Whew~ The kettle continued to drown out the silence. Wardi continued to look around, trying to identify anything about the Felidhan's home they entered.

A small painting on the wall seemed to show a battle occurring, a large bed monster with some humanoid heads. Fighting in a circular stone arena. It looked like several adventurers had gathered to fight it.

"Bedknobs and beatdowns. One of the few dungeons that came with us when the remerge happened."

The trio looked over, focusing their attention after learning that little bit of information.

Lucy was most surprised by that information; if she had a drink, she would have sprayed around the cabin with an A* performance.

"WHAT!? That's not true! The dungeons came after the re-merge occurred," Lucy protested at such an outrageous statement. She prided herself on learning the ins and outs of the world. Conflict against the world she knew of made her shake.

A calming squeeze on the shoulder, courtesy of Rhua, helped to put a stop to it.

The woman slapped her face with her own giant paws. Wardi clocked on to heavy scarring riddled across the back of them. "How do you not know this? You've been travelling the world for nearly eight whole years with the son of a former tenner in your group. The new generation is absolutely useless, it seems. Hmph,"

A groaning end to her sentence, mouths were on the floor; our trio couldn't comprehend what they just heard. I don't believe it... Wardi thought it was the same for Rhua, though her thought was a little more expletive. How the fuck did he hide that from us for so long!?

Lucy had entered an excited and anxiety-ridden mess of a state of mind, but she had to persist at the breaking news, "HHHHh-Horace is the son of a tenner!? Which one?" She struggled to get words out; the energy was overloading her. The woman took a lavan-filled jar from a cabinet, shook it a little, and opened it under Lucy's nose. "I can't be arsed dealing with you having a sugar high or whatever you kids do these days. Chill OUT, she hissed at Lucy, who transitioned into a calm and mellowed-out Hatcot on the floor.

"TTTttt-thanks, miss. I needed that~."

Wardi and Rhua looked at each other, pulling a face and giving each other side-eyes; they felt so awkward and didn't know what to say or do other than lean into the awkwardness and try ignoring the scene they just witnessed.

As she returned the jar to its rightful place, she spoke loudly to them all, "Does the name Amelia Jones ring a bell?"

They both shook their heads in unison.

Useless sods. "Former Rank 2 Amelia Jones, formerly Edelweiss. If the current rank 1 hadn't arrived, she would have been the next rank 1. A true adventurer, utterly fearless, and a companion the world craved."

She seemed to stare off in the distance. Wardi assumed she was either going senile, reminiscing or had managed to accidentally get herself with the lavan-filled jar. Lucy, relaxed and living her best life on the floor, quietly asked her, "So how do you know so much about this world and the last one, Grandma?"

"HA!" Laughter in response to Lucy's brave words caused Wardi to tap Rhua on the shoulder, hinting to make a run for the door. "That reminds me of my unofficial granddaughter. Just as bold in her words. My name is Kiki Tabitha."

"NO WAY! The original adventurer!? How are you still alive after all this time? You must be at least 200 years old by now!"

"I'll let that one slide this time..." Her face began to scowl at Lucy. Wardi jumped in to try and save the day. "What did Lucy mean by 'original adventurer', Miss Tabitha? And you said, 'unofficial granddaughter?' Who is she?"

Kiki poured a steaming brown liquid into four mugs and took out a bottle of what Rhua guessed to be milk and waddled over to the pair, gracefully stepping over Lucy still enjoying herself down on the ground. Wardi stood up to help her; I look like a right twat sitting here. Where's all my manners gone? "Sorry, Miss Tabitha. It's been a while since we've been in the presence of greatness and sat down for a tea."

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Kiki smiled as he took the tray from her and sat down at the largest chair that could have easily fit both Wardi and Rhua on it and still left room for another.

"You have asked me many questions, so I'll answer as best I can. Yes, I am the original adventurer, or former rank 1 Kiki Tabitha, if that makes things easier to understand. My unofficial granddaughter was Cal, the frizz-headed earth girl. I am, in fact, around 80 years old... Give or take a few years."

Wow. To actually meet someone who reached rank 1, this is insane, Rhua thought, mesmerised by Kiki.

She took a sip of the brown liquid and recoiled with her eyes wide open. Oh my... That's oddly refreshing for a hot drink. It tastes like a warm hug, and I asked her, "Why do they call you the original adventurer?"

"Ranks and grand-scale things were not always part of Malicore. The title system was used back then, reserved for those that achieved outstanding feats. I was the first to chart the world, going toe-to-toe with some of the meanest the world could offer. I had just landed in an unfamiliar place when one of the underlings of the gods, Besti, appeared. I nearly pissed my pants as they burst down with a bright light to speak with me.

***

15 ft tall and wearing a killer cream pantsuit and fluffy sandals, the angel Besti appeared before Kiki, wings spread far and wide majestically and striking a pose reaching for the heavens. The feathers, which glowed a warm orange, descended from the fluttering wings of the angel and faded into the ground as they touched it.

"Congratulations, Kiki Tabitha! You're the first adventurer to chart the world; what a legend. We're so proud of you upstairs; keep up the good work! Here's a new title just for you, and a cookie I ate on the way down. BYE~"

***

"They really are like that with everyone, huh..." Rhua rolled her eyes after she spoke, thinking about when Scanger appeared to her recently in a similar rushed fashion.

"They're a busy bunch. When the rank and grand scale came into place around 2032, they automatically gave me the rank 1 spot in the same way too. I probably wet my pants that time as well. Oh, I didn't mean to say that out loud.

Kiki proceeded to go off on a tangent out of mild embarassment "He arrived... And stole my rank 1 spot, the one who is currently rank 1. I know you all want to ask, but being in the tenner's is a privilege; the gods give you some special passes on things, like hiding your information completely, and a bunch of other things. I can't talk about it; I'll be punished for doing so. But he physically lifted Eagle – the unbroken duck – with one hand just to carry on walking wherever he was going."

"That's not terrifying at all!" Wardi shouted, and Rhua was equally stunned.

"I heard someone did that. I thought it was a joke. The colossi are well... colossi. I can't imagine how heavy that is. We watched someone fight Bompeeyo and get destroyed. To think someone was actually capable of doing anything to one of them at all is blowing my mind."

Nodding in response and taking a sip of the brown liquid, Kiki felt the parched mouth clear away. "Yes, I heard there was a clash over at the now named Republic Générique. Tell me about it. I heard the battle was horrific."

Wardi became saddened; the thoughts hadn't left his mind because it happened so recently. The trauma, it clings to those that experience it, and Wardi informed Kiki about the finer details.

***

Kiki remained the same calm and reserved individual she had been since the start. Taking it all in and processing her thoughts, she responded, "You're a brave lot. Reckless, but brave."

That was not a fight for you to take part in. But be proud of defending the weak in that moment. Your efforts saved lives that day."

Wardi appreciated hearing that from someone of Kiki's calibre, perhaps... We should aim to reach your level, Ma'am. If we want to make a real difference.

"Did you ever meet Cal during your travels?"

"Yes, actually. Horace did first, and then we met her not long after he did... She was different."

"You can say that again... Poor girl received the rough end of the stick. She had no access to the sentient system and was armed only with a pen, a book, and her feral, untameable hair.

Rhua was surprised to hear that someone apart from MC didn't have the sentient system, so she joined in, saying, "So, MC, our companion, wasn't the only non-sentient this whole time? Is Cal still around, Kiki? MC, he would love to meet her; I'm sure of it!"

"Cal was a special case. I learnt that she wasn't given access because she was ejected long before the impact and just happened to drift into the fusion zone afterwards. The rules meant she didn't qualify."

"That's so bloody stupid... They're Gods, for fuck's sake!" Rhua barked in response.

"Careful, lass. They can hear you, you know... either way, she was here until earlier this year. I've no idea where the poor lass has ended up now; she was always ending up in the wrong places.

"As for my appearance. I prefer to dress this way. But one thing, which I hope you have realised by now, is that the sentient system is more complex than the information given. As you level and grow stronger, it changes you permanently, making you stronger, faster, smarter and improving your recovery time. And something I learnt recently: increased longevity. I'm sure you three feel it as time has gone on."

"Yes, absolutely. Though it's the first time I've heard longevity was a thing." Rhua replied.

"Most people end up dying for whatever reason out in the field, usually at the hands of other sentients. But I expect we can live a long time."

"Damn. We can be like elves, Rhua, heh heh!" Wardi said, laughing to her. He looked over to Lucy, who was snoring away. "How long will she be like that for, Kiki?"

"About five more minutes... Give or take how much she inhaled."

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