“Our organization’s exclusive cloak has many properties, including shapeshifting,” Vivian explained, “You can choose to appear as any race you’ve met before. Elves, Dwarves, Goblins, and even the same race of the observer.”

Her appearance changed with every race she named; her skin, facial structure, height, and even her smell differed with each form. Her transformations were instantaneous, and I wasn’t sure if it was only a visual illusion or a true metamorphosis.

As she finished speaking, she went back to her regular form. Or at least the one I was used to, the one that resembled humans greatly.

“I am a Siren,” Then, she transformed once more, “I am not sure if you’re familiar with this race, but the system translation skill will change the race name into something you’d recognize if it was possible.”

Her current form was quite different from the previous ones. Her skin glistened as if covered in a thin layer of a transparent viscous liquid, and her nose was less prominent with much smaller nostrils.

The biggest change was in her hair. Its color was an iridescent white, changing its color as it flowed around freely.

I expected her to have a tail instead of feet, but that wasn’t the case. She was still standing, wearing the same pair of shoes she had before.

Maybe she can willingly transform her feet into a tail?

Albert was observing Vivian in silence with a stony face. I was still curious about his race, but I decided not to press him about it. It was likely a sensitive topic for him, or maybe his true form was so hideous that he’d rather hide it from a stranger like me.

“Truly impressive! Sirens are legendary creatures on Earth, and I’ve never expected in my wildest dreams to be able to meet one of them,” The cloak seemed even more valuable than I imagined, and I planned on identifying it using the system functions when I get the chance to, “Say, can my cloak do the same thing? If so, then how?”

“Since this is your first time doing so, you have to close your eyes to concentrate,” she raised the index finger of her right hand to explain, “Then, imagine the race you’d like to appear as and infuse the cloak with a little bit of mana.”

I followed their instructions intending to transform into a minotaur. The one that I’d nearly fought back in the lobby seemed to have an impressive physique, and I wanted to try the feeling of having gigantic muscles for once.

Then, I opened my eyes, and nothing seemed different.

Weird, did it not work?

“A minotaur, I see.” Albert said with a smirk as he gave me a thumbs up, “Having big muscles is something I also wanted to try at some point! It’s really impressive how these herbivores get so big without eating meat at all! Good choice for an experiment of the cloak’s capacities.”

“Nice one, Jason,” said Vivian as she clapped lightly, “A little too conspicuous for stealthy operations, I might add, but it can be useful for intimidation.”

It seemed like they saw me as a minotaur, but I didn’t feel any change happening in my body. Even when I looked at my arms and legs, they looked the same as ever.

Is it just a visual effect? If so, then why can’t I see a difference in my appearance?

“I don’t feel any different, and my body looks exactly like it used to a couple of minutes ago,” I asked in confusion, “How come?”

“Well, the cloak’s effect is only visual,” Albert confirmed my suspicions, “It only works on external observers, and you can selectively change the people it affects. It doesn’t work on the user so that he remembers his physical limitations and true capacities.”

“Yes, I can attest to that from personal experience,” Vivian nodded, “Even though I appear as a human to you, I still have the physical properties of a siren. I can’t stay in the sun for too long, and I need to moisten my skin now and then to prevent it from cracking. My hair needs special care, I have thermophobia, and so on.”

She went on for around a minute, with great enthusiasm. She had a lot of limitations, but none of them seemed to weigh on her mind or prevent her from being a skilled person.

“As for me, I’d rather not show you my true form,” Albert said with a warm smile, “Maybe I will when the time is right, but the only thing I can confirm is that it’s not pleasing to the eye.”

His words piqued my curiosity, but I understood his desire to keep the matter confidential for now.

Maybe he’s a demon or something similar?

Anyway, this information was none of my business, and I wasn’t going to be nosy in such a situation.

Instead, I identified the cloak that was given to me by Vivian using the system features, after paying a small sum of shop points.

A system screen appeared in front of me, containing the item’s description.

[Jason Stubbs’ Glitching Cloak]

(Unique)

Reminiscent of the Age of the Uppers, this cloak was handmade to match the aesthetic of the nobles of that era. It might not look like much, but it’s one of a kind. Made especially for Jason Stubbs, it shall cause great damage if anyone else tries to put it on without his explicit permission. -Personal Item -Shapeshifting Visual Effect (Requires a steady stream of mana. No restrictions on the quantity needed.) -Smell Damping. -Sound Muffling. -Anti-Tracking -Auto-Repair (Condition: ???)

 

So, it’s a unique item, huh? With an unknown condition on top of that.

Having such rarity meant that the item is the only version of its kind, and this meant that this cloak was made for me especially. Such a thing meant a lot, but it was slightly suspicious. This meant that they had gathered some of my mana without my knowledge, and I couldn’t even tell when such a thing happened or how.

I thanked them once more for the cloak, now that I knew its true value. They said that it wasn’t that great of a reward, and every new member got one upon joining the organization.

After clarifying that I didn’t know much about the Glitchers and thus didn’t make my decision on joining them yet, Albert told me to consider it as a showing of their good intentions for now. He said that I can think about it after spending some time with Vivian and that I can ask her anything and she’ll answer as long as she knows and she’s allowed to tell me.

“Wait, so that means I have to accompany Vivian?” I asked.

I was still on the hunt for Ratska, and I had to find Stella’s group as I suspected them to have kidnapped the little Gnome. He was a member of Stella’s guild in my past life, so it was very likely that they knew about his existence and his great capacities in the current timeline as well.

“No, Vivian is the one who will go back to Earth with you,” Albert clarified, “This will serve as a good vacation for her; she’s been working very hard for a while. Besides, she is the best candidate to go to Earth for long periods.”

“Thanks, boss, but I’ll make sure to help Jason whenever I can, so it won’t be the holiday you’re making it out to be,” Then she turned toward me, “On the other hand, it’s true that I was chosen to accompany you after a lot of deliberation. I’m one of the only people with a level under one hundred in the organization, and people with a higher level than that would have their powers greatly restricted when they go to a baby planet like Earth.”

“So, a newly integrated planet like Earth can only support people of relatively low levels?” I was confused, as Rauchlim the lizardman had a higher level as far as I knew, “I’ve met people of higher levels than that, and I don’t think they got their powers restricted at all.”

“Well, it’s possible, but we’d have to put an immigration request to the relevant authorities,” he shook his head, “That way, they’ll know we’ve sent one of our members there and they’ll keep their eyes on them.”

“At first, two of us were going to accompany you to Earth,” Vivian explained, “but Lazar is nowhere to be seen.”

“Yeah, that kid is too hotheaded even for someone of his age and I don’t even want to think about him,” Albert massaged his temple, “His newly acquired powers got to his head, and he’s off somewhere trying to test himself.”

Vivian shrugged with a helpless smile and said that the person in question was the latest member of their organization. They helped him control his latent ability, then he went nuts.

I hope he’s not as crazy as they make him out to be, though he’d make for a funny friend if he was!

Out of nowhere, one of the Glitchers appeared next to Albert and whispered in his ear, to which the latter nodded.

“Alright, it seems like we’ll be done with the operation soon. All the hostages have been freed, and all that remains are the fighters,” he said, “Jason, this will be the end of our meeting, and I wish you all the best.”

I nodded, then he offered me a handshake which I accepted. However, he didn’t release my hand.

“Think of the place where you’d like to go and imagine it as vividly as you can,” he said as he kept a strong grip on my hand, “I’ll teleport you and Vivian there.”

Vivian nodded, then took hold of my other hand.

After thinking for a couple of seconds, I decided to go back to the Sahara where I met the Lizardfolk settlement. They might know some information about Ratska’s kidnapping, and I had to inform the queen that our economic relations would be put on hold with the disappearance of my group’s alchemist.

The only problem was the climate of the area, considering Vivian’s natural form. A siren would likely prefer a more humid atmosphere, which was the complete opposite of the Sahara’s regular weather.

“So, Vivian,” I turned toward the white-haired woman, “How well do you fare in hot environments? Hot, dry, and harsh to be precise.”

“It’d be fine, as long as we don’t spend more than a couple of months there,” she answered after muttering some calculations under her breath.

“That’s perfect. We’ll stay there for a couple of days, then we’ll go somewhere else.” I nodded with a smile, “Alright, Albert. I’m ready.”

“Then close your eyes, and brace for the impact,” he nodded with a smile.

The impact?

Suddenly, I felt myself floating in the air, then I was thrown with great force to a solid floor. My eyes were still closed, but I could distinguish the sensation of the sand touching my skin. My left hand was still gripping Vivian’s, and I calmed down after opening my eyes and seeing her lying next to me on the dune.

She opened her eyes, let go of my hand, and stood up. I did the same, and we dusted off our clothes.

I looked around, trying to find the Lizardfolk town, which I managed to do. However, it was slightly far from our current position.

Weird…

“No matter how many times it happens, I can never get used to the boss’ latent ability,” Vivian shook her head as she cleaned her attire.

Her words confirmed my suspicions that this was Albert’s latent ability, but I was still interested in its full capacities. Glitchers were truly interesting, but I had a feeling that I still didn’t know anything about them at all.

Suddenly, a screen appeared in front of me.

[System Notice]

The Rankers’ Official meeting to decide Earth’s fate will take place in: (00:04:52:36)