A New World, An Immersive Game Experience

"So... How did you do it?" Eldrian asked after a moment of silence elapsed between the two. Having used that time to try to figure out how the meeting later was going to go.

According to the information he had, most of the players here were cooperative with the kingdom and well organized. They had promptly installed a council of sorts, allowing all the guilds to have a voice in how they would work together for large events. Such as what this certainly was.

Eldrian, as always, was excluded from the player elements. Not receiving the quest to defend the North, only able to take part in the guild quest in a manner similar to how NPCs handle guild missions.

This meant he could, if he wanted, claim bounties for his kills. Which Eldrian wasn't much interested in. While getting the gold would be nice, normally, he didn't need it. Besides, bounties could be claimed anytime. As long as years hadn't passed in the interim.

"Well, you see..." Ilmadia paused, "I thought, and thought, and thought on it while reading as many books on runes as I could manage—while still fulfilling my other duties. And as I continued my search for what could possibly be the secret of runes, I realized everything was much, much simpler than I was making it."

"What do you mean?" Eldrian asked, his interest quickly peaked. Immediately he realized that in all likelihood Ilmadia had given the matter far more thought than he. Honestly, thinking back, Eldrian realized that he often threw all the reading to Two and simply looked over the results.

'Perhaps it is time we try to link our knowledge again?' Of course, there were a few reasons why they did not always do this. It wasn't simply to preserve their individuality. 'That might also help me figure out exactly what Two is thinking. I know he doesn't believe himself a person, but I can't consider him a simple tool... Though, I am treating him as such.'

Eldrian did not know how not to do so however, Two did not want to leave their mental space. He felt uncomfortable in a body and preferred life as he had it. If it could even be called a life. 'Then again, with the world created, there isn't much difference between my mind and a simulated one like ANW...'

"Really, you asked me what I meant and then you space out." Ilmadia complained, punching Eldrian's shoulder jokingly. Though she placed enough strength behind it to grab his attention, nearly causing him to fall.

Stumbling, Eldrian's thoughts were sent into chaos as he turned to face his attacker. "Was that necessary?"

"You can't treat people like that! If you show interest, don't suddenly space out!"

Groaning, Eldrian apologized and asked her to continue. Shelving his previous thoughts for after everything here had been settled. He was still unsure why Elizabeth stressed he should join the meeting.

"Alright, now that I have your attention. You once told me that runes are a type of language, particularly the written aspect of language. Well, I looked into how we define both. That led me down an entire rabbit hole, but... The important part was that I figured out that it didn't need to be so overly complicated."

"Just like philosophers can make a mountain of an anthill, I believe you were doing the same. You see, language is stated... nevermind." Deciding that now was not the time to explain her methods, Ilmadia jumped over that and got to what she figured out.

"As I went down that rabbit hole, I was enjoying some classical music. And somewhere along the line, I paused and listened when a piece I knew and can play came up. As I listened, I thought of the notes and it hit me: 'Isn't that the same as a runic system?' I asked myself. So I dived down a new rabbit hole."

"And this was the results," Ilmadia smiled as a violin suddenly appeared in her hands. "I couldn't quite find what I was looking for here, so I had to custom order this. But," she paused, placing the violin on her shoulder and plucking the string with her fingers. Not the usual way to play, but she managed perfectly.

A calming melody filled the air as she played, and after a while Eldrian could feel himself getting lighter. Shocked, he activated mana sense and observed as the mana surrounding them react to the music.

He was astonished, flabbergasted, even. Of course, many stories often included musical magic, but Eldrian had never encountered it in his two years in ANW. He did not know why it was lacking, and here Ilmadia was showing great prowess in using it and the effects were amazing.

Naturally, as Ilmadia continued to play, the hall gradually fell silent as everyone felt the effect of the buff on them. Increasing their strength and agility while also giving them stamina regen. The equivalent of three spells covered the hall.

When Ilmadia finished, she noticed all the attention on her. Doing her best to not turn as red as a tomato, she turned to Eldrian and asked, "H-how was it?"

"Beautiful." Eldrian said. The sight of the surrounding mana reacting to her music had been something straight out of a fairy tale.

"Th-thank you." Ilmadia faltered a little as she noticed the attention not shifting away from her. She quickly guessed that the only reason she wasn't being bombarded with questions was because she was standing next to Eldrian.

While Eldrian's plans hadn't worked out, he had certainly shown himself to be the strongest of all the players. He also had plenty of treasures, and no one knew how he had managed to get his hands on them. So it was only natural that no one wanted to irk him.

"Your thoughts were that as runes represent a magical concept, idea, or effect; that music and specifically musical notes represent the sounds that make up a song. But how did you link that to magic?" The concept was truly brilliant, and in hindsight, Eldrian couldn't believe he never thought of it.

If one considered music as magic, then the notes were clearly runes. It was so simple that it was simply blindingly brilliant. He had been stuck thinking of language and runes being the written word. And while that also sounded simple, it wasn't as clear as when considering music.

Language was too mundane. No one considered it magical. But music was truly magical.

The right song can forever enhance a moment, help you deal with depression, or fill you with energy and joy. Music could alter the very state you found yourself in.

Words might do the same, but it wasn't the same thing. A compliment or insult could make or ruin your day, but Eldrian didn't see that as magical. Rather, it was just cause and effect.

'Is that perhaps why the effect was so grand?' Eldrian pondered. He knew that words also had power, speaking in the right language, using the right tone, and so forth, could evoke mana to produce magic. This was, after all, a key part of statically casting magic.

"The trick was realizing that all music has intent behind its writing." Ilmadia said, and that helped Eldrian perfectly fit everything into place.

AN: Hope you enjoyed, :)