Level 1 Fallen

It did not take long for our rewards to be prepared, and we were led to a large courtyard, where a hardcover book was set out on a tall podium. What drew my eyes, however, was the thing next to it. It was a massive silver cannon, its barrel more than five meters long. The body of the weapon was larger than a single-story home, and there were no visible controls.

To think that something like this could have been created by the palm-sized pixies just felt utterly wrong. I swept the weapon with my True Sight, and soon noticed the problem. There were ‘hallways’ built throughout the entire structure of the weapon, as well as a tiny control station, power generator, and communication terminal.

This wasn’t simply a cannon, it was an entire battle station that could be attached to a battleship with minimal work. And through the entire structure of the weapon were densely packed runic formations. Some of them appeared rather old, while others were brand new, with the nearby hallways even being opened up to allow access to the runes for modifications. In other words, this weapon had been altered after the rune system changed.

I easily stored the book in my inventory, but then turned to look at the cannon. “Uhm… Great King, how exactly are we meant to transport this weapon back to our nation?”

The pixie king looked at me in utter confusion. “What do you mean? Simply summon one of your airships to transport it back. There is no rush, so we can wait for it to arrive.”

I was trying to think of how to respond to that when Diane stepped forward, placing a hand on my arm and looking at me with confidence. After that, she cleared her throat, her voice taking on a more respectful tone. “What he means, Great Pixie King Pixie King Gerfectenalt Riolegese the Third, is that most nations beyond this realm do not use such large airships, unless the geography of the realm demands it.”

While I was amazed that Diane actually managed to remember the king’s name, she continued. “Among most realms, the common way to travel is upon the ground. In situations where the distance is too great for this to be viable, we have teleportation points erected to aid in the convenience.”

“Even Drake’s own vehicle was not truly meant to fly. Rather, it is through his own power that it was made airborne. As such, we have no means by which to summon an airship capable of carrying your gift.”

The pixie king seemed immensely pleased with Diane’s manner of speaking, but then turned confused again. “Then why did you want the cannon to begin with?” he shrugged his shoulders, as if he hadn’t been the one to propose the reward when we had no method to offer input. “Hmm, is there truly no way?”

Diane glanced back at me for a moment, before looking once again at the king. “There is, in truth, one method. However, doing so would require you to first send the entire runic cannon to the land of the colorful sky. After doing so, Drake has one method by which he can transport this great weapon.”

I was not at first sure what Diane was talking about, but then the ‘method’ clicked in my head, and I looked at her uncertainly. Still, the king was pleased by her exceedingly respectful tone. “That’s no trouble! We shall have it transported momentarily.”

Seeing that this discussion was going well, Diane spoke up again. “Excellent. In that case, Great Pixie King Gerfectenalt Riolegese the Third, I would like to discuss another matter with you while the necessary preparations are being made.”

“Another matter?” it looked back at Diane, unsure what she was wanting. “You have more business for us?”

“Quite. I believe that we may have some culinary delicacies that would be of interest to your people. For that matter, could you prepare a table for a round of testing, so we can determine what suits your preferences?”

The king’s wings fluttered rapidly at that, its eyes widening. “Ooh, tasty treats? Very well!” it snapped its fingers, a dozen pixies flying off into the distance. Moments later, they returned, carrying a grand table between them. Admittedly, the table was a total of three feet long and as tall as my ankle. Once they set it down, however, they adjusted a runic dial on its center, which caused the table to massively expand in all dimensions.

Diane looked at me again, a small smile hidden beneath her mask. “Drake, could I see your menu for a moment?” she asked, and I pulled it out to hand to her.

Without hesitation, Diane began listing off one food after another, from spicy curry rice to honey-glazed fish. She listed dragon steak, cheeses that I had never heard of, and various types of candies and drinks. Once she had filled the page with densely-packed text, she handed the menu back to me. “Since there are so many different taste profiles, it is best to give them options. There are legends that pixies adore sweets, but given their… proclivity to shatter expectations, I didn’t want to hedge my bets.”

Understanding what she meant, I took the menu and walked towards the table, activating it to summon a veritable feast. As the large trays of food appeared, Diane took the chance to speak again. “Great Pixie King Gerfectenalt Riolegese the Third, these dishes are mere samples to gauge your preferences. As they were created by the power of an item, they will disappear after one hour, though their nourishment when consumed will remain.”

“Should you find any of these meals pleasing, we can arrange to have the ingredients transported, as well as the recipes to cook them. Similarly, once we understand your preference, we can offer more dishes to suit your palate.”

The pixie king looked at all of the food laid out on the table. Naturally, it was in normal human proportions, meaning that even a basic sandwich was as big as the pixie king itself. Still, it approached a tray of chips covered in thick cheese sauce, used both hands to pry one out of the tray, and nibbled on its edge. Its eyes widened in delight, dropping the chip and moving on to sample other dishes.

At the same time, the other fairies swarmed the table, each one seeming keen to try the food. To my surprise, the king didn’t admonish them for interfering, nor did it call for someone to be its taste tester. Instead, it flitted around, taking a bite out of everything he could, and shouted out recommendations to the other pixies.

Given the size difference between the pixies and the food, it would have taken an entire army to clear out the table within an hour. So, the king indeed called forth the army. They each sampled every food and drink prepared within the feast, after which the king gathered them all to hold a hushed debate on their preferences.

Once their debate was done, the king flew over in front of Diane in high spirits. “Your sauce-covered grains with bits of meat, the chicken that set the mouth ablaze, and the various assortments of edible gold. All of these are what amaze!”

“So the curry, the buldak, and… edible gold?” Diane recalled what she had written in the menu. “Do you mean the sauce that covered the chips, and the slices arranged on the plates?”

“Yes, yes! Those were delightful!” the king nodded, and Diane had a look of realization.

“So, the cheese. You like cheese and spicy food. Huh… Drake, can I have the menu again?” she asked, and I handed it over. This time, she only wrote a single line on the menu, and activated it herself. Her eyes widened when she saw the mana burden inflicted, but a large tray appeared on the table with dozens of bite-sized cubes of cheese on toothpicks. Each cube of cheese was ivory in color with red flakes or veins running through it.

“Please, try these, Great Pixie King Gerfectenalt Riolegese the Third,” Diane said, stepping back and handing the menu back to me.

“I am quite satisfied from the earlier feast, but I shall not turn down such an appetizing sight!” the king flew towards the tray, grabbing one of the toothpicks as he would a spear. He brought the corner of the cheese cube to his mouth and took a bite, his eyes going wide. “Magnificent, marvelous, amazing! What magic have you done to create such a masterpiece?!”

“That is Ghost Pepper Cheddar. Given how you enjoyed both dairy and spice, I thought that you might like this,” Diane smiled, clearly happy that her hunch had been correct. “If you like, we could arrange for ingredients to be sent for various spicy dishes, as well as different types of cheeses. In exchange, could you prepare a written list of various goods available in G’Riol for trade? Preferably with written descriptions, as many of these items will be unfamiliar to us.”

“Of course, of course!” the king readily agreed, still nibbling on his cheese block. More and more pixies had similarly flown over, each one grabbing a block of spicy cheese. “We shall await your delegation, ambassador of the less-tall ones!”

Diane’s eyebrow twitched slightly at that title, but she didn’t complain about it. Instead, she turned to face me with a smile. “All good trade agreements have to come with the sharing of food. Especially when you are encountering a new culture for the first time.”

As the king and his men ate their treats, other fairies had already prepared to relocate the giant weapon. Once the king was ready, he gave the order, and thousands of runes appeared in sequence around the item like a cage. The image of the cannon grew hazy and distorted, until it completely vanished from sight. “There you go! It will be in the other place now, yep!”

With that taken care of, they summoned another gate for us to pass through, and we appeared in a massive swamp. The surface of the water was shimmering with pearlescent hues, which Ella described as a ‘radioactive oil slick’. Thankfully, the cannon was safe, being far too large to fully submerge.

“Are you sure about this, Diane?” I asked, moving closer to the cannon. “They won’t get the wrong idea or anything?”

“They shouldn’t,” Diane answered confidently. “Given the context of events, everything should make sense to them. At most, they would be briefly confused, but they won’t turn hostile or anything.”

I let out a groan, but ultimately chose to have faith in her reasoning. My body grew larger, releasing the shrinking effect of Ancient Shifter and throwing it in reverse. With both Dragon King and Forest Titan amplifying my size and strength, I turned into a massive wooden dragon. Diane helped pull Ella up onto my back while Bella easily scaled the mountain that was me.

Once my transformation was completed, I used both hands to lift the heavy weapon, finding it a struggle even at my current size. Still, I was able to carry it, which was an improvement. However, I couldn’t possibly fly with it in hand. “Ella, I’m going to take you about a kilometer away from the rift. Think you can make it back on your own after that?”

“Of course!” Ella nodded her head. “Now that we’ve made contact with the pixies, I can start thinking of outfit designs for them! It’ll be even better the next time we meet!”

Bella, meanwhile, seemed unsure of something. “Are the pixies extremely androgynous, or are they mono-gender?” she asked. “I’ve been thinking about it, but none of the pixies ever used gender pronouns when referring to one another, and they all look completely identical. Given how the one we first met acted, it seemed incredibly rude not to address a pixie by their full name. Was that just because they were talking about the king, or is it because that is their primary way of showing individuality?”

“That’s entirely possible,” Diane said, while I listened to the tiny people talking on my shoulder. “It’s possible that the wavelengths of light between them are different, and that is how they distinguish one another. However, I didn’t see any identifying gender characteristics on any of the pixies. Like you said, they were completely identical.”

“That just gives me more ideas for outfits,” Ella smiled happily. “Maybe they’d like something colorful, but where all of the colors are the same brightness level. That way, when they are in the fully monochromatic realm where their castle is, it looks like a clean, orderly suit or dress. But when they leave, it becomes a vibrant array of colors!”

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