The three spent a few hours in the Xinling library. Sure enough, most of the references to the Hero of Kongming were apocryphal at best. Ondun began to feel particularly depressed about three hours in—his impatience and anxiety were getting the better of his curiosity and discipline.

  Ondun had started looking at the children's books, not only to improve his mastery of the alphabet of this world but also because the vocabulary was simple. These books tended to take a very simplistic view of the Hero's life and contributions, but he was able to get a general outline of what happened with her.

  About 200 years ago, a woman had appeared around Lake Yongqi. While she didn't have any Mons, she did carry advanced technology. She made contact with a Brittonian research expedition that was exploring with the blessing of one of the lesser kingdoms of the general area. Her technology—and quick acclimation to Mon taming—made her an immediate success story for the expedition. As a result, she was assigned further abroad.

  One day, however, the expedition leader's heart was hardened. He exiled her. It was only a traveling merchant and the people she helped along the way who took her side. Unfortunately, one of those tribe leaders was the Betrayer of Creation, a devious villain who sided with Hellzeph, the Legendary who was said to be charged by Olympus with ending the world when the time was right. After narrowly thwarting the Betrayer, she was able to seal Hellzeph behind a barrier, where he would not harm the world...until the appointed hour as decreed by Olympus was finally upon Monastria.

  It was Sylphie who saved the session from becoming a complete disaster. "Here, take a look at this..." She put a book on the table between herself and Ondun, who leaned in to look. Lowe stood up and peeked over both their shoulders. While Ondun didn't have the alphabet fully committed to memory yet, and the vocabulary was more or less utterly lost on the adventurer, neither Sylphie nor Lowe was so encumbered. For Ondun's benefit, she began to read:

  "The hero's sealing of Hellzeph was tied to the three lakes of Kongming. The Valorous Lake is near where the Hero was first found. The Knowing Lake was her second stop. The Feeling Lake was where the crisis came to a head. There is truth in the old stories—beware those who would pillage the lakes and their guardians."

  Ondun nodded. "That's consistent with the small, roundish Mon that warned me about something that his 'sister' said would go wrong. He asked me, when it came to it, to come save him. I wonder...Hellzeph...is the seal somehow related to the guardians of the three lakes?"

  Lowe tapped his lip. "Fascinating. You've already had an audience with Lord Yonghaizi...that you walked away from that alive does much to allay my fears, at least."

  Sylphie just stared at Ondun like he had just defeated his first Astral. "You never said you met a Legendary! Dude. That's a big deal. The government has deals with the Legendaries; it's why human society is able to stand at all in the first place!"

  Ondun shrugged. "Sorry...not being from this world, I had no idea—"

  Sylphie shook her head. "No, that's not the point. That's incredible. If you literally just walked up to a Legendary and they let you live, then they see something incredibly important about you." She nodded. "That's it, I've got to stick around you from now on. I want to see where this goes. Dad will be so..." Her face fell. "Never mind." Lowe gave the young woman an appraising look; while Ondun was no psychic, he could tell the man had some inkling about her situation. Ondun patted her on the shoulder. "Alright, but if things get bad, I want you to run. You have a father in this world. I...I don't want another ally's death to haunt me."

  Lowe was the one to stand. "Well, we have learned some things today. I can at least...send a report...to certain people to put a closer guard on the Lakes. Yongqi will need protection, of course, but the other two are far more remote. Still...I know someone whose word is above reproach. I think I can at least get the process started before it's too late."

  Ondun raised an eyebrow. "I know...someone...as well. I'll give her a call. She's responsible for my sponsorship in the first place. It's good to know I'm not the first one to come to this world. If she disappeared, it's possible the hero found a way home, wherever they were from. Perhaps my own situation isn't as hopeless as I thought."

  Sylphie gave him a loud thump on the back. "YEAH! That's the spirit!"

  Carla appeared as if summoned. "What. Did. I. Say. About. Noise!?" Her voice was low, but Ondun had heard this tone before. The woman was already annoyed. Adventurers, as a rule, were taught to heed local customs and warnings. While Lowe was still a little suspicious, the man's warning about annoying Carla had been earnest. He saw no reason not to heed it.

  "Perhaps we could use some fresh air. Also, to complete our staying arrangements. Lowe, it's been an honor, but I think we should really be going. Right now." The last remark was delivered to Sylphie with his least subtle body language. He started moving.

  "That's right, go burn off that energy, you youngsters." She said, eyes narrowed at the three. Lowe gave a hasty apology and promptly scrambled for the exit. Sylphie was a bit slower on the uptake, though. Ondun did his best to signal to her to leave immediately. She eventually got it, but for the poor girl, it was too late. As the one who'd made the noise, the librarian's attention was laser-focused on her.

  "Nonono...you have an excess of energy. I can ban you, or you can give me...fifteen minutes of help."

  Sylphie looked at Ondun. "It can't be that bad, right?"

  Lowe left at a jog. Ondun gave her an Eastern Bow. "I understand Lowe's warning better. I'll go ahead with him! Everything will be arranged!"

  "No, Ondun, don't you dare—" was her cut-off plea, but the librarian was already there. "The third floor could use some tender, loving care. Come along, and I'll forgive your transgression..."

  Ondun was able to keep pace with Lowe. The psychic could make a pretty good case when he wanted to. Lowe simply walked rapidly to a red-roofed building with a huge capsule on it. Now that Ondun got a proper look, he realized this was a massive, glowing capture capsule.

  "This here is a Coach Center. You can have Mons healed for more severe injuries or maladies here. Also, if you present your Coach ID, you can get a room in the subbasements."

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  Ondun tilted his head in confusion. "Subbasements?"

  Lowe nodded. "It's an old tradition from the old days before humans and Mons were able to coexist. See, climbing a tree is useless against Mons, as they can cut them down or explode them. Going out onto the water without the tacit permission of the local Mons is tantamount to suicide. So, humans did the only thing they could." He pointed down. "They dug. Human settlements, for the longest time, only had a handful of surface buildings, while everyone else lived far enough below ground that psychic Mons couldn't detect them, and that noise and fires wouldn't draw unwanted attention. While modern alliances with local Legendaries have alleviated the problem..." he gestured around to the highrises, "...as you can see...Coach Centers maintain the tradition so that monster coaches, whether new or old, don't lose their sense of respect for the power of Mons."

  Ondun nodded. "I thank you for the lesson. I will bear that in mind."

  Lowe gestured to the door. "Well, Sylphie should be finished. I'll make sure she finds her way here. Go ahead and check in. Oh...and, truly, welcome to Xinling City. Somehow, I think you'll do just fine in your circuit trials." With a wave as he turned over his shoulder, he walked off, disappearing into the hubbub of the metropolis.

  Ondun took a breath and walked into the strange building.

  There was a long desk with one of those terminals—a "computer"?—on" it. A closer look revealed two—one facing the pink-clad woman manning the counter and another facing the visitors. Some younger monster coaches were chatting, and a few smaller monsters were already out and even participating in the conversations.

  Nonplussed after four days in this strange new world, Ondun walked up to the counter. "Excuse me. I'm a monster coach." He put his ID on the counter. "If at all possible, could I arrange a stay here until I've completed my circuit trial? Also, I have a friend who is coming...she'll be along in a few minutes...I hope."

  The nurse's head was tilted in confusion. "Ummm...right...welcome to our Coach Center!" she added brightly. She took the card and scanned it. "Ondun of Arcanis...odd name...still, it seems your ID is in order and...oh, wow, your sponsor...well, not to worry, good sir! Just take the elevator over there to subbasement four; your room will be the fifth on the right. Just press your ID to the panel by the door, and it should let you in. Also, I can do a checkup on your Mons! When you're settled in, please bring me their capture capsules, and our staff will do the rest!"

  Ondun gave her an Eastern bow. "My thanks, Lady Healer. I will do that. One of my Mons was attacked and only just joined my team of their own will—a Galebul. I was able to heal them in the field, but having a specialist look at her would be most helpful."

  The woman tilted her head in confusion again. "I'm not sure I understand... Tell you what, when you bring me their capsules, we can talk about the details."

  Thanks to Sylphie's tutelage, as well as children's books, Ondun was able to find the button for subbasement four. Just like the pink woman said, he was able to enter his room, which was well lit and had a simple bed, a Monastrian lavatory, and just enough space to let a few smaller Mons out, presumably for simple exercises and basic training. There was also a much smaller model of computer, though Ondun wasn't feeling like digging into technology just yet.

  Instead, Ondun set down his pack and lay down on the bed for a moment, his eyes closed. It wasn't the forest or the wilds, where he felt at home, but Ondun did feel safer than he had in four days. His tears came fast and hot—holding them back didn't really help.

  After Ondun's stress-cry was over, he dried his eyes and calmed his breathing in the Shinobi way. The adventurer hadn't really appreciated how his situation had affected him...but now that he had a moment of actual safety and real calm, he realized his actions were unusually brash, even by his standards. Ondun could justify his every move and rationalize it...but he also recognized that he needed to screw his head on straight.

  He gave himself two slaps on the cheeks, gently, but enough to focus his mind. Then he began assembling the pieces from the last four days of life on Monastria.

  He was brought here by Allemandian technology. That meant they were doing research here. Clearly, one of the researchers had set up shop on this side of whatever mechanism was responsible for his displacement—it could even be the Yongqi relic that Alice's people were turning inside out in search of answers. The Hero was very likely the researcher.

  Thus, Ondun ran into his first question. The Allemandian Empire fell thousands of years ago, at the end of Arcanis' Third Era. On Arcanis, there was always an Empire that rose to prominence...and a Great Cataclysm that laid them low.

  The only exception was the Seventh Age, which was still ongoing as a result of Ondun's efforts with the Alliance of Free States and the Knowing Circle.

  Two hundred years here versus centuries back home meant that anyone looking for him could already be here. Alternatively, the flow of time between worlds was unstable. However, there was a massive compression factor between the only known example of someone from his world being here. As a result, Ondun was able to reduce the severity of his friends' plight significantly. There was a good chance he could return to his world within seconds or a significantly short time of his departure.

  The getting home was the hard part. The hero had, in the simple materials Ondun had read, 'just disappeared one day.' No further clues were given. On the one hand, it made sense if she was Allemandian—either she'd intentionally hidden the way to Arcanis if she'd returned, she'd left for foreign lands because she couldn't return, or she had a subsequent displacement to another world beyond this one. That last possibility terrified Ondun...he decided to keep it on the far back burner, mostly for his emotional well-being.

  That just left another problem: the Daemon.

  Daemons came from a world called 'The Void' and were nearly always summoned to Arcanis by either over-ambitious mages who delved into a discipline called Forbidden Magicks or were Warlocks, warriors who offered some of their anima to a Daemon in order to wield powerful Dark-aligned magicks. There was a third option—the shadowy beings who, based on testimony from the current Emperor of the Vroskan Empire, had created that empire for the sole purpose of sowing chaos and setting the stage for a Grand Cataclysm.

  That led to more questions, though—why start a Grand Cataclysm? Why did one need an empire to do it? Unfortunately, Ondun had a possible answer—the words of the mystery summoner who had summoned the souls straight out of his friends' bodies.

  Come on, damn you! I need you here now, or two worlds will be destroyed! I beg you, Greatest of Heroes, answer my call! Ondun frowned at the memory of the last message that had taken the more...spicy of the twins' souls from her body.

  The words of 'Lord Yonghaizi,' as Lowe had named him, echoed in his ears: 'Yeah, so they're here trying to tip Monastria towards the element of Dark. To that end, they're up to something generally sinister'.

  Unfortunately, Ondun could make a logical leap here. The true foes of the Knowing Circle trying to tip another world to Dark while creating a Grand Calamity meant that those two catastrophes were necessary for...something. Ondun couldn't countenance what that could be and didn't want to. As good as he was at making foes of the Alliance not be alive anymore...this was something that went beyond mere soldiery or culling, to...well, omnicide.

  Yeah, like hell I'm allowing that, Ondun thought. He turned on the tap, splashed some water on his face, and nodded in the mirror. To that end...I'll need my Mons in top condition. As for Sylphie...

  Ondun stopped. Sylphie was a curious element in this. She seemed to have a strained relationship with her father, but Lowe had suspicions of some kind. For the briefest of moments, Ondun wished he had Lowe's telepathy...then promptly dismissed that wish. He'd seen the man's past from his point of view.

  No, Ondun thought. The best way to handle this is to do what I've always done—train and help those around me. I think it's time I sought out quests in this strange new world.

  Ondun patted his two capture capsules. "Come on, let's go get you two checked out...especially you, Galebul. We may have a very, very hard fight ahead of us."

  Ondun left his room and got back onto the elevator to go hand his mons over to the nurse and learn all he could.