Marvel : the Author

Hello everyone ! I hope, as always, you are having a nice week ! I'm having an… okay one. People are still horrible but I've taken a day of leave so I'll see them less !

Let's talk about me, now ! I have a Patréon page, did you know ? No, it's true ! You can check it out by searching for Cathbel on their website. There, you'll find advanced chapter, other stories and of course, my awesomeness (please disregard the last part, my inner Narcisse's been on a roll lately).

Now, the minute culture that I think I should rename the 'stuff Cathbel likes' or something… Have you watched 'The Recruit' on Netflix ? Love this show ! Unlike most series about spies and the CIA, they don't try to tell you that there's honor among the intelligence community or any of that garbage. People in this series are all awful people. It feels real but with an ungodly amount of luck thrown in there for the MC to survive the crazy situations he puts himself in… check it out f you haven't. And now… enjoy !

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The town of Kayera is a relatively bustling commercial town slowly becoming the hub of the entire Rezler Dukedom. All because of its new Lord who was hard at work building new roads and highways, rest stops and inns as well as financed local breeders of pack animals such as Horses, Dlyvyl reptiles and others suited for the climate.

The man now Lord, has been elevated by the Duke himself when words of his business acumen, as well as his personal physical and magical prowess had reached him. And since his company has established itself in Kayera, Duke Rezker II figured that he would work tirelessly to develop the town and its economy. So far, his bet had paid off…

Who cares if the Lord is still a wet-behind-the-ears, underaged bald kid whose background is a mystery. The Dukedom of Rezler makes most of its coin by the gathering and selling of information of and to its neighboring countries. If the new Lord is a spy or a saboteur, putting him in such a high position will help in figuring out what he was up to, who he was working for… And of course, sell the information to whoever could do the most with it. For an honest price, of course !

However, ever since he has been appointed a Lord, his sole apparent concern has been to improve the town, better the lives of its inhabitants. Of course, there are a few malcontent : people unhappy with the roadworks, the smells caused by the numerous and expanding breeders' facilities, scared by the strangers drawn for work or other reasons… Or even, scared and dissatisfied with the Lord himself.

On that last part, it can be easily explained by the man's own actions. On several occasions, he's been seen using his shapeshifting powers and used tentacles to carry heavy loads, help in construction, the roadworks themselves. When physical exertion is not enough, he wields his Shaper's magic to change the world according to his will.

Okay, enough of this third person crap ! I don't know why I've been narrating all this as if from an external point of view. The New Lord of Kayera is me ! As for what Kayera, the Rezler Dukedom or Dlyvyl reptiles are, well it's simple ! Kayera's a town in the Rezler Dukedom as previously stated which formed in my dimension over the past… Well, here it's been a few millenia already, but outside, perhaps a few months ? And Dlyvyl are a species indigenous to this reality that has somehow evolved on its own from the lizards I drew and wrote about.

Frankly, it's all very fascinating to see how my dimension's taking shape even without much input from me nowadays. In fact, I try to actually keep a hands-off attitude for fear of messing something up and unraveling this Reality.

So, instead, I've taken an active role as one of its denizens and developed a business. As for what sort of business it is… It started out as simply a way for me spread stories : drawings, small booklets for the rich mostly. Those stories were to become legends of the past, shaping History in a way that suited me.

Yeah, I get that it seems to run counter to my claim to refuse to modify things… Those stories are written as tales, far-fetched stories about people long dead, if ever they were to have existed. It's the people reading and propagating those stories that decided whether or not they have truly existed. In a sense, I'm not the one to change the past, but rather it's the collective will of the people.

Anyways, as I said earlier, that's how the business started ! However, it didn't stay that way. Many nobles, seeing what I was writing on declared their interest to purchase similar paper. And that's what made my first fortune. I sold paper almost all over the world to the rich and powerful, becoming almost indispensable to them.

It's almost funny how successful I've become since starting this Alpha testing session. And while it wasn't without effort, compared to my life on Earth, it's much easier. Or at least, that how it seems to me.

Now the question is… How have I discovered that I am under investigation by the Dukedom ? The short answer is… Time !

Now, to explain better : much like video games where a day was condensed into a few minutes or hours, time in this dimension passed much more quickly than in the Waking World. So much so that, while I've been sleeping about four hours, four years have passed here. So… About another four years to go before I wake.

In these four years, I've completed a number of project I'd put on hold. Among them was something I've called the Answer Note. Yeah, it's in reference to the manga Death Note. Basically, instead of writing a name and a way for someone to die, I ask a question… And the answer writes itself with the ink stored in the binding.

I'm so happy with myself I could… I don't know, kiss myself ? That's a bit challenging physically, I guess. I can kiss a mirror or parts of my body I can bring to my mouth…

The reason for my happiness ? The fact that time passes so slowly here makes it so very useful ! More time to code, draw, write, train, etc… Now, I just have to finish the code allowing me to bring objects from my dimension into the Waking World. It'd be awesome if I could have the Answer Note in the Waking World as that would give me all kinds of information… Unfortunately, it isn't a cross-world Note. Meaning, the question I ask in this world can only be about this world. It doesn't answer when it's about the Waking World…

The Answer Note is one thing, but there are also other things I'd like to take back to the Waking World as well : the Planeswalker cards, the whip a master smith forged for me, the figurines and miniatures I painted and made myself…

I sigh while scribbling at the paperwork in front of me. If there was one thing I'm not happy about… Being a Lord is a huge chore, when it comes to paperwork.