strings of grass swayed chaotically as the cold wind brushed against them, carrying the clanking of a sheep-bell through the mountains.

Two shepherds sat on small rocks that emerged from the earth and watched their herd graze grass. There were around 400 of them and it seemed as if the whole meadow was covered in snow.

Sometimes a couple of them would wander a bit further from the group but the shepherds paid no attention. They were used to this behavior.

Although it wasn't their primary chosen profession, they have been doing this for ages with a very high positivity.

Over history, a couple of chosen ones were sent on many expeditions beyond the mountains of Pashtrik, and not a single report ever mentioned humans residing there.

Not a single letter ever mentioned those two.

A bulky man wearing unusually thick Miyalin armor, holding a mace walked over from behind and stopped just when his figure entered the corner of their eyes.

They exchanged glances, nodded in agreement, and continued to gaze at the expanse, enjoying the view and their confidential thoughts.

Waiting.

The purpose of life has always been one of the biggest questions since the existence of humanity.

Some believed that people make their own purpose, while others said it was predetermined.

Some desperately sought it, and others denied its existence.

What was unique to these 3 was that they all knew the reason they got put in this world. A purpose higher than their own wishes, which must be fulfilled no matter the cost.

After an hour of dead silence, it finally arrived. The pinnacle of their existence.

An unusual sharp and strong tempest crashed on the mountain, making everyone shiver—even the guy covered with armor.

The sheep started bleating and running in a frenzy, scattering across the expanse like they tried to escape their flesh, while crows and smaller birds erupted from the ground; their cacophony of chirps weaved in a salutation resembling a human sermon.

"The Creator is coming!"

The bulky man frowned at the two shepherds, "What is going on?"

Was this a trap? Some sort of a distraction? He had ventured into these uncharted depths countless times, yet only recently discerned the decades-long presence of the two.

One of them gripped their walking stick, validating what the birds had already foretold.

"The Creator is coming".

As the words left his mouth, a black vertical slit appeared above the soil, cutting the fabric of space.

Stretching the portal with its hands, a petite humanoid figure strode outside, her feminine eyes scrutinizing the surroundings before piercing the humans.

The wind caressed her pure white hair and luminous skin as she lowered her gaze at the bulky man, revealing 2 slit pupils.

"You seem prepared", she spoke.

The bulky man went silent for a moment, his eyes narrowing in a slight disappointment.

Was she really the person? A young adult girl whose expression didn't reflect a fragment of horror.

It was always these kinds of spoiled freaks who were at the top of the food chain. Or at least so they thought.

"Is he coming already?", he took a step forward, comparing his physique to hers.

She was a whole head smaller yet seemed as if she had to look down to actually see him.

"No. Only when I summon Tefter will he appear. It will take me around 20 minutes to paste the whole code of the 3rd Prototype. You can't kill him before that", she explained the job personally.

"And after that?"

The girl made a small pause, staring at the man's soul.

"You can fulfill your vengeance".

A moment of silence lingered; the man making no comments or gestures.

"Alright".

She stretched out her hand and a black book with golden stripes appeared in her hand.

The Tefter.

Immediately everyone's attention was reluctantly drawn by it. Its mere presence sent chills down their spine; their ears went muffled from the pressure.

The Creator.

The man's Miyalin helmet hid his eyes, but a slight change in stance revealed his new intention.

He stretched his arm in the empty air towards the girl and pulled it back.

Aligned with his hand movement, Tefter flew out of the girl's hands and fell into the man's other palm.

He threw the book to himself using his anomaly.

Both shepherds flicked, not believing what blasphemy he was committing.

Nonetheless, they weren't even able to get into a jumping stance before the man swung his mace, killing them both on the spot.

Surprisingly to him, the girl remained her poker face, waiting for the man to speak.

"You know, one of the good things about being alive for so long is that you can become quite strong and important. When you achieve that, you get to meet many interesting people".

He flipped the book a couple of times before walking into the girl's face.

"I know about your secret last resort. He told me quite a few things", he glanced at the dismembered bodies of the shepherd, "more than they did".

"What was she to you?", the girl changed the topic, "A lover?"

The man gazed at the sky taking a deep breath as if he remembered something.

"She was like a daughter I never had. Revenge won't bring her back", he paused for a moment, "but your last resort can", he lifted up Tefter in his hands, "Without this you are nothing".

"You have more confidence than me", she commented before turning around to leave.

At that moment, however, the man grabbed her by the shoulder and laid his mace on her cheek.

"That's because I always make sure"

A short scream echoed, and the girl fell to her knees, holding her empty eye sockets leaking blood.

He knelt beside her, placing his massive hand on her sobbing head.

"You know that the memory of you will linger in my head even after the Great Rewind?", he said, emphasizing fear but she wasn't bothered by this.

"I will remember you too"

Part two:

The last rays of sun slowly faded from Zafer's face.

His head hurt, and his stomach growled. A thin fog surrounded him, blurring the tall, concave walls in the distance.

No. The walls stretched out all around him.

He swiftly stood up, looking around.

Was he inside of a box? There was nothing within the walls, however, only a dead field.

But it wasn't uninhabited. Myriad shadows lurked in the distant fog, unfazed by Zafer's presence.

There were at least 20 of them, and he wasn't sure if they were humans at all.

His innate instinct confused him.

Those in the distance were just shadows to his eyes but the others in his vicinity looked like human females.

"Hey…" a soft voice called him over.

It was a girl, looking starved and tired. From what he could tell, she wore an oversized ragged T-shirt and nothing else beneath.

"Hey", Zafer stood up stepping towards her, but the girl backed off.

"No!", she raised her hands towards Zafer, "please stay there".

She had a smile on her face but Zafer guessed that she was afraid of him, so he complied.

"What is this place?"

"This is the Azyl prison. Welcome!", she forced a laugh, "it's been a while since the last time I saw another human here".

Zafer frowned, "What prison?"

He couldn't remember how he got here.

The girl answered, "Sorry! The Azyl prison. The final destination".

Zafer frowned asking for a detailed explanation.

"Nobody who was brought here ever left, though I don't remember the last time someone was brought. Sorry…".

A hint crossed Zafer's mind.

"So I was brought here? Who brought me?", he stepped closer but the girl nervously backed away.

"Am…The goat-man did. You were unconscious for almost an entire day".

Zafer could tell by the smell that he was still on the Koth mountain. He passed out right after exiting the mysterious grinder as he predicted.

Was the goat-man the creature that he saw on the trail while hiking? The one he wanted to avoid?

In any case that wasn't important. His ultimate goal was to reach the capital, and the vengeful motivation still lingered in his mind.

"Sorry but…" the girl looked at him shyly, "Are you a male?"

Her question pulled Zafer back from his train of thought, confirming with a slight nod.

What kind of question was this?

"Oh… wow! So it was true… I didn't know there were male specimens of us as well".

Her voice has gotten softer.

Zafer frowned, "What us?"

"Well, you know, the ones who…" The girl's smile faded, slowly dissolving as her gaze lingered on Zafer. Her voice trailed off before she suddenly blurted.

"Oh… wait. You're human. Sorry…"

Zafer frowned. "You're not?"

The girl shook her head lightly, almost hesitant. "Not anymore."

Before Zafer could respond, another figure emerged from behind the shy girl—a taller, more confident one. She glanced at Zafer, her strides purposeful. "Oh, so he's awake."

The smaller girl froze, panic flashing across her face. "Don't, Nineteen!" she called out, her voice barely rising above a normal tone. "He's radiated!"

Zafer didn't recognize the word, but it stopped the taller girl in her tracks. Her expression shifted, her confidence faltering.

"Oh…" Nineteen murmured, her eyes narrowing slightly. "So that's what it is."

Zafer glanced between them, his confusion deepening, asking what "radiated" meant.

The smaller girl hesitated, her gaze drifting upward as if the answer lay hidden somewhere in the sky. She chewed on her words, clearly trying to figure out how to explain it to someone like Zafer.

Most of the humans here had very primitive knowledge after all.

At least those she met while she was still outside.

"You have been poisoned".

These words confused Zafer even more. Aside from the mild headache from sleeping on a rock, he felt quite fit.

"Poisoned? How can you tell?"

The girl looked down vaguely smiling.

"Well… a couple of others who… inspected you while you were unconscious had severe nausea afterward".

Zafer's facial muscles relaxed, searching his body with a few swift taps.

What did she mean by this? None of his belongings or clothes were missing.

"Don't worry though! It will go away by itself. It seems that you are immune to it anyway".

The tall girl crossed her arms, "Yeah. It's quite weird that he can take it better than we can".

"And what are you?", Zafer asked again.

"Sorry, but we don't know… we are immortal though. That's enough to know that we aren't humans".

"Immortal?"

The girl nodded, "Ever since we got injected with the serum. It granted us the Anomaly to indefinitely regenerate".

Zafer was taken aback. Regeneration was a common trait of the Repeater Anomaly, but could it really make someone immortal?

These girls seemed to be the residents of this place for a while which creepily made their claims more believable.

"But you said that you used to be a human. Who did this to you?"

The girl grabbed her hand, "Some terrible men. A while ago".

"Why?"

She hesitated for a moment, gazing at the soil, "The serum also modified us anatomically to give birth to most mammals if we bred with them. And we do it much faster. Only 2 months for a human".

This claim put Zafer in shock. He didn't want to believe the things she said. They were horrible and sounded like something from a fairy tale.

Nevertheless, there was no reason for her to tell lies.

A hint of past trauma slipped from her soft and awkward voice every time she spoke.

"So, what are you doing here now? Who brought you?"

"Humans of Pashtrik did a long time ago. They were scared of our inhuman nature", the girl coughed.

She wasn't used to talking this much but still continued.

"They hunted us for years, most of us got brought here by some guy with a mace. This was a long time ago".

"How long?"

The girl pondered for a moment trying to recall when the last of her kind got brought here.

"Several decades?"

Zafer's eyes widened in shock.

This small girl was several decades old?! The Nubis faction didn't exist for so long!

Well, not like it was his problem though.

He only had food and water for a couple of weeks, and he had to reach the capital within that period.

He could use stars to approximate his location on the Koth mountain, and it better not be far from the foot.

"Where are you going? Hey!", she ran to catch up to him.

Zafer approached the wall.

It was made out of the same material as those surrounding Razihelnor.

Concrete.

This construction might stop a small, malnourished girl, but Zafer was a paladin in training! He worked for the Temper province and was about to become a member of the National Security!

Traveling in the age of teleportation and portals was already very requiring, and there was no chance he was wasting any more time with so many suppressed emotions.

His palm leaned against the cold concrete, ready to break free.

Miyalin might be too tough for his Iron Fist anomaly, but what is concrete compared to that?

The girl panted as she halted several meters behind Zafer.

Crunch

A couple of long cracks scattered across the wall. The girl stared in awe, washed in cold sweat. What kind of strength was this?

Is… Is he going to free them? Will she get a second chance to integrate herself among humans? Taste food?

Her heart raced but interfered with a sense of uneasiness. Was something wrong?

Zafer's eyes widened as something slimy engulfed his hand.

He jumped back, pulling his hand back as the hole from the wall started leaking some grey liquid.

Its viscosity was that of a honey and hot steam emerged as soon as it got exposed to air.

Just within seconds it hardened, filling the very last crack!

The starved girl was bewildered, not understanding what that was, however, Zafer knew.

It was a Reg wall.

Paladins used them quite frequently. Every box had at least one regen wall and several normal ones protecting it.

He didn't know exactly how they worked, aside from that the wall itself was hollow and filled with this liquid that hardened when exposed to air.

Judging by the size of the wall, it would take several months of constant draining to empty it. He would overheat countless times by then.

At that moment something came to Zafer's mind.

He turned around to the girl who was still deep in thought.

"Where is the exit?"

The abrupt question pulled her back to the present, her heart skipping a beat in alarm.

"Sorry but… there is none…"

Zafer frowned, "Then how did I get here?"

"Through the entrance…", the girl muttered.

They both went silent staring at each other, except the girl couldn't hold eye contact for more than a few seconds.

"Alright smartass. Take me to The Entrance".

The Simple Physiology of Anomalies: Paragraph 7:

Although Alchemy seemed very similar to Synthesis, there were huge differences. Synthesis allowed its user to generate materials and substances out of the skin, while Alchemy allowed its user to convert an already existing material or substance to a completely different one.

A good knowledge of chemistry and anomalous stamina were required for both.

Both Zafer and the girl stood around 500 meters away from the gate imprinted into the wall.

It was huge and made out of metal from what Zafer could tell. This was good since it meant he could rip it open with a little struggle, depending on how thick it was.

Nevertheless, he faced a new problem.

A 7-meter-tall humanoid beast guarded the gate. It had the head and hair of a bull but the palms of a human which allowed it to hold a giant stone hammer.

Its appearance was so perplexing and unsettling that Zafer didn't even notice drifting deep into his thoughts.

It was only when the girl spoke that Zafer felt the sensations of the environment again.

"Are you scared?", she asked with sincere curiosity.

Witnessing what Zafer was capable of with only his grip strength made her question what it must feel to be like him.

Zafer took silent steps forward before he remembered that he didn't have his Miyalin axe anymore.

He didn't have any weapons.

"No".

The girl stood at the same place, watching Zafer approach the gate, but it only took a few seconds of walking for the beast to notice Zafer.

It exhaled deeply, enveloping itself in a fog of cold air. It's rough roar shook the earth.

Zafer froze in space, feeling the strong aggressive aura swallow him in an instant.

The beast pounced off the ground, charging towards Zafer. Each step it took carved a hole into the soil.

It was so fast and agile despite its size!

A sudden wave of heat washed Zafer's insides, his body signaling him to run for his life.

This made him contemplate for a moment. Should he charge as well? Did he still have enough time to consume a purple potion?

He only had one.

The beast was already past the half-point.

Zafer's body twitched sprinting back to the girl as fast as he could.

The footsteps were only getting louder and louder. He made no distance.

By the time Zafer bumped into the humanoid girl and reached for his potion belt, the huge bull head was already hanging above his tiny presence.

It exhaled another gallon of cold that made them shiver and turned around for a leave.

Both Zafer and the girl gazed at the beast's back—the hammer dragging on the ground.

"What just happened", Zafer's facial expression was still frozen.

"Huh?", the girl got scared to death and took some time to form a response, "Uh sorry… It's not sentient. It won't chase you but also won't allow you to approach. That's why I stopped here"

Zafer turned around looking nervously, "What is that thing even? Did that thing use to be a human like you?"

The girl looked at her feet, "I…I don't know… Sorry".

Not like knowing that will be of any help. Even so, there was no way he could go against that thing. Not without a weapon.

He had a purple potion, yes, but it was a 10% solution one, and the beast's muscular body made him unsure if that would be enough to match in strength.

Maybe if it was Priest or Nicpa, but Zafer? He would definitely need a stronger potion.

That was when it dawned on him.

There was no way he was seriously stuck here like these abominations, right? He was a paladin!

He sat on the ground and brainstormed all the possible ideas of what he could do that these experiment subjects couldn't even try.

All of the advantages Zafer had over them was his strength, especially the one gifted to him by the Iron Fist Anomaly.

But how could he use it in this situation? He was very confident that he could tear that beast apart if he just managed to lay his hands on it.

Nevertheless, that won't be happening.

It was way faster and bigger. A blue potion wouldn't be much help, and even if it did, he was too scared to risk his life and try.

That was when another idea came to his mind.

"I can climb over the wall", he announced.

This was something he never tried before but given his forearm strength, it seemed possible.

With a blue potion, it would take him less than 3 minutes!

"Sorry but I wouldn't recommend that…", the girl said softly.

"Why not? You tried it?", he mocked.

"There is another monster that guards the wall…" she avoided eye contact "It doesn't let anything climb or fly over it".

Zafer leaped up which made the girl flick reflexively.

"What?! There is no way!", he started walking back and forth.

The girl wanted to console him but was too scared of what his reaction might be.

Zafer was visually freaking out at this point.

"Am I really trapped in here where nobody can find me?", he said out loud, "I don't even belong to any of you!"

As a last resort, he could try to write an S-mail to someone, but to whom?"

Koth mountains weren't a common detour for a reason! The terrain was catastrophic.

Not to mention that he had no clue where he exactly was.

Skil would probably reply immediately and come to the rescue, but he now resided at the Gathering Hub.

Simra had a Divine that could open portals but there was no way he could annoy him for some stupid reason like this! That guy looked down on Zafer enough already and would also need several days to answer.

The last time Zafer talked to Wiza was several months ago, and Semi still hadn't replied to his most recent message either.

This left Knuckles only, but what could he do?

He wouldn't even make it to the first hanging bridge and having Knuckles pay someone to do the rescue would make things too complicated.

Just as the girl lowered her hands from her face, Zafer turned around towards her.

"Is there really nobody visiting this place? Ever? Who brings you food and water?"

"Nobody…We don't need to eat".

Zafer bit his lip. He didn't know what Repeater anomaly was all capable of but if the girl really possessed a 24 Verm one, what she said could be true.

Not to mention how her looks matched her statement.

Even so, that was just too crazy. Somebody thought of creating a creature that prevents anything from climbing over the wall but not about someone accidentally landing in here?

"That's… That's how we lived for the past few decades…", she continued to explain.

"I am not you!", Zafer screamed at her.

This time the girl didn't have enough time to flick.

No, she was in a mild shock. Frozen.

What she expected was a word of empathy and encouragement. That's after all what the strong ones are supposed to do, right?

Was Zafer a bad person? Have fate brought him here for a judgment for his sins?

Perhaps… but she still felt sorry for him. Punishments should as a goal try to make someone a better person and not doom them to torture.

As said, the girl couldn't experience hunger or thirst, so she didn't know what those felt like. What about Zafer? Was that the reason for his fear and panic?

Maybe starving to death was a horrible death that wasn't deserving of.

"Actually…", she spoke, "There is someone who visits this place from time to time…"

Zafer halted in place, staring at her with anticipation. This made her even more uncomfortable but she still continued, hoping it would calm him down.

"Uh… he is a human, but only comes when he needs to take our blood. He said he uses it to make potions".

"When was the last time he came?", Zafer grabbed her by the shoulders.

The girl's mind went blank for a second but pulled herself together.

She lived a very long life and perceived time differently so it was hard for her to estimate.

"Well… maybe…10 days?"

Zafer fell on his knees.

That was quite recently. There was no way that man would return in months to collect whatever the girl said.

"Am…", the girl wanted to say something but swallowed her own words in anguish.

Tears ran down his face. Was he… crying? Was feeling hunger that bad?

In reality, that wasn't the reason for his emotional breakdown. He thought of Skil. He thought of all the mishaps that befell him during the last couple of days.

Not even Semi shared as many similarities and personal interests with Zafer as Skil did. And now he was gone. Forever.

Never in the history will another person like that be born. Ever.

The only Skil to ever exist is gone.

He whined out loud. His voice was so fragile it couldn't even reach the walls to create an echo.

His nose got stuffed, but he couldn't care less about that, taking deep breaths in between his cries of sorrow.

Maybe if he had offered his life to the Nubians Skil would still live. They were only after Zafer's anomaly anyway, and Skil was supposed to be a prodigy to cure the world from the inverse illness.

He felt sorry for the Priest who put so much effort into training and educating Skil.

He felt sorry for his own greed and rashness.

He felt sorry for being so inept and helpless.

If he had just taken a way around the Koth mountains, he would have never ended up in this situation.

If he hadn't plundered that grinder he wouldn't have passed out.

Why couldn't he just stay at home and listen to Ika?

She always spoke about a peaceful life with someone he was in love with. But then again… Zafer never fell in love. He was unable to experience such a feeling.

Probably because he was undeserving of it.

Something abruptly grabbed him by the sweater and lifted him in a half-kneeling position.

His eyes were wet, making his vision blurry but… was that Mio?

He had his cheap shabby clothes and a stare of 1000 yards that made Zafer's heart jump to his throat.

Only once did he see him angry like this before.

"What are you sorry for?!", he shouted grabbing Zafer by the clothes.

He held him so firm Zafer couldn't move an inch.

"If you think you lost everything then fuck off!".

Having said this Mio lifted his hand and slapped Zafer so hard he nailed him to the ground.

Actually, he brought him back to reality. To the Azyl prison.

Dried up tears of sorrow stuck to his face; he had been lying the whole time.

Those who were weak always suffered. Nobody will help Zafer but himself.

How could he ever wish for others to rely on him in the most desperate situations when he couldn't even rely on himself in the most desperate situation?

No. He will either reach the capital by the end of this week and become a member of the National Security or die trying.

Skil would welcome him at the gates of the Gathering Hub, anyway, so why was death so feared?

He jumped up, scaring the girl who calmly daydreamed beside him.

"I will get us out".

The girl's lips slightly parted in surprise. Did he have a system restart?

His determined stare at the minotaur beast was easy to acknowledge.

Nevertheless, she knew that nothing had really changed. Just like her stay at this place.

Maybe Zafer wasn't a bad person but just went through a lot. Maybe he was right about not relying on others, and that's what she has been doing her whole life.

Even when she used to be a human

She hesitated for another second and then finally spoke the story-changing words.

"I think… that I can help you…".

"Really?", this caught him off guard

The girl nodded, "I can…gift you my anomaly. There is another beast who was once a human here. He said he can manipulate anomalies".