The answer to all things.

Episode 14 of SAO ended. “What….noooo.” John lamented. “After all that HE JUST FORGOT?” He had the urge to flip the figurative table but moving would have meant that he had to push Rave of him, as she was very much attached to his left side right now. They had put Aclysia into a box of old, unneeded keys three rooms over where she was continuing her constant emotionless consuming of metal.

“Yep. Would love to show the abridged thing now but it’s getting late you have to go soon.” Rave said but nestled even closer to John in contrast to her words. “Does he have an answer in the abridged version?” John needed to know. “Kinda.” “Good enough.” John crammed out his phone and punched in one of the few numbers he knew. “Yeah, hello mom, it’s me. I am staying at my girlfriend place tonight. Yes, we will be going to school. Yes, she goes there too. Love you too. Bye.” He put away his phone. “Problem solved, we are binging this shit I am not leaving without answers.”

“You know, I really like it when you man up for a change but you could have at least asked.” Rave giggled, “Oh well. Before we start that however let’s introduce you to the Abyss Auction.” John, slowly sinking back into reality, said “Uh, right, sorry. Yeah, let’s do that.” They got up and walked over to the PC in the corner. It started up in two seconds and auto opened the browser. “SSD, nice.” John commented but Rave ignored that.

She entered a long and convoluted I.P. by hand into the address bar. “To access the Abyss Auction, you need to set up an account first.” She explained. “Any wishes regarding the Username?” “I always use Jeehan.” “That’s stupid. You will be The Gamer.” Rave decided and tips the name in. “Isn’t that really obvious.” “John, if you believe you can stay anonymous in the Abyss Auction for more than 0,2 seconds you are gravely mistaken.” She states and laughs. “Nothing stays secret here, now put your hand on the Computer.” John did with some confusion. The screen suddenly showed a message “Success! You have registered in the Abyss Auction, John ‘The Gamer’ Newman.” He read with slight horror. “What just happened?”

“The Abyss Auction has a vast network of technomancers. They have machines that check the aura of whoever uses a registered PC and auto-logs you in. As Aura’s are unique you have no need for a password but they can also track you at any given moment when you use the site.” “The Abyss is a scary place.” “Indeed.” Rave agreed, “You get used to it though.” John nodded, he felt that day by day his common sense made way to a more pragmatistic and accepting way to look at new things. Maybe he was simply growing up as well.

“You want books, right?” Rave opened a new tab. “Yeah, best something of defensive nature.” John said. “Really? You can barely fight as is. Just sitting around waiting for your enemy to take you out is pretty stupid.” Rave crossed her arms. “I mean if we two fought and you hid inside a shield you know what I would do?” “Sidestep my Attacks until I run out of mana?” Rave nodded. John scratched the back at his head, noticed what he was doing and lowered his hand again. He was trying to get rid of that habit. Basically, what Rave was saying was that defence is useless without offence. “In that case I need something that can do both.” “How about an elemental?” Rave suggested. “Earth or water. They don’t have the greatest of offensive abilities but at least they have some.”

“An elemental? Fuck yeah I am all about that summoning business!” John said enthusiastically and leaned towards the monitor. “Hey, whaddya say to the nice girl who gave you the tip?” Rave wanted to know. “Which nice girl?” She pinched him in the arse. “Ow, okay, thanks Jane you are the love of my life.” “Better.” Rave laughed and they kissed. “Okay, let’s see what they cost.” Rave searched for beginners guides on elementals. They were all kinds of elementals. Besides the four basic ones, Earth, Wind, Fire and Water, there were many different ones but they pretty much all had the tag ‘advanced’. “Earth or Water you recommended.” John pondered and looked at the prices. 25 Grand for the basic books. He could only buy one. “I think Earth is better. We don’t live close by the ocean or any big bodies of water where the other one becomes really strong.” Rave said and dragged the book into the takeout. “I don’t get a further say in the matter?” He asked, “Nope, as your girlfriend I know what is best for you.” Rave smiled at him nonchalantly. “How do I pay though?” That question was answered by the money simply vanishing from his inventory when Rave clicked the button. “What the hell?” “While you might be the first with this Gamer power but you are not the first with money related ones.” Rave told him, “Interdimensional money withdrawal is nothing new.”

He heard three quick knocks against the nearby window and turned his head. He found a small flat drone like machine flying in front of the window. It knocked a second time but Rave was already on the way. She opened the window, took the packet the drone was holding and closed it again. “There you go.” Rave handed him the packet. John took it and opened it. “Does stuff always arrive like that?” He asked with interest. “Nah, it’s because this is dads official address we get the quick delivery for free. Normally it takes four to five days but with this is way it takes thirty minutes max.” The Abyss Auction must have crazy resources to pull stuff like that off. “How exactly is the Abyss Auction not amongst the Divided Gate?” He had to ask. “Would ya give the World Bank a seat in the UN? Same thing. Although they are called one of the three great non-combat organisations.” John just nodded. He would ask about that later for the moment he unwrapped the book from the packet and stared at the resulting window.

He clicked yes and his brain was filled with knowledge.

So, to use that skill he needed a summoning circle first, that was what his new knowledge told him at least. “Did it work?” Rave asked. “Yep. Your dad wouldn’t happen to have an empty room in his basement, would he?” He asked. She laughed loudly, “What, ya forgot that my daddy is bonkers?”

Long story short they had an empty room in the basement. Or, well, mostly empty. There was a single tall shelf with hundreds of figurines in them. “Why am I not surprised that your father is a fan of Blood Ravens?” “The hell is a Blood Raven?” Rave asked as she threw him a packet of chalk. “The Space Marines in there. He has painted them as Blood Ravens.” She shook her head, her pink hair flying like a cloud of cotton candy. “Don’t even try. This I so not care about.” She then pointed at the bare stone floor. He took the hint and got to work.

Thanks to the book he had absorbed he knew exactly how to draw the circle. It was an interesting experience. He wasn’t terrible at drawing but doing a perfect circle and replicating runes without the slightest error by instinct wasn’t something he thought he would have been able to do before. The white circle eventually completed and he put his hands on the edge, careful not to blur the lines before activating the Earth Elemental Contract.

He felt like he was suddenly engulfed in rock. Like he was the rock. It was not unlike Possession but also slightly different. When he possessed something, he was that something but right now he felt like he was part of a bigger being.

‘You wish to contract me?’ A voice of unknown origin or gender said. ‘Yes’ John thought, he had no mouth to speak with. ‘You wish to command the earth?’ ‘Yes.’ He answered again. ‘Then face what you seek to control.’

His body was grinded down to a grain of sand and offered to the world. He felt how he lied on the shore of a beach. How the waves eventually claimed him. How he travelled the world by pure accident. How he fell to the button of the ocean. How current eventually drifted him into a volcano. How he was molten and travelled through the earths crusts. How he eventually spewed forth as new land that water and wind then broke down until he ended up as a grain of sand again. A process of millennia felt in a single moment.

‘Do you still wish to join us?’ The voice asked. “I do.” He found his voice again and opened his eyes as a calm satisfaction radiated from the voice. In front of him stood a small girl that looked maybe four years old, she wore a yellow dress and had brown hair and eyes. ‘She will be our piece of you.’ The voice faded and replaced by the one of the young elemental. “Greetings, summoner!” “Greetings.” John said and stretched out his hand. “In accordance of the ritual I offer you my name. I am John Newman and I wish to seal a contract.” “In accordance of the ritual I hear your name and give you mine. I am Gnome and accept your contract.” Gnome touched his hand.

“Summon me soon, John!” Gnome said and vanished. Rave stepped at his side when he got up. “You keep creating cute things!” She complained in a playfully jealous tone. “Still got the cutest thing right here though.” He said and wrapped her arm around her hips. She kissed him on the cheek. “Right answer, tiger.” She whispered into his ear. “Now let’s go into my room and make out. SAO Abridged can wait.”