《FOR ALL IT REVOLVES AROUND》


 Chapter 1: In My World

    ISION


    It was now or never.


    The test of time had finally brought us to this very moment for the chapters to end. . . Right here and right now.


    The flames ripped apart the planet wide open, destroying everything and anything in the crossfire. Fire spilled out of its core, engulfing anything in its way, as Mother Nature didn''t take any prisoners, no matter how special they were.


    None of the cries, screams, violence would be heard; all would be rejected into the void of nothingness. They could pray to the Planeta Deus from above, but no Deus could listen to their pleas.


    Our blades intertwined in an attempt to cut out the life of the other.


    It was a duel of history that transcended time, breaking the laws of physics.


    This fight of ours would cause ripples in time for the generations to come after us.


    I knelt to the ground, taking a breath. I scooped the decaying soil, which washed away in my hands for it to be gone forever.


    There was only one way that I could look, and that was to look forward. . . to the man who was in front of me. The man who appeared before me was nothing but trouble.


    I would be the only one who would stand before him and fight, fight until my last dying breath.


    His eyes spoke of ethereal destruction, a magnet that pulls anyone to him and ultimately gets decimated.


    His golden, silky hair flowed down his legs, touching the ground. His blue azure eyes were calculating and frozen.


    With that cape of his was like a protective shield covering his hair from the back.


    I clutched my arm as I stood up from the ground, tall and proud, ready for the consequences of this battle. Too many had lost their lives for the sake of this moment, for it to all end here.


    A final death-match between us would happen, and the others who remained would tell the story to anyone who could live after this.


    Which was unlikely.


    "Is this where it ends for you, Ision?" He approached me closer and closer, with each step filled with purpose and a killing intent that shook this planet to its core.


    I looked to see the piles of bodies that had been slumped on the ground as a consequence of our battle that led to their ultimate demise.


    "Well, Castor, I can say the same thing for you." I pointed my sword at him as I began channelling the power of Leron into it.


    Castor with a devilish grin as he, too, began channelling the power of Ero. Even from here, I could feel the immense strength and power that he was letting out.


    It was almost suffocating, and anyone who would have been alive still would immediately die from the power that Castor alone was using at the moment.


    I drove my sword to the ground.


    Leron den volcano!


    The planet exploded in an instant. I thought it would buy me enough time, but I was wrong. . .


    "Ero via revert!" Castor shouted as the destruction of the planet reverted to normality.


    "Come on now? You seriously think that I would let you win by doing that?" He scoffed, waving his hand in dismissal. "Fight me like your life depends on it."


    WHOOSH!


    His sword clashed with mine, and I realised that he had put himself into the first phase of Wrealthvelt.


    It was clear that he was going all out in our battle.


    Our swords continued to flash and clash as we chipped away the materials from our swords.


    He lunged in attempts to pierce through my chest, but I dodged it away in attempts to find a weak spot, but there was none that I could analyse.


    If the fight kept going as it did, I would be on the losing side of history, and I couldn''t do that to myself.


    There was only one way that I could settle this without a defeat.


    GUH!


    His hand pierced through my chest, opening up a hole in my body.


    I blinked profoundly in utter shock as he leaned closer to my ear, "That''s for all the people you killed."


    BLUH!


    He pushed his hand and went deeper and deeper into my chest to the point the only thing I could do now was cough out a tremendous amount of blood.


    I reached out to him with my hand smearing blood on his face, but he wasn''t phased one bit at all in the slightest.


    SNAP!


    I snapped his arm open, the blood spilling and gushing as I could see the pieces of bone fragment appear.


    The pain was unrelenting, devastating and cruel.


    He forcibly kneeled me to the ground as he did the same too.


    "You''re lucky that I''m giving you a death, that you don''t deserve you."


    "Y-You. . . Traitor. . . H-How could you?" I mustered up all the remaining strength I had in me to.


    Castor, for the first time, drifted his eyes to somewhere else other than me, "You made me do this, Ision. . . Don''t get it twisted." He pulled his hand out of my chest to reveal a bloody fist that dripped with red.


    I dropped to the ground, my hand on the ground, powerless to even move.


    I was too weak to move, even if I wanted to; I couldn''t do anything about it as Castor towered over me.


    He would be the last thing I see. . . How pitiful.


    "I''m sorry it had to end this way," Castor muttered.


    The lies that were spewing out of his mouth. It was nothing but lies. I could see a faint smile on his face.


    He didn''t mean a single word that he had declared. He loved every moment of this, and I could do nothing about it.


    Castor sat there in silence, waiting for my impending demise, as there was only one more thing I could say.


    "Leron in cartion"


    "Leron ine cartion"


    "Leron ine cartion"


    Like that, my eyes closed, disappearing from this very world.


    Whoever came next after me. . .


    Don''t fail.


    <u>MARO</u>


    The world is your oysters, they say. . .


    I knew little about my world, and my world knew little about me, either.


    I was never one to fully believe in the statement, but as things come and go, I begin to realise, think, and answer.


    That the world truly is your oyster.


    What came to my senses as I opened my eyes wasn''t the sound of nature of the birds and the bees buzzing and fuzzing, but rather, it was the cries.


    The cries of mine.


    Everything blurry and indistinguishable to my eyes had become focused and sharp, analysing the world that came into sight.


    The first thing I saw was a hand, an arm, and a tender smile¡ªa smile of benevolence worn on a woman.


    Her fiery hair was lush and gracious, flowing down her shoulders, personifying her grace. And might I add, she was astonishingly beautiful.


    It looked like she was pretty young, with her pale complexion the focal point of his face. She rocked me in her hands with a beaming smile filled with pure joy.


    "It''s a boy!"


    Another voice had come to the picture as I saw an extended hand reach my temple.


    Like my mother, an equally handsome man, though something told me he was a bit clumsy with his big old toothy grin, Colgate smile, and chest puffed up, ready for action.


    He had short hazelnut hair and a clean-shaven beard that enhanced his complexion, and his clothing was rather ragged and broken.


    It made more sense as I slowly looked at my surroundings, and from its appearance, it seemed we were living in a simple and humble cottage. Which wasn''t a bad place to live at.


    My sensations started to bottle up, and it was going to burst.


    Was it anger? Nervousness? Excitement?


    "Wahhh!"


    None of the above. . . I guess.


    Well, for some reason, I felt like crying at this very moment.


    "Did I do that? " the man said in a panic, trying to fan me with his hands.


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    "Wahhh!"


    "I''m not that ugly, right?" He pointed at himself as the woman giggled, shook her head, and cooed at me. As soon as she did that, I stopped crying instantly.


    "Maybe I am ugly." He muttered, smiling faintly at me.


    "No, you''re not, dear; you''re just clumsy, " she answered, looking at me with another beaming smile. "Aren''t you cute?" she smiled, touching me. "Yes, you are!"


    Since I was this woman''s child, I would allow it just this time.


    As the man attempted to reach out to me slowly but surely, this time, he failed.


    "Wahhh!"


    He chuckled, drooping his shoulder in defeat, "Kassie, you just gave birth to him, and he already has a favourite."


    "Don''t say that, Lenin. He''s just coming out of his shell." She smiled at me. After all, like you said, I just gave birth to him." She joked back at him.


    Kassie and Lenin - Mother and Father.


    I was the son of both Kassie and Lenin, and I was okay with that.


    My past life was filled with memories of joy and contentment, but I still did have a lot to live as, after all, I did die at quite a young age, the age of 14, that is.


    I lived in an environment where everything, including the future, technology, and advancements, was a sign of the past.


    It didn''t sound possible, but trust me, it really did.


    We exceeded our expectations and stood atop the mountain, looking down at everyone else.


    I lived in a world that people wouldn''t even be able to comprehend, but never mind that now, I was living in a new world and assigned to the role of a baby.


    I would play that role to the best of my abilities, that was for sure.


    But the biggest question was yet to be asked and had been itching my brain. . . What was my name? Seriously, have they come up with a name yet?


    "Hmmm. . .Jaxon? Paul? Steven? I mean, those are pretty good names, don''t you think?" My father stroked his chin, deep in thought of the possible names that I could be.


    Please, none of those names. . . They were all terrible. Can someone remove my father from naming me?


    "Lenin." My mother smiled and looked over at him. "Those are terrible names." She looked at me and thought, "How about. . . Maro."


    I did my best to nod immediately at the name she had suggested. Now, that was a name befitting for someone like me.


    Maro was a name that suited me the best.


    "Maro?" My father asked in surprise, "I mean, I still think Ja-"


    "Wahhh!" I cried out more.


    "Okay! Okay! Maro. . . Maro it is." He muttered, smiling as they looked at me with such affection that I couldn''t help but feel I was more than loved.


    "Still think Jaxon would''ve been cool."


    "Lenin!" My mother giggled.


    Okay, that was it; I knew that this was a family that I wanted to get used to. . . Let''s live this life now, once and for all.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    It had been a couple of months, and one thing was for sure. . .


    I spent most of the time in my crib looking at the ceiling, which sucked. Sometimes, I forget how useless babies could be; how could babies look up at the ceiling for hours and hours and do nothing with their lives?


    Well. . . Babies don''t usually have a conscience at this age, and most of the time, I''m pretty sure they didn''t get transported to another world, either.


    So, I''m not a typical baby after all.


    "Maro." My mother scooped me up from her crib.


    Ah yes, my chauffeur that took me wherever I wanted whenever I wanted. At least to the place she wanted me to explore, and most of the time, it would be to watch my father soil up, but it wasn''t just any soil.


    Purple Soil.


    Or what my mother likes to call it from what I''ve heard. . .


    Purpura Solum.


    Whatever it was, it only made me more curious about this world. I mean, who would''ve thought that there would be Purple Soil?


    The only thing I had back where I belonged was plain brown soil.


    The soil that my father was digging looked to be unfertile. It was, in fact, a dark purple, not rich in colour.


    I thought that would be the last I would see whatever my father was doing, but it seemed my mother was also inclined to watch what was happening. I''ve never made it this far in this "farming process."


    But lucky me!


    I got to see this first-hand now.


    He dug the Purpura Solum out of the ground and put it into what seemed like a small bowl. He then began grinding it until it had become a liquid.


    An ooze of purple dripped from the bowl, touching the grass and turning it purple.


    What in the world was this?


    "Do you want to drink some?" My father extended the bowl to my mother''s mouth.


    She smiled, shaking her head, "No, not today."


    With a toothy grin, my father immediately extended the bowl to me.


    "Lenin. . . He''s not even one year old yet."


    "Oh yeah! Right."


    Just as I was about to reach the purple liquid with my little tongue, my father instantly retracted the bowl.


    How could you mother. . . You are a traitor. . . I wanted to see what would happen if I was able to intake this Purpura Solum, but I would have to watch my father drink it instead.


    As the liquid travelled down his throat. . . Nothing. Nothing had happened.


    Well, that was anticlimactic.


    WHOOSH!


    In an instant, my mother covered my eyes, preventing me from seeing the blinding purple light that my father was exhibiting.


    The trees and bushes around us were blown in the other direction at full throttle. It was only a couple of seconds later that I was able to look at my father. . . But he was different before.


    His blue orbed eyes had transformed into that of something else. Now, his eyes were filled with not only that but deep purple, a glow that beamed as I peered into his eyes more.


    As he moved his hand, traces of purple followed him.


    Seriously?


    What was going on, and what world was I currently living in?


    I looked at my mother for an answer, but she smiled at me, poking my nose.


    My father took a fighting stance as he extended his left arm, and soon enough, a purple-bladed sword formed in his hand.


    Okay. . . If things weren''t already crazy, things would go even more crazy, and I didn''t even know how that was humanly possible.


    My mother was unphased by everything happening; it was like any other day for our family.


    This was my first time seeing this, especially my father in action.


    I had never seen him doing something like this before. Most of the time, I had always viewed him as a simple father who would work on the farm digging the Purpura Solum from the ground, but now I knew that soil was used for something else.


    That was something I was watching right now.


    PHOOSH!


    My father readied himself into a fighting stance, striking his sword downwards, emitting purple traces that flowed with his movements.


    I was most curious about the purple traces that followed his sword.


    What exactly did it do?


    He quickly breathed as my mother watched with a simple, smug look.


    VROOM


    Holy shit. . .


    Before I could even blink, that tree, standing tall and proud, had been split in half.


    From what I had witnessed, it seemed my father didn''t move a single muscle to destroy that tree.


    Was it because I was just a baby that I couldn''t see what happened?


    Indeed, that must have been the case, too.


    My father walked over to us proudly, pointing at himself as the purple in his eyes diminished.


    "You do know how to show off, don''t you?" She playfully rolled her eyes.


    He shrugged, grinning, "You know me; I have to let loose occasionally."


    "It does seem that way, dear."


    While they were bantering with one another, I drowned their voices out, placing them in the back of my mind.


    Now, I was committed fully to one thing and one thing only.


    It was to figure out how to achieve the same set as my father and understand the world''s mysteries.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    It was long but hard, and after hours and hours of hard training and dedication, I finally achieved what no baby could have.


    The one thing that kept me all night was this non-stop training.


    I had to, for the world and its people relied on me to be able to achieve my goals and succeed in my training.


    "Maro! He''s crawling!" My parents were cheering me on.


    Alright, I''ll admit. I was exaggerating a bit about how much the world needed this training to be completed, but it was still tough to do with little lets like mine.


    Give me some slack, will you?


    It wasn''t every day that you were a baby and couldn''t even use your legs to crawl.


    But guess what?


    Here, I am not able to crawl across the cottage.


    It was about damn time. . . Freedom at last!


    This marked the journey of knowledge and self-discovery in this world, but first, I would hide my time and wait patiently until it was nighttime.


    Mum had put me into the crib that I resided in. However, when my parents were in their room, I knew that it was time for me to begin my master plan once and for all.


    With all my might, I managed to escape the prison that my mother had placed me in, and now I was on a mission to find anything that I could get my hands on.


    Most of the time, I was forced to look up at the ceiling and only think about the thoughts that I had in my mind.


    I wish I could talk right now, but I can''t yet.


    As I roamed on the ground, I made my way to the bookshelf, where I had seen both my father and mother on multiple occasions.


    It would be a great place to start my education if it meant anything.


    I could barely pull out a book without falling, but I could still get a single book out.


    That was enough for me to be satisfied with.


    Just wait until I get older. I will consume all of those books with knowledge.


    I was going to be some genius in this world, and that was for certain. I would make sure that was true.


    As I peered my eyes over the book cover, "Planta Mundus."


    Slowly but surely, I flipped the page to a massive map with all its sharp edges. Then, I realised this world had way more to it than I initially thought.


    From what I had figured out, the world that we were living in was called,


    Vesitga


    My world was divided into four nations: Passus, Semita, Indago, and Persequor. As I read more about it, I realised that humans weren''t the only species that inhabited this place.


    Passus - Mermaids


    Semita - Fairies


    Indago - Orc


    Perseqour - Dragon


    While all these nations lived within Vesitga, one nation was dominant.


    We were the fifth nation


    Humans


    We lived in Juvo.


    It was said that long before my time and even before my parent''s time, the four nations were bickering with one another in attempts to wage war. It wasn''t until the Humans, the saviours, stopped them from doing so that there was a golden age of peace within the five nations.


    We thought we had achieved such peace as if we had never achieved it. Who knows what would''ve happened to Vestiga if we had?


    Thanks to humans, we would never need to know that answer.


    It was a piece of history in Vestiga that everyone knew about, and ever since then, the people of Vestiga have lived in peace without any significant conflict or damage that has happened. Soon, I flipped to another page, which details the different types of Solum that Vestiga had to offer everyone who lived there.


    Solum was divided into five main categories.


    Caeruleum, Ater, Rubrum, Viridis and Purpura.


    It seemed that Purpura was the most powerful and rarest Solum to get in Vestiga. From what I understood, there were only a few ways to obtain these Solums.


    It was either to go on quests that were given by merchants who had an abundance of all sorts of Solums, go to dungeons to fight and potentially mine for ores that would store Solums, or, lastly, just be lucky that your area was fertile and goldmine for Solums.


    Interestingly, the place where we were living fitted the perfect description of a goldmine for Solum.


    My father was able to dig for Solum to find Purpura.


    Each Solum provided different abilities and powers that were granted to drink the liquid of the Solum. After all, I had seen first-hand what the Purpura Solum does, and it was a force to be reckoned with.


    Trading was extensive in Vestiga, as Solum was worth even more than food. That was wild to even think about, being the most valuable resource.


    Just as I was about to read the next page on something to do with Plantae, my mother scooped me up from the ground.


    "Now, what are we doing here?" My mother nuzzled my nose with a gentle and warm smile.


    Damn it, Mother!


    You ruined my plans to understand the nature of this world.


    If I could speak, I would. I had to think fast on my feet.


    "Wahhh!"


    "Oh?" She cooed me, trying her best to soothe me. "Would you like me to read you something?"


    I stopped crying in an instant.


    Mother laughed, "I guess that''s a yes."


    She placed me back in the crib as she began reading me a story. . .


    When I said "story," I meant something informative, like learning more about the world.


    It wasn''t some little fairytale meant to make babies like me go to sleep. I wasn''t any baby; I would refuse to sleep as an act of defiance. But as my mother read more and more, I could feel my eyes being heavy as I slowly drifted away.


    You win this one, mother. . .


    LENIN


    I dug and dug until I couldn''t anymore.


    That''s what I usually do in my free time. After all, I am a farmer for a reason, you know?


    Especially since Fons was coming right around the corner, it would be nice to be early and ready to dig out the Solum that was getting more and more fertile by the day.


    As I dug the last remaining Purpura Solum for the day, I took a step back and took in everything.


    That should be enough as I placed all the Purpura Solum in Thesaurus, ready to be packed and shipped to the markets.


    I quickly wiped the sweat off my face when I entered our little cottage. I understood that when most people see this fine establishment of a house, they would probably be curious as to why anyone would want to live here, and I can give one good reason.


    It was simply peaceful.


    No one ever came here because it was so isolated from the rest of the world, and that was exactly what Kassie and I wanted, but most importantly, for Maro.


    I want him to learn about Vestiga too soon, as he was just a baby.


    I would protect his innocence if it were the last thing I did.


    Kassie was sitting in her chair, watching over Maro as he slept peacefully and soundly. As I began watching over him, a gentle smile formed on my face.


    He had Kassie''s angelic looks, but Maro would have my ravishing and dashing hair colour.


    A blondie.


    He might be getting all the girls Vestiga had to offer him shortly.


    He would be a lady''s man.


    "Long day?"


    I nodded, trying my best to smile. " It was a long day, but it was pretty worth it. I''ll head to the markets to sell some of the Solum we got today."


    The markets opened early in the morning, and I would have to be there before every other merchant came in to set up a good location.


    If there was one thing I learnt, it was that merchants were either the kindest or most greedy people I knew.


    "You should take Maro along with you?"


    "Maro?" I tilted, "Wouldn''t that be a bit unsafe?''


    Kassie chuckled in delight, covering her mouth and shaking her head. "We all know that if Maro is with either of us, he''ll be more than safe, " she answered.


    I couldn''t help but return the grin as I knew what she said was utterly authentic. "I bet we can then!"


    It was settled. I was going to show Maro a little more of this world, as all he knew was that it was simply this little cottage of ours.


    It was about time I gave him something more interesting, but, of course, with moderation.

 Chapter 2: What They Offer

    <u>MARO</u>


    It was time for a grand adventure!


    Never had I been more excited as I could finally go on an adventure, this time with my father and mother.


    I had heard a little about his conversation with Mum, but I couldn''t listen to it as much as I wanted to; after all, my ears were still unable to hear everything.


    The loudest voice was the thoughts that I could hear in my head. I was so curious to see what Vestiga had to offer.


    Father had placed me inside a little makeshift bag, holding me as I prepared to see something more than a small cottage.


    Could we also discuss how my father put me in a bag? Isn''t that a little bit dangerous?


    That could be what they did in this world; who knows?


    Still, I was excited to see the outside world for once.


    But that wasn''t the only good part of this adventure; I would spend even more time with them now.


    For the first time, as my parents waited outside patiently, someone else had arrived. A carriage was currently arriving at our cottage, but it didn''t blend in with the environment of our humble estate¡ªbut never mind that now.


    A man stepped foot outside the carriage. He gave a deep bow to my parents, and they returned the favour without saying any words to each other.


    That was interesting; not a single word was said, but a simple exchange was enough to show respect for both parties.


    Soon enough, I entered the carriage with my parents, who were talking about all kinds of things and bantering with each other.


    As I watched their little conversation, I couldn''t help but feel that through these simple moments, I got to see their connection and why they were such a great team.


    I was loving this life more and more now.


    The road the carriage was taking us was deep into the luscious forest. I couldn''t help but analyze and look at everything in my surroundings.


    Everything here was new to me: the plants and even the animals. They were all unique and different from what I usually saw in my old life.


    Soon enough, we made our way to the market, which was bustling with people, walking past each other with smiles of joy on their faces.


    It almost reminded me how people would shout to the other side to communicate their message.


    However, I was expecting a different market.


    Despite the market being flooded with people, it was clear that this was far from the level of an actual market in the Kingdom of Juvo.


    From what my mother had read about the Kingdom of Juvo, it was said that the markets there were on a whole other level, with transactions being done in the blink of an eye.


    Compared to a local market like this, it was nothing.


    But still, I could see the local transactions that people were making with one another as we ventured deeper into the markets.


    The deeper we went, the more I could experience the culture in these markets. People''s ingenuity and innovations were displayed here for us to see with our own eyes.


    A couple of guards were present, wearing the emblem of the Juvo Kingdom on their armour. They scanned the area, ensuring everything was in place and in order.


    However, I noticed that my father and mother were doing their best to stray away from them whenever they had the chance.


    Finally, we stopped as my father examined what the merchants had for us.


    As we approached the front line, crowds came to this store to look at whatever this merchant was selling.


    My father had gotten a closer chance to look at his product.


    "The best Purpura Solum that Juvo has ever seen!"


    The merchant boasted proudly with a crooked smile on his face.


    If anything, he looked more homeless than an actual merchant.


    "Hey, Kassie?"


    "I know what you''re going to say." She smirked, giving a nod of approval.


    While the merchant continued boasting about the product he was selling, my father stood there looking at it, and something told me he wasn''t impressed.


    "Where did you get the Purpura Solum?" My father asked. "Finding Purpura Solum is extremely rare, especially in these parts."


    The crowd slowly died down as they heard my father''s question.


    With an expected grin on the merchant''s face and his chest puffed, he was ready to give him an answer: "I found in the mighty dungeon of Exsupero!"


    All of the people surrounding us began to murmur in awe.


    From their facial reactions, Exsupero seemed to be something out of the ordinary.


    I had only learned a few things about it.


    It was known to be one of the most dangerous dungeons, and many people had tried to enter it, but only a few had ever escaped.


    You were lucky if you returned with your whole body intact.


    A slight grin was worn on my father''s face. . .


    The energy was about to shift.


    "You''re lying," he chuckled. "You seriously don''t expect me to believe that, do you?"


    "What!" The merchant declared, "You think I lied about going to Exsupero! Have you not seen the scars that I was left with?" He showed his arm to see deep wounds etched on his skin.


    Everyone around us was too quiet to know what to say next.


    Everyone except my mother was still determining where this conversation was heading.


    Despite not showing it on her face, she felt the same way my father did.


    That this merchant standing right before us, so proud, was nothing but a liar.


    "Is that so?"


    WHOOSH


    In the blink of an eye, the little store and the merchant that came along with it flew in the air, and my father landed a swift punch to his chest as the merchant hit himself against the rock.


    My father''s fist was left with purple traces, but it was so quick that no one could see it.


    Holy sh*t, I was surprised that I didn''t entirely fall off.


    I was also surprised he didn''t kill the merchant with that punch.


    "Sorry, kiddo." He chuckled, ruffling my hair, which was already messy enough from everything that had just happened. "I am certainly not a good father," he joked.


    Who came up with the idea of putting me in a bag?


    That was seriously a dangerous and stupid move that any parent could do.


    I sunk deeper into the bag, accepting my fate.


    "How could you do that?" A stranger shouted at my father from the back.


    The crowds had grown disheartened by the events unfolding.


    I was almost happy that someone called out my father''s reckless behaviour until...


    "You could''ve killed him!"


    They pointed at the merchant.


    Seriously?


    I sunk even deeper into the bag, where I couldn''t see anything happening in the outside world.


    To them, that merchant was nothing but innocent, but to my family, he was a liar spewing venom to these innocent people who would believe in his words.


    "Watch closely," my mother whispered as the merchant''s skin returned to normal as if the scars had never existed.


    Everything seemed perfectly normal from what I saw of him, but traces of Caeruleum came from the merchant, probably gained by him drinking it before the crowd had been here.


    "He''s just a fraud, that''s all." My father answered as he looked at her, "Why don''t you grab Maro? It''s about time I let loose." He smiled faintly


    Mother returned that same smile and nodded, picking me out of the bag.


    Alas! Sweet freedom, I could finally see the situation unfold.


    She held me in her arms and stepped back with the crowd, giving me a gentle smile; all I needed to know was that something extraordinary would happen here.


    "Now!" My father clapped his hands together. "That man there is one hell of a liar." He chuckled, looking at the crowd. "I''m just saying, if I were you guys, I''d be pissed having to hear those words that come out of his mouth."


    My father laughed, raising his hand in surrender.


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    I could see the crowd''s eyes looking at the merchant with daggers, with such venom.


    The merchant clenched his fist, almost looking as if his head were to explode, which was practically about to happen here now.


    "You are angry, aren''t you right now?" He smirked, looking over his shoulder with a great grin. "How long do you think this will take?"


    "Hmmm... Forever." My mother gently smiled, and my father sighed, drooping his shoulders in defeat.


    "You have no faith in me, huh? I thought we were on the same page here." He chuckled as he looked at the merchant charging at him.


    "I''ll give you 10 seconds," my mother said smugly.


    "Give me five seconds, Kassie... five."


    WHOOSH!


    The merchant threw a fierce punch, Caeruleum escaping his fist.


    Father dove under his attack.


    2 seconds


    WHOOSH


    With impressive speed, the merchant threw a swift kick that could knock out anyone if it landed right, but somehow, my father easily evaded the attack.


    4 seconds


    The merchant attempted to throw a furious series of punches, which my father could fairly dodge with minimal ease. It was then that his eyes glowed purple. . .


    That the energy was about to shift.


    BOOM!


    5 seconds


    The merchant''s face had begun to turn white as he had gotten the wind blown out of him.


    All my father needed was a simple, solid connection, and that other guy was out for the count.


    The crowd stood silently, not knowing what to say or how to react to what they had just witnessed.


    It wasn''t every day that I got to see my father knock someone out; it was even better that Mom made it seem like it was just a typical day for her.


    In the corner of my eyes, I noticed the guards swiftly approaching us.


    "That''s our time to go!" My father chuckled as my mother ran with me in her arms.


    Seriously? Where was the caution?


    You don''t run with your child at your fastest pace because it''s pretty dangerous, you know. . .


    Oh well, who am I kidding? Like that was going to stop them from doing anything stupid.


    Parents these days. . .


    It didn''t take us long to return to the haven that was our home while we recovered from what my father had done.


    But there was one thing that sparked my interest.


    How was my father able to use Purpura Solum without even drinking it?


    Now, that was something that I needed to know.


    Soon enough, we got home, and my father relaxed in his chair, grabbing a book to read. I just sat on the ground as he noticed me staring at him.


    My father scooped me up in his arms, holding the book with one hand and holding me with the other.


    "This might be a long time, kiddo, but hopefully, you will enjoy this story." He smiled, tapping his chin. "Who am I kidding? You probably don''t understand a word I''m saying." He chuckled, poking my nose.


    Little did he know, I understood every word he said.


    Thankfully, it wasn''t just any kid''s book. It was the book I had always wanted to continue, so thanks, Dad.


    After a few hours, I finally understood more about our world in Vestiga.


    I discovered why and how my father could use Purpura Solum without drinking any of the liquid, and it was all based on a legend.


    Huh, what a coincidence! The question I had meant to ask somehow answered just like that.


    This world did favour me, treating me like some sort of prince in absolute luxury.


    However, our home was far from any luxury.


    It was said that deities, also known as Deus, owned the planet on which we lived.


    These Deus were the ones who gifted Solum to everyone who lived on Vesitga.


    While some had to drink it, it was purely genetics for others.


    They already had Solum within them, which was passed down, which meant that my father was one of the lucky few who could have it with him.


    But that also meant that I, too, could have that gift.


    I won''t be able to monopolize it now, but once I can walk around with my little legs, I will start preparing to activate this Solum within me.


    Just give me a couple of months to do so.


    <u>LENIN</u>


    I watched proudly as Kassie ushered little Maro for his first baby steps.


    It was a sight to see, and I would have loved to see it repeatedly.


    Things like this made me wish time could stop altogether so I could take it all in.


    It''s not every day that I get to watch my son take his first steps.


    Maro began walking much earlier than other babies I knew about, which was not many.


    But you understand what I''m trying to say.


    Kassie was proud to say she was why Maro started walking much earlier than usual.


    After all, despite being a baby, Maro was a pretty intelligent baby.


    If that meant something.


    Not only could Maro string up a couple of phrases, but I was also utterly defeated when his first word was "Mummy."


    Who am I kidding?


    That was expected to happen. Maro had a favourite parent, Kassie, which was perfectly understandable.


    Who wouldn''t choose Kassie in their right mind?


    Yet again, I was defeated by my wife.


    When would it finally be my time to beat her just this once?


    Perhaps never in this lifetime, but I was completely fine with that.


    While he was exploring the cottage with his own two little legs, I couldn''t help but notice something all too well.


    He was attracted to Solum, the Solum that surrounded our little cottage.


    He always wanted to go there, and I could see why.


    That was precisely how I was when I was younger.


    It was said that babies who were more gifted than others would understand and figure out that Solum was a vital source within Vestiga.


    It was an essential natural resource that was pivotal in keeping society running.


    It played a great deal in our economy.


    "Do you think that Maro... . . is ready?" Kassie stood beside us as we watched Maro walk around the cottage.


    I sighed deeply. "Maro probably is, but do we want this for him?"


    After all, he was so young and had just started walking, so it would be better if we let him be.


    Maybe.


    Kassie slid her arm into mine, looking at me with a warm glow. "He should be prepared," she said.


    "You''re right." I sighed, forming a small smile.


    She nodded. "I thought we already established that." Kassie chuckled lightly at me, "That I''m always in the right whenever we talk."


    I rolled my eyes playfully. "Alright, don''t get too cocky on me."


    It would be only a matter of time before he would be ready to activate the Solum inside him.


    He would be prepared for something even more significant than himself.


    I would be there every step of the way.


    "We also have to consider what Plantea he''ll be a part of."


    Also, that was a more significant thing.


    People who were born with Solum inside them also had something called Plantea.


    Since my Solum was natural and not influenced by exterior influences, my powers came from a Plantea.


    Only a lucky few could inhabit a power from a Plantea, but most would not be able to control it, and others wouldn''t even know where to start.


    I was one of them, and I had only scratched the surface of what I could honestly do.


    But I was fortunate enough to inhabit a power from a Plantea.


    The Plantea would pick you.


    So, it made me even more curious about what Plantea would pick Maro.


    From what I understood, just like the types of soil, there were types of Planteas.


    Plantea Tenebris


    Plantea Lumen


    Plantea Ius


    Plantea Leron


    Plantea Deon


    It was said that these plants were to which people like me would become accustomed.


    The more solid connection you had with these Planteas, the more in tune you would be with the Solum within you.


    The more you would be able to do unfathomable things.


    I wasn''t sure I would ever be able to do those things in my lifetime, not like I ever wished to possess that power.


    Besides, no one was strong enough for me to use them in the first place.


    KNOCK! KNOCK!


    I swiftly shifted my head to the door as it appeared to be the sound of a knock. . . No one ever came here, and if they did, they wouldn''t be knocking like that, as it was just an ordinary knock.


    Kassie felt the same as me as I gestured for her to remain silent.


    Kassie nodded, stepping back away until she could no longer be seen.


    I approached the door bit by bit, thinking about who it could be.


    We rarely had visitors. My hands glowed, and Purpura Solum transferred it all to my body as I opened the door.


    "Le-"


    I looked at the guards who had appeared in my footsteps as I tilted my head, feigning ignorance.


    "Sorry, but who are you?"


    The guards looked at one another, confused about what they expected. "Excuse me, sir, but we''re looking for this man."


    They showed me a poster of a pretty damn good-looking man.


    Oh, wait. . . That was just me.


    But still, why do they always mess up with my hairstyle?


    Do they have an outdated picture of me or something?


    I need to give them a new picture one day.


    Never mind that now, but what was appealing to my eyes was the bounty that they were willing to hand to the person who could catch me.


    Bags on bags of Purpura Solum would practically drown you; that was how rich a person could get if they found me dead or alive.


    But I would prefer to be alive if they somehow managed to catch me.


    I shook my head. "I''ve never seen this person before." I paused for a slight moment. "Sorry that I couldn''t be of help."


    "That''s alright. If you spot him anywhere, please report to the Juvo Kingdom." They answered, and I could see one of them simply eyeing me.


    "Well, we just wanted to let you know that he''s a very wanted man. We''ll return later in a few days if you have found any new information." One of them patted me on the shoulder.


    Before I could say anything, they had already left.


    Well, that was odd.


    They just left without pressing me for more answers.


    Seriously, what were they doing back at The Kingdom of Juvo?


    They were never this sloppy when I was there.


    It made sense if...


    When they had finally disappeared, Kassie emerged from the shadows. "So... . . is it time to move?"


    I sighed, looking over my shoulder, "Yeah, it''s time."


    I may have "fooled" the guards, but whatever they were here for, something told me that they would come back wanting a more proper answer.


    Well, that''s what I expected if they were smart enough to do so.


    Something also told me that they already knew we were living in this cottage, but they never dared to make an advance because if they did, they would surely meet a fate worse than death.


    So why now?


    "But before that, let''s get Maro ready." I declared, "Besides, I think it''s time we reunited with some people."


    It was about time that I did.


    It is a long time coming.


    <u>MARO</u>


    I had overheard conversations between my parents but could only pick up a few words. But they were the most essential words to pick up on.


    We would be moving away from the little cottage I had lived in all my life, which was only almost a year ago, but that didn''t mean I wouldn''t miss all the memories I had made here.


    But why was I moving?


    That is a whole other story I didn''t know about, but whatever it was, it must have been severe.


    My parents took me not far from the little cottage, but it was a place I had never been before. The walls around us were filled with ancient letters that I could not comprehend.


    I sat patiently on the sunken floor for whatever was coming next.


    I could hear them discussing whether it was too early to do something like this to me and whether I was even ready for it.


    My mother gave me a parting kiss before leaving me alone with my father.


    This would be a two-person team.


    My father sat in front of me, gesturing to me to do the same as he took a deep breath.


    He extended his hand right in front of my face as Purpura started to form, emitting a bright light throughout this process. My father gave me a reassuring smile that lifted whatever stress was on my mind.


    "Alright, I know you can''t understand me and that, Maro. But this is going to be all about you. You''ll see soon enough." He nodded as the Purpura light on his palm grew brighter until it shifted to utter darkness¡ªuntil there was nothing but pitch black.


    I rubbed my eyes slowly to see a desolate and barren planet.


    It wasn''t the plane I was living on; I was no longer on the planet I had grown accustomed to. One thing was for sure: there was not a single life in this place. . . So I thought.


    In the far end, a glowing spark came closer and closer until it was right in front of me, towering over me.


    It was a female goddess, a Deus.


    "Hello there, little one." An angelic yet soft voice boomed, alluring me in. If anything, I wouldn''t have been surprised if she was the embodiment of beauty, grace, and wisdom. This person right in front of me was someone to respect.


    I couldn''t help but look at the ground, unsure if I could even make eye contact with her.


    "You are the first person ever to step foot, and I am honoured to lend you the powers of a Deus like myself." She bowed gracefully, but I could notice her shaking, not because she was nervous but because this was her first time doing something like this.


    When I think about it, doesn''t that mean the same thing?


    Nevermind that now. . .


    To me, she seemed inexperienced in these parts of things.


    She was not like the other Deus, the ones my father had described them as.


    They were supposed to be high and mighty, imposing their strength on you to show you what they were worth.


    To put you in your place.


    But something about this Deus told me otherwise.


    The Deus slowly moved her hands in the air as Rubrum began to leak out of her body, which soon transferred into my little body.


    The power, the strength¡ªeverything was coursing through my veins. It was an ethereal experience, something that I had never felt in my life before.


    Until it was finally all gone.


    I slowly looked up to see Deus'' eyes widen as a gentle smile was worn on her face. "Woah. ... You have an interesting but dark future ahead of you." She answered calmly, but I could see in her eyes that she wasn''t expecting whatever she saw. "We''re both in for something. .," she muttered slowly.


    What did she mean by that? Also, how could she tell me some dangerous prophecy like that with a smile?


    Yeah. . . She was pretty weird.


    Not only that, but the fact that the power of a Deus allowed them to see into the future was more than overpowered.


    What did she have to do with me?


    "You have a long journey. . . Stay safe." A gentle twinkle in her eyes as she nodded at me.


    When I blinked again, she had already disappeared from my sight.


    I blink once more to see my father in front of me now.


    "You''re back." He smiled, scooping me from the ground. "You must be tired? Let''s head back home."


    It was a satisfying feeling, but one thing was for sure: I still had a question that I never got answered.


    The Plantea I had been on differed from the other Planteas I had been told about in the books, but maybe I needed to know more.


    After all, there was still a lot more about Vestiga that I needed clarification on.


    But for now, I will sleep on it.

 Chapter 3: I Didnt Expect That

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 Chapter 4: Lets Make Things Clear

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 Chapter 5: Here We Enter Uncharted Territory

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 Chapter 6: Its Been a While Hasnt It?

    <u>RICKSTON</u>


    We travelled by carriage; there was no train system to Lylia''s estate. She was old-fashioned.


    Mind you, I also designed parts of her estate.


    "So, how have you and Kassie been?"


    Lenin removed his mask and gave me a thumbs-up, "We just had a kid, Maro."


    Okay, if that wasn''t earth-shattering news, I didn''t know what was. "You''re joking, right?" I nervously chuckled. "You have a kid now?"


    He nodded, "Yeah, we do."


    I rubbed my temple, "Things change, huh? I can''t believe you managed to be with Kassie."


    "Hey!" Lenin grinned. "What''s that supposed to mean?"


    I gave him an all-knowing look, "If I do remember correctly, we used to be the biggest douchebags."


    His mind suddenly stopped before he could say another word, "Fair point." He muttered. "But hey, everything happens for a reason, right?"


    That couldn''t be any more true.


    Our carriage stopped as I looked outside.


    "Are we here?" Lenin asked curiously.


    Looking at the outside world, I knew we were here.


    There were no questions asked.


    I didn''t need to tell him we were there; he knew to wear his mask.


    "One more thing." I added, "You feel that small red button."


    "Yeah, what about it?"


    "Press it."


    He pressed the button, waiting for something to happen, "Uh. . . Is something meant to happen?"


    I chuckled, shaking my head; that just meant it worked.


    We stepped outside and entered a new world of grand architecture, beckoning at us.


    "You weren''t kidding when you said this place was amazing," Lenin muttered in awe.


    If anything, this was one of the best estates that I had ever designed in my life.


    It was simply beautiful to my eyes.


    We weren''t the only ones here marvelling their eyes out.


    Nobles from The Kingdom of Juvo had come to attend this venue, bringing their champions to represent them in the fight.


    We made our way to the line of people waiting to enter Lylia''s amphitheatre.


    One thing for sure was that we were undoubtedly the outliers among everyone here.


    I mean, we were getting looks for our clothing.


    I couldn''t care less about wearing a suit; I was an artist for crying out loud, not a damn businessman or politician.


    We finally reached the front of the line as the guards towered over us.


    "Name."


    "Rickston Flag."


    The guards checked on their clipboards as their eyes widened ever so slightly.


    "It''s good to see you, sir. We''ll take you to the elite section while your champion waits with the others."


    I nodded, smiling over at Lenin.


    I didn''t need to see his reaction behind his mask; I already knew he wasn''t looking forward to this.


    The guards chauffeured me to where all the other nobles were currently at.


    In a bar.


    Not just any bar, but a bar that practically conjures up any drink you desire.


    One thing that was important in these parts of the place was that Solum was crucial to the everyday person, but to these people. . . They could care less about it.


    They spent Solum wherever the hell they wanted. Nobles bet with Solum, which was enough to understand that this was the last place I wanted to be.


    While the usual laughter and chatter circulated in the air, it soon died down as the one and only Lylia made her entrance.


    She had placed everyone in a chokehold with her impending presence here.


    She walked almost as if she were gliding through the air. She stood elegantly and tall, examining everyone.


    "I hope you have a joyous day." Her voice softly spoke, "Please place your bets." She bowed deeply.


    Soon, images of all the champions popped up at everyone''s respective tables, showing every little detail about them.


    Lenin, or Constan, should I say for now, had randomised information about him, making him the average Joe.


    Of course, some people were betting Solum on their guys, and others were placing their best bets on the most apparent champions who appeared the strongest.


    I was just lucky that rarely anyone would take a look at Lenin.


    Please don''t disappoint me now, or I''m going broke tonight.


    The return for Lenin would be all that I needed because the payout would be huge with him.


    I placed my bet, waiting for what was to happen.


    We watched on a screen as all the champions were released in a style similar to gladiator fighting.


    As everyone cheered on, I was having the time of my life. I watched closely, watching every move and opponent.


    "Never in my million years would I have thought you would come here."


    Lylia softly smiled, sitting beside me.


    "Ah, Lylia, I thought you wouldn''t have recognised me."


    She chuckled lightly, "I could smell a stank from a mile away."


    I rolled my eyes, grumbling, "I see you''re the same as ever."


    She rested her head on her hands, watching the massive fight unfolding. "It''ll be a pleasure to watch your champion die," she said.


    "You''re still as sadistic as I remember, huh?"


    Lylia shrugged sheepishly, "If you wanted to win, you should''ve betted for the obvious choice."


    She looked at the battlefield, "These people are so exploitable, and all I have to do is sit back and watch my empire grow." Lylia clapped in delight.


    I looked at Lylia''s face, seeing an expression of shock and delight, and I was witnessing what was happening.


    I, too, was interested as well.


    "You know, you would earn more Solum if your champion decides to kill them." Lylia watched with great interest.


    I scoffed, "Yeah, I''m not some sicko."


    She sighed, a small smile flickering, "A great pity."


    <u>LENIN</u>


    WHOOSH


    SWOOSH


    Everywhere I went around the arena, there was at least someone flying to the other side knocked out cold, or better yet, dead.


    What made it worse was that we could hear the nobles from where they were watching, cheering as the scenes were unfolding.


    I did my absolute best not to hurt anyone too much.


    The nobles selected these champions; if I have to be honest, they were disappointing.


    Everyone went down like flies until only five of us were left.


    One tried rushing straight towards me without a strategy; his bravery was respected, but his actual skills... not so much.


    As he tried to reach out to my face with his hands, I ducked under his attempt, kicking his back and causing him to fall onto the ground.


    Another attempted to jump onto my back, but I swiftly evaded his attack.


    Similarly, he tried the same thing, and I did precisely the same thing to the other person.


    These champions may have had some skill, but they lacked brains.


    By the time I was finished handling them, there seemed to be only one more person I had to face.


    His body was drowned in blood as the splatter of blood dropped to the ground; something told me that was not his blood at all.


    But the blood of everyone that he had killed.


    With a devilish grin, he looked over to me and said he had a thirst for more blood.


    Suddenly, I felt a tug on my sleeve.


    I instinctively attempted to attack whatever it was, but I managed to restrain myself.


    Only to see that it had been some frail guy.


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    "P-Please don''t hurt me." He shook in fear. "I-I''m just trying to survive." He fumbled with his words as his lips continued to turn purple, quivering.


    What kind of sicko would have enlisted him into this?


    But what was more impressive was that he could survive this long in the arena.


    He seemed to be pretty young compared to the rest of the people there, and I knew he wouldn''t have a chance of surviving with the other person staring at us.


    "You''ll be fine, " I told him reassuringly. Just stay back there."


    He nodded.


    I turned my look over to that crazy man with a reasonably deranged look.


    WHOOSH


    He''s fast


    I could see why this man had survived in the arena for this long; he had some skills compared to everyone else.


    WHOOSH


    WHOOSH


    BOOSH


    He also wanted to end this fight as quickly as possible by using blows that would severely injure a person.


    It meant one thing. . . He was getting tired quickly.


    So, I would exploit that as a tool.


    I continued to evade his punches and kicks with minimal ease; the way things were going, this fight would be in within a few seconds.


    From the looks of it, his punches got sloppier, his breath grew ragged, and his shoulder hunched.


    I stood still, watching over him as he threw a punch right towards my face; it didn''t connect, dropping to the ground altogether in exhaustion.


    The laughter of the nobles instantly died down, clearly surprised at the outcome.


    No one expected someone like me to win; if only they knew who I was.


    I looked at the other remaining person with a gentle smile as he nodded back, a sense of relief washing over his shoulder.


    I looked over at Lylia, who was currently watching the scenes. She had no other choice but to give me the victory.


    <u>RICKSON</u>


    "Good job out there." I patted him on the shoulder, "You weren''t trying at all, were you?"


    He chuckled, shaking his head, "No, but it was a good warm-up."


    WHOOSH


    The doors flew open, and came Lylia, looking over at us.


    "Congratulations." Lylia begrudgingly muttered to me.


    Seeing her like this was always a fantastic sight to see.


    "I''ll transfer the Solum." Lylia acknowledged as she looked over at my so-called "Champion."


    "You did well out there. A pity you didn''t kill anyone in the arena, though." She added.


    "You know that''s not my way of doing things." He chuckled, putting his mask aside.


    At that moment, Lenin must have expected to see Lylia in shock, but that wasn''t the case.


    "About time." Lylia smiled.


    Lenin tilted his head in confusion, "Shouldn''t you be more surprised about this cool revelation?"


    Lylia shrugged, "Yeah. . ." She looked at me, "If Rickston didn''t tell me about it ages ago."


    "Ages ago?" Lenin was calculating everything until he finally realised it.


    "Wait. . ." He stared at me, "Don''t tell me that you knew you were going to do this to me all along?"


    I sniffed my laughter, "I can neither confirm nor deny."


    Lenin rubbed his temple, muttering, "You probably don''t even need the Solum, huh?"


    "Nope." I declared, "Not at all."


    He sighed, smiling, "So I''m assuming you''re on board with this stupid plan." He looked at Lylia.


    She returned the smile, nodding, "I had a feeling that something like this would happen. Besides, it was in my prophecy." Lylia declared.


    "It was in yours?" Lenin asked as she nodded.


    "Yeah, both Rickston and I had similar prophecies, and it turns out that. . ."


    "It aligned with yours," I added.


    "So you''ve known all along that this was going to happen?"


    "Glimpses of it. Not the whole thing." Lylia commented.


    Everyone who had Solum genetically in their blood knew they were destined for some Prophecy.


    It was simply a normal thing to have. Most nobles had a prophecy, but it wasn''t all that important. The closer your blood was to the royal family, the more significant your prophecy would impact the world.


    Lenin was simply one of them.


    "I''m not going to beat around the bush, but you know there''s a bounty on your head, right?" Lylia spoke up, "You''re lucky that you haven''t been recognised, or people would be trying to kill you."


    Lenin nodded, knowing she was right, "Even if they wanted to, they wouldn''t be able to." He grinned.


    There was that cocky person I knew.


    "Still has that cocky attitude, huh?" Lylia whispered.


    I chuckled, "No kidding."


    Lenin paused momentarily, thinking as he looked up at us, "Lylia, hypothetically speaking, if you were to smuggle bags of Solum, how much could you do in a month."


    She tapped her chin. " There are probably 50-100 bags of it. Why?"


    A slight grin appeared on his face. "Well, I think I just discovered a way to make your job easier, Rickston." He looked over at me with a smile.


    I knew what he meant by that; if he were thinking of what I was imagining, this would be one hell of a journey.


    <u>LENIN</u>


    "You weren''t kidding when you said this place needs some fixing," Rickston muttered beside me as we took it all in.


    I chuckled, patting him on the back, "Hey! You''re going to love it here! Besides, you can do whatever you want with this place."


    "Don''t think it helps." He returned the chuckle, examining the space and resources he''d need.


    Besides, Lylia would send us monthly Solum, providing enough Solum Flow to last a while.


    "Lenin!"


    A voice came calling as Lusan and Tara came rushing to us.


    I smiled brightly, "It''s so good to see you guys!" I hugged them all as they began looking over to Rickston.


    "Is this?" Tara said in awe as I nodded, wrapping my arm around his shoulder.


    "This man here will change The Village of Facia to something special. Meet Rickston Flag."


    "It''s a pleasure to meet you, sir!" Lusan exclaimed.


    "Did you have to introduce me like that?" He grumbled beside me as I patted him.


    "Of course, if you excuse us now, we''ll head to the lab."


    We made our way to the lab, but a voice interrupted us before we could step foot in it.


    "Stop!"


    We stopped in our footsteps.


    "Just stay back for a second while I finish this."


    It was Felix, who was currently working with Rachel side by side, both of them wearing their makeshift lab coats.


    Whatever they were working on, it seemed like they were hard at it.


    Soon enough, they created some liquid that they dropped onto the soil, and whatever it was, it looked like it was making the soil fertile.


    "Isn''t that just water he''s using," Rickston muttered.


    But before I could say anything, the soil became more purple, almost like it was. . .


    "Purpura!"


    "Holy shit." I chuckled.


    He could turn average soil into Purpura, but that short success was over as the soil reverted to normal.


    "Well, we''re almost there." Felix smiled as he took his glasses.


    Felix stood still momentarily, a wash of a big smile on his face as he looked at Rickston.


    He immediately gave him a big old bear hug, "How have you been?"


    "Well, being here is not good." Rickston joked, "This place needs a lot of work on."


    "Tell me about it." I chuckled.


    It surprised me that we had been gone for a few weeks because it didn''t feel like that. There was only one place that I wanted to visit now.


    While the two of them were catching up, I, too, needed to catch up with my own family.


    Luckily for me, I had already spotted them.


    "Lenin." Kassie smiled, wrapping me in a hug. "How was the expedition?" A smug look appeared on her face.


    "Funnily enough, still in one piece." I gestured to myself as Kassie rolled her eyes playfully. "How''s Maro doing?"


    "Pretty well; I''ve been teaching him some classic history." She smiled brightly. "If only there were an actual school institution for every other kid here."


    I nodded, leaning against the table, "Actually, I have good news, Ri-"


    "Rickston is here." She smiled softly.


    Wait to ruin the surprise.


    "What?" She chuckled, "Just because I haven''t seen him in a while doesn''t mean I can''t recognise his Solum pattern."


    Kassie never seemed to stop impressing me.


    "Hey, mind sharing your thoughts with me for a second."


    She nodded, sitting beside me, "Of course. What is it?"


    "The way we''re going with this. . . Making The Village a better place at the cost of bringing even more danger to us?" I paused momentarily, "Is this the wisest choice to make?"


    "Well, you''re helping these people here, giving purpose in their life. I mean, look at Felix; he''s doing amazing now."


    I sighed, smiling. "Yeah, I suppose you''re right with that. . . Things will change now," I declared, looking at Maro playing with his little blocks.


    "And we''ll change with it." Kassie added, "Like everyone else, we face our upheaval. All we can do now is support Felix and guide him."


    I nodded, knowing that she was right.


    "Speaking of helping Felix, there''s a meeting that I have to attend. See you soon." I smiled, and Kassie nodded, leaving me to my thoughts as I went to the meeting area.


    Everyone was getting ready, and I took a seat beside Rickston.


    "How are you finding the place?"


    He shrugged, "I''ve just been developing blueprints in my head now." Rickston looked at his surroundings, "It''s a whole new environment, but other than that, it''ll be fun to work on."


    "Alright, may I have your attention, please?" Felix clapped his hands together, and everyone was looking at him.


    He spoke about the progress we had made due to our remarkable findings. However, there seemed to be some problems, noticing that there had been signs of a village expanding more than they usually do.


    "They think we''re probably a threat now because of that last encounter." Zac stood up, "If that means anything, we''ll have to be ready to defend ourselves."


    "Violence shouldn''t be our first resort." Felix attempted to calm down the situation. "After all, we entered their territory first." Felix managed to add.


    Felix made a good point; if it hadn''t been for us, we wouldn''t have had this problem.


    "That''s why I''ve decided that from now on, Lenin will be in charge of foreign affairs." Felix gestured over to me with a gentle smile. "If you have any questions regarding scouting, please ask him."


    It seems as though everyone was pretty satisfied with Felix''s decision.


    "Now, everyone, you are all dismissed."


    Soon, everyone left their seats, leaving only the three of us hanging around.


    "I''m assuming this is where the real meeting begins?" Rickston raised his eyebrow.


    "Correct." I stood up, "You''re a quick learner, you know that,"


    He smiled, shrugging, "That''s why you brought me here."


    I nodded, "Well, what do you need from us?"


    He tapped his chin slightly, "You certainly already have the resources and more from Lylia."


    Felix instantly looked at me and said, "You got Lylia to be part of this?"


    I smiled, nodding.


    "Moving on," Rickston commented, "As much as I can create the blueprint myself, I need workers. A bunch of them."


    "How many people do we have?" I asked Felix.


    "Around 1000." He declared, "Probably less. . ." He muttered.


    "That''s our first big problem; we need more people to work on these building constructions. We should use as many people as we have here, but there comes to an extent where we must use other ways." He answered.


    I placed my hand on my chin, "Just what are your blueprints?"


    He smiled, "A school, bigger farms, bigger facilities." The more he listed the things he planned on building, the more excited he got. "I can assure you, these things can all be done within a couple of months if we have the workers on board."


    Rickston paused for a moment. "I''ll be honest with you: It''ll take forever with the people we have now. But we can start now. Better to have something than nothing."


    I looked over at Felix, who seemed surprised, too. "Alright, then, we''ll plan an expedition to one of the villagers and see if we can hire some of their workers."


    Rickston nodded, "It''d probably be best if you work them on a contract. Offer the village Solum a thank you, then start a trade with them."


    "That sounds like a plan." I nodded. We''ll start doing it as soon as possible."


    Felix looked at us and said, "I should probably head back to the lab."


    With that, we all left to our accords.


    <u>LUSAN</u>


    "Why do you think we''re here for?" Tara muttered beside me.


    "Whatever it is, as long we didn''t get into trouble for something."


    "The truth be told. Truth be told." Tara sighed.


    The chatter died down between us as Lenin entered the room, and that was enough for us to listen intently to him.


    "Thank you for coming, " he smiled at us. I don''t want to beat around the bush, so we''ve been assigned another expedition."


    "Another scouting?" Zac was the first to speak up.


    He shook his head, "Not this time; we are visiting The Village of Ustrin."


    "Ustrin?" Zac raised an eyebrow, "Shouldn''t we go to The Village of Scopa? They were the ones who ambushed us."


    "True, but we can deal with them later. They''re not as big of a threat as you think."


    It seemed that Lenin was the only person Zac respected or cared to listen to remotely.


    "Have you all packed your things?"


    We all nodded.


    He clapped his hands, "Good, we should get going then."


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    We took the same route to The Village of Ustrin, and like last time, nothing too interesting seemed to be happening except seeing the prosperous farming that we knew this Village for.


    "Oh, excuse me."


    We all looked to see a woman holding a sack in her hand.


    "Do you need help finding our village?"


    "Uh, yes." Lenin smiled.


    The woman returned the smile, "Would you like me to lead you the way?"


    We collectively nodded.


    While we followed the woman, she revealed her name to be Kristle. She seemed friendly and easygoing, and we told her everything about what the Village of Ustrin had to offer.


    Despite most of us seeming more at ease with her nature, I could sense that Zac was ready to let go of his nervousness about walking with a stranger.


    On the other hand, Lenin didn''t care about the world.


    Soon enough, we managed to make our way to the centre of the Village, where it was even more evident that this was a farming village with animals roaming around.


    "Our leader should just right down there." She pointed, having a soft smile on her face.


    "Thank you for your assistance," Lenin remarked.


    "My pleasure." She bowed before leaving.


    We could keep walking down and make it in no time.


    As we made our way, a couple of guards stopped us, but with a straightforward look, they let us in, smiling as they did.


    These people were quite friendly.


    We must have entered a garden filled with vibrant colours. Everywhere I looked, it was just popping.


    Even the smell was intoxicating, luring me in to smell the freshness of the flowers.


    But there, we say, was a woman all by herself, the most vibrant. Not even the flowers could beat her presence in this room.


    She was minding her own business, humming peacefully to herself.


    "Should we go talk to her?" I asked Zac.


    "Why are you asking me?" He grumbled, but I could tell he was thinking the same thing as I.


    She was a true beauty, that was for sure.


    "Oh, I didn''t see you there. Do what do I owe the pleasure." Her angelic voice called out to us, her hands behind her back as she moved closer.


    Lenin was the first to step forward, breaking myself from my little trance.


    "We were just hoping you could lead us to the direction of your leader."


    "The leader?" She tilted her head as she began tapping her chin. "Well, if you want to find the leader, I can show you."


    "Thanks." But before Lenin could move any further, she pointed at herself.


    "I''m the leader." She answered a bit more seriously.


    "Wait, you''re the leader?" Zac blurted out of nowhere.


    She slowly nodded, "My name is Eleanor. Is there a problem with me being a leader?"


    Zac instantly shook his head. "No! I didn''t expect it to be a girl."


    I rolled my eyes; come on, Zac, you know you''re not meant to be saying something like that, especially to someone who is a leader.


    Now, shall we get started with this?

 Chapter 7: To Know Our Friends

    LUSAN


    She covered her mouth, chuckling, "It''s okay; I suppose I get that quite a lot."


    "You don''t seem so surprised that you have unwelcome visitors." Lenin declared.


    The atmosphere shifted as we all prepared for what would happen next.


    "Let''s just say I have been in this situation before." She nodded. A while back, the village of Quis arrived, accusing us of trespassing on their land.


    Immediately, I let out a nervous chuckle, "Yeah. . . That was us." I scratched the back of my head as we all shamefully looked away, except Lenin.


    Eleanor let out a soft smile that didn''t reach her face. "I see. . . We had to pay reparations for something we didn''t do, " she declared with a hint of sweet venom. "Not only that, we also had to produce twice the resources to keep up."


    I gulped, knowing that we may have fucked up and potentially ruined our chances of even getting what we wanted here.


    Before Lenin spoke, Elenoir intervened again: "Let me guess. You came here for something that we have?"


    Lenin looks straight into her eyes, "Yes."


    "Well, then, you already know the answer. . . No." She declared.


    "But we didn''t mean to," Tara spoke up.


    "Yeah, we can trade you, Solum, so much of it!" Zac added.


    She scoffed, waving her hand in dismissal, "You think I''m that superficial and willing to take Solum from your hands?"


    Lenin did her best to calm her down, "That''s not what we''re trying to say."


    "That''s ex-"


    BOOM


    A loud noise appeared out of nowhere, and then a large horn began playing.


    "What''s that noise?"


    Her eyes widened, "It''s too soon; they''re already here." She muttered lowly as a flame in her eyes appeared. "Just stay here; I''ll deal with you guys later."


    We watched as she rushed out of the greenhouse.


    "We''re seriously not going just to stay here, right?" Tara asked.


    Lenin chuckled and shook his head. "That''s the last thing we''re going to do. Everyone, let''s go."


    We quickly rushed to catch up to Eleanor, only to see everyone cowering in fear. Eleanor was the only one who dared to stand proud and strong.


    But I could tell that her body was betraying her, as just like everyone, she too was just as scared.


    In front of her were crowds of rough-looking soldiers, precisely the ones we had encountered last time. They all wore devilish smirks and carried what I assumed were their own crafted weapons.


    One of them, tall and muscular, mounted off his horse, his hands on his hips, standing prouder than ever.


    "What are you doing here!" Eleanor declared loudly; her voice could be heard across the plain fields. "You said by the end of the week."


    The man chuckled his axe on his shoulder, "By the end of the week or today. What''s the difference?" He stepped closer to her, practically towering over her.


    All the other people could do was watch in fear.


    "Now, dear, give me all your livestock."


    "What, all of it? You said you only needed half of it."


    "I changed my mind." He spat on the ground, "Give it now or else."


    I could see Eleanor shaking in fear, but that didn''t stop her from clenching her fingers on the sword''s handle and glaring up at him.


    He grinned, "Gladly."


    WHOOSH


    In a blink of an eye, before he could even slice Elenoir with his axe, Lenin had already made it all the way there.


    His sword is currently preventing Eleanor from getting hurt.


    We quickly rushed over to her side.


    "Oh!" the man chuckled. It seems you have some competent people on your side after all." He grinned devilishly, pressing his axe against Lenin''s sword, but he didn''t budge.


    "Do you want to sign your death?" The man stared straight into Lenin''s eyes.


    CLANG!


    The man instantly fell onto the ground, creating distance from us.


    I looked at Lenin in awe, wondering how he had managed to do that.


    "You bastard!" The man roared, "I want this village to burn! Now!"


    The soldiers charged towards us, and we looked at each other, ready for what was to come.


    CLANG!


    BLANG!


    CLANG!


    These soldiers were no joke at all,


    One of them charged at full force at me with incredible speed. His sword struck my face. I managed to dodge it, but just barely.


    His strike caused his sword to be stuck to the ground as he desperately tried to lift it out of the soil.


    Now was my chance.


    I charged at him, impaling him with my sword.


    I instantly pulled it out, ready for the next foe to come.


    While I was dealing with my problems, Tara and Zac could also be dealing with their own.


    Zac was waiting for a moment like this; he was bloodthirsty, aggressive, and permanently the most aggravated of us.


    Meanwhile, Eleanor was handing her own, taking down a couple herself.


    But the real fight was the one that Lenin was currently having with the big guy himself.


    However, in all honesty, it seems that Lenin was playing around with him, testing his skills.


    There was no struggle for him when it came to fighting him.


    It was like watching Lenin dance around him.


    Soon enough, the enemy''s numbers dwindled as we sliced through our opponents.


    He raised his hand in surrender until that man was the only one left standing, knowing he could not survive.


    "We should cut him up into pieces when we have the chance to." Zac declared, glaring over at him as he attempted to move closer to him.


    I instinctively blocked him with my arm, shaking my head.


    The last thing we needed was for Zac to be ballistic on him.


    "As fun as that sounds," Lenin commented, looking over his shoulder, "I don''t think that''s what Eleanor wants, correct?"


    She nodded, "Right."


    Lenin returned the nod.


    WHOOSH!


    Lenin instantly kicked the man''s chest, causing him to drop to the ground; before he could even react, Lenin had already towered over him, his leg on his chest preventing him from moving.


    As his sword was right up the man''s face.


    Any wrong move now, Lenin could take his life, and it was clear that he wouldn''t hesitate in doing so at all.


    Now the question was, what was Lenin going to do next?


    "I''m going to set you free alongside the other men who managed to survive this little predicament." Lenin began pointing his sword closer to his face. "Then, once you return to your village, I want you to report back to your leader and tell him I want to meet with him."


    He scoffed, but despite him doing that, his eyes betrayed him. "W-What makes you think I''m not the leader?"


    Lenin chuckled, pressing his leg onto his chest, causing him to grunt. "Because if you were, I''d be fairly disappointed."


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    The man looked at him, and we needed to know that Lenin was telling the truth.


    Lenin released his feet off his chest, letting the man stand up.


    Lenin nodded at us as we let the enemies get up on their feet.


    We watched as they hurried back to their horses, not before the man looked at us, and finally, they disappeared.


    "Here." I smiled, extending my hand to Eleanor.


    She returned it with a small "Thank you." She accepted and got up on her feet.


    We both looked at Lenin, who was watching them quickly disappear.


    "How strong is he?" Eleanor muttered.


    I shrugged, "Hell, I don''t even know. . ."


    Lenin made his way over to us with a casual smile.


    "We have a couple of days before their leader comes here, " he said.


    Eleanor raised an eyebrow in amusement, "How do you know that? Also, how did you even know he wasn''t the leader?"


    That was probably something that we were all currently curious about.


    "Don''t you guys learn military tactics 101? " He joked, but his laughter died out as we gave him a deadpan look.


    "Tough crowd," he muttered, clearing his throat. "Well, it''d be too stupid for the actual leader to come here demanding for the livestock." He paused for a moment. So he decided to have an enforcer come. To scare you."


    "I see. . . It does make sense." Eleanor nodded in agreement.


    "Of course, it makes sense." Lenin chuckled, "I would''ve sent in Zac."


    "Hey!" Zac blurted out.


    "I''m kidding." Lenin slapped him on the back.


    "I guess I have to owe you one anyway, huh?"


    Lenin waved his hand in dismissal, "You don''t have to owe us anything. I would like to have some time to talk to you about that proposal if it''s not too time-consuming for you."


    She smiled, "Yeah. . . We can do that."


    <u>LENIN</u>


    I waited patiently as she looked at the list of requests I had made for her.


    Once she was done, she looked up at me.


    "This is. . . Interesting, to say the least." She smiled, handing the list back to me, "It''s too good of an offer not to take, but I can''t help but think there''s some underlying motive."


    I chuckled, raising my hand in surrender, "I promise, there''s no secret motive."


    I mean, was there?


    I wouldn''t say there was some motive; we just needed workers to help Rickston with his architectural project.


    She eyed me carefully. "Are you just willing to trade us that many bags of Solum as well? It seems like my village gets the better deal between us."


    "Look," I smiled, "If you don''t trust us, you can break the deal whenever you want to. You can retract your workers whenever you want, and we''ll still uphold our part of the deal. We''ll still give you bags of Solum."


    Eleanor chuckled, "I don''t know what to say; you''re either optimistic or stupid."


    I sheepishly smiled, "I like to think I''m idealistic in an unrealistic world."


    "An idealistic person, hun?" She muttered.


    "I suppose I want to sign a deal with an idealistic person then, on one condition." She raised a finger.


    "Sure, that can be settled; what is it?"


    "I want to see the work that my workers are doing."


    I chuckled, nodding, "That can be arranged." I extended my hand towards her as she looked at me.


    She smiled, shaking my hand.


    "Now, since we are business partners, I think it''s only fair I show you the secrets to why this village is known for its farming."


    "You don''t have to."


    She chuckled, "Trust me, I want to. It''s a thank you."


    I nodded, "Alright then lead the way."


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Whatever she was taking me, I was not expecting her to take me to a place like this.


    I didn''t even notice that this had been here the whole time.


    It''s probably because I was too busy focusing on everything else that I didn''t realise this was under me.


    We went deeper and deeper under the ground, where more guards patrolled the area.


    I was surprised that there were guards even in this village here; where were they when they were fighting those people?


    But then she said, "When I was younger, my family used to tell me all these stories about how the Royals of Juvo had the most powerful abilities."


    I chuckled, "Where are you going with this?"


    She looked over her shoulder, smiling, "Let me just finish." Eleanor chuckled, "Funnily enough, they told me this story about this shrine. It could naturally produce Solum, not just any Solum, but Purpura Solum."


    "Did you believe it?" I found this conversation amusing.


    Eleanor scoffed, "Believe me when I say this. I did not believe it one bit when I was younger. It was folklore." She paused momentarily, "From what I''ve heard, The Kingdom of Juvo is far beyond our little villages. They are way advanced."


    She wasn''t wrong about that at all.


    Felix''s creations were made long ago when we were younger and having fun at the Kingdom of Juvo.


    We were not denying heading into a world of the unknown.


    "But that''s not the point." We stopped in our tracks as we stood behind a curtain, "Because everything I just told you. . ."


    She opened the curtains, "This was completely true."


    Any person who heard this information would have been shocked by this revelation.


    This was earth-shattering news that would have changed everyone''s mind.


    But I wasn''t just average; I knew something like this existed.


    The Shrine of Solums.


    These were rare things. It was obvious that there was a shrine at the Kingdom of Juvo, but it did surprise me that there had been a shrine here out of all places.


    The question was, where are the other two?


    <u>KASSIE </u>


    Living here was something else.


    I liked it; having to live in a peaceful village was always lovely to experience every once in a while.


    I was a stay-at-home mother most of the time, caring for Maro. Don''t get me wrong; I loved doing it, but every mother needs a break.


    I was thankful that Rachel could look after her daughter and Maro today. Maro didn''t look too pleased about having someone else babysit him, but I needed that break.


    I stepped outside the house and saw the small changes in the village.


    A while back, it seemed that this village was dead of life, but now, it seemed to have a purpose, and it was clear to me that Rickston had all done the work to achieve said purpose.


    "A little bit more to the left!" Rickston shouted at the workers, "No! Not your left, my left!" He grumbled, rubbing his temple. "I did not think it would be this hard."


    "Watchu doing there?"


    "Holy shit!" It almost looked like Rickston was about to jump out of his skin, "How long have you been standing there?"


    "Just came here."


    He sighed in relief, "You know, you''re one scary girl."


    I scoffed playfully, "Do people still think that about me?"


    Rickston nodded rapidly, "No offence, but everyone at the Kingdom of Juvo was terrified of you."


    He wasn''t wrong with that; I suppose people tended to be afraid of me for the right reasons.


    I may or may not have mercilessly bullied people, Rickston being one of them. It was funny; could you blame me?


    "If I remember, you used to bully Lenin the most."'' He chuckled.


    "Let''s not talk about that," I grumbled, looking down at the ground.


    Funnily enough, that was the only way I could ever get Lenin''s attention when we were younger.


    I was too nervous to talk to him properly, so what was the best way possible?


    It was to bully him, and did it work? Sort of. . .


    We ended up having Maro after all because I bullied him.


    But that is not the point!


    "How this grand architectural planning that I''ve heard from Lenin?"


    He chuckled, shaking his head, "Not good at all. It would be much better if we had way more workers here."


    I nodded, understanding where he was coming from. "Well, knowing you, you could make this village something else when you''re done with it."


    He placed his hands on his hips, "I hope so. I don''t want to disappoint the big boss." Rickston paused momentarily; it was pretty apparent that he wanted to ask something else. "You know how freakishly you''re the smartest person I know besides Lenin, right?"


    I shrugged, "Where are you trying to get with this?"


    Rickston took a deep breath, "The way he''s doing this, laying low and all of that. How accurate are the prophecies that we all have?"


    He was asking a good question.


    "You didn''t pay attention to the Prophecy Classes we all had during school, huh?"


    He chuckled, "Never found it interesting."


    "Most prophecies, if not all prophecies, are set in stone. But there is always a way for people to change their prophecy. Some did with their prophecy never being fulfilled, you know."


    "But then again. . ." I paused, "Those who had their prophecy changed weren''t that important to begin with."


    "I see. . ." Rickston muttered, "We both know that you and Lenin certainly don''t fit that category."


    I nodded, "our prophecies are set in stone."


    The question was when it would happen; I was unsure of it.


    We could only predict, and that was all we could do.


    "Do you believe that the Deuses gave our prophecies?"


    I nodded again, "As funny as it sounds, they are more than real."


    "I guess I haven''t had the chance to meet with one yet."


    "Seeing one, let alone talking to one, is extremely rare. The only person I''ve known who has spoken to one was Lenin, but that was when he was younger."


    It was said that the Deus were the ones who created everything in Vestigo.


    From what I heard from others, I knew there was a great war among the Deus, and in doing so, they decided never to intervene with this world again.


    But, of course, only through prophecies and all sorts of weird stuff.


    "What made you decide to think that?"


    Rickston shrugged, "Just curious. . . What was your prophecy."


    "To lead him to the path." I declared in earnest.


    "That sounds a bit ominous, don''t you think?" He let out a nervous chuckle.


    "It does," I nodded. "But I hope that by letting him make our decisions together, we can unanimously make whatever this prophecy says." I joked.


    "I get it." He answered, "So that was why you moved out of The Kingdom of Juvo."


    "Yeah. . . We thought if we were further away from the place, we could dwindle the chances of the prophecy happening." I paused momentarily, "But we all know we''re simply delaying the inevitable."


    "Hell, to think that there are things like our Plantea. I can''t even connect with it, let alone be in tune with the Solum in me."


    "Hey, probably because your Plantea isn''t that strong, to begin with?"


    While Rickston felt down about being unable to connect with his Solum and Plantea, he had almost forgotten that they were scarce even to have.


    Sure, compared to me or Lenin, he wouldn''t stand a chance, but to the average person, he could destroy them if he wanted to.


    The power scaling between those who had Solum and those who didn''t was astronomical.


    It was rare that even the most experienced individuals without Solum defeated someone inexperienced with Solum.


    "I think that''s enough talking about prophecies for a day; how about you check out the blueprints?"


    I smiled, accepting his offer.


    It was amazing to see the amount of dedication and hard work he had developed in his blueprints. They were great to see and were a testament to his skills as an artist.


    I was excited to see these projects come to fruition.


    The chance of seeing children being able to gain an education would be an aiming sight to see.


    It was like watching a dream come true.


    When I finished that, I let Rickston deal with his department as I went to the lab to visit my good old friend Felix.


    It had been a while since I had spoken to him one-on-one.


    As I entered the lab, I saw Felix already at work with the Solum, and he was dealing with his issue.


    He groaned, sitting himself down on his chair, as he took off his lab glasses.


    "Is everything alright?" I asked as he turned over to me.


    Felix slumped himself even more in the chair. "Things could be going better, " he muttered. "I heard that Rachel is babysitting."


    "Yeah." I smiled, "She''s doing me a great favour."


    I looked around the mess Felix had made in the lab, curious, and asked, "What are you working on?"


    "I''m working on making this Solum into Purpura Solum, but it seems to me I can only get to it Ater barely Rubrum on a good day."


    If anything, I was more than impressed that I could change the Solum in the first place.


    The Kingdom of Juvo was, last I remembered, only at the level of Viridis.


    Our technology had yet to reach the level where it could turn plain Solum into full, pure Purpura.


    What took the Kingdom of Juvo years to do was done in a couple of months by Felix himself. Now, that was a testament to his ingenuity.


    "Hey, by the time Lenin returns with the good news, we''ll be able to keep this village up and running."


    A small smile flickered on his face as he pointed at me, "That''s if they come back in time; they''ve been gone for quite a while now."


    It was true; I thought they would''ve been here much earlier, but that meant one thing.


    "There''s probably a conflict."


    He chuckled, "There''s a conflict." He softly smiled as he looked at the Solum, "I never told you and Lenin this. . . But I appreciate you helping us with all of this, you know?"


    I waved my hand politely in dismissal, "We would''ve wanted to be here anyways."


    "As hard as it was living here, it was better than whatever that trash The Kingdom of Juvo had to offer people like me." He sighed, smiling, but his face betrayed.


    He looked at me, "You know how they treated people like me, who didn''t have Solum in them genetically. They treated us like shit; we''ve been taught to be inferiors." Felix clenched his fist, looking down at the ground.


    "But not anymore. . . Not anymore." He muttered as he looked at me, a fiery glint of determination surging through his eyes; a blaze had been incited in him.


    "I''m done feeling like this; I think it''s about time we do something about it." He declared, "I''m thankful that you and Lenin will be there to support me."


    "Always." I did my best to return his smile.


    Always. I knew this was a sore topic for him to discuss, and I was impressed by his vulnerability and willingness to discuss something like this.


    It was more than enough to know that he was growing as an individual who may one day see his fullest potential.


    But for now, I would watch from afar and do my best to support everyone and anyone.

 Chapter 8: Forced to Get Along

    <u>LENIN</u>


    Everyone around me seemed nervous for what was to come.


    They had no idea how this would go down, but if anything, we would have prepared for the worst or the best.


    We only had a couple of hours until we met them.


    "What if it''s a trap?" Lusan suggested, worried that this meeting could go wrong. "Knowing these people, I wouldn''t be surprised if they decide to ambush us again."


    "They won''t." I smiled reassuringly, "They know better not to do something reckless like that. They''d be more careful after what we did to their warriors the first time."


    It seemed that everyone was satisfied with my analysis of mine.


    "Zac." I asked him, "Would you like to accompany me?"


    Surprised, he blinked until he regained his composure and cleared his throat. "Of course, it would be an honour to do so."


    I nodded, "Good, alright then you may all leave."


    They all left except for Eleanor, who seemed to have a couple of questions she wanted to ask herself.


    Before she could even ask, I beat her to it, "Yes, you''re coming as well."


    She chuckled, "I wasn''t going to ask this, but thanks anyway; I was going to ask you why you picked Zac out of the others."


    I raised an eyebrow in amusement. Out of all the questions she could have asked me, I wasn''t expecting this to be the first one that popped into her mind.


    "Well, to answer your question, he''s quite intelligent but can also be a bit more aggravated about his beliefs."


    Eleanor nodded as she sat before me, almost as if she was interrogating me.


    "What''s with this interrogation?" I joked, "I thought we were both past this stage."


    "Oh, we are so past this stage that I''ve been practically trusting you blindly through this process." She looked at me.


    "But I can''t help but wonder if, as truthful as you are, you''re still hiding things I might want to know."


    "I wouldn''t say you''re wrong." I declared as Eleanor wasn''t expecting me to reveal it so quickly.


    She cleared her throat, regaining her composure, "Okay. . . Then why aren''t you revealing it?"


    I sighed, smiling, "You would think differently of me if I did." I answered honestly.


    "It''s probably best for you to know. . . But maybe I''ll tell you once everything is done?"


    Eleanor stared at me briefly before nodding, "I can do that."


    It''d be too early to reveal anything personal to her now.


    Even if we had already established a trade agreement, there were still things I''d say to keep for myself for now.


    "Lenin!"


    We whipped our heads to see Lusan looking at us.


    I was in a hurry.


    "What is it?"


    "He''s here." He declared.


    I looked at Eleanor, exchanging a nod as we prepared for this to go down.


    "Send Zac in."


    Lusan nodded, leaving the room.


    While waiting for only a few minutes, it felt like the longest minutes of our lives.


    I instantly could tell as much as she wanted to put on a brave face; she was nervous to meet whoever would enter this room.


    After all, it was no surprise that she was nervous. She had never done this before and had not faced conflict until now, which was partly our fault for letting it happen in the first place.


    WHOOSH!


    To my surprise, the man I had beaten down entered the room.


    Whilst the others were surprised at this revelation, I knew he wasn''t the leader at all, as in came the man.


    He entered the room, and I must say, he was exactly what I imagined to be the leader of Scopa.


    His eyes examined us, never leaving our faces.


    His body was just as I expected: muscular but more slender.


    His left eye was scarred to a degree, not that one would ever notice it, but it was there.


    Soon enough, he sat beside us, with the man and Zac exchanging looks at each other, more tense than we were.


    "Jove, you look quite tense. I can assure you nothing wrong will happen, " he declared.


    So that big man was named Jove, huh?


    Now, his eyes shifted to the both of us, a warm smile appearing on his face.


    "Meeting the man who destroyed my soldiers is an honour." He continued smiling, "My name is Frienson." He placed his hand on his chest.


    "I would like to apologise for the actions of my right-hand man." He looked at him, "He can get quite aggressive when he doesn''t get his way."


    Eleanor broke our silence first: "I''m surprised with how calm you are about this whole situation."


    Freinson smirked, shrugging his shoulder in response, "Why should I be mad? It''s clear that I am at a disadvantage." His eyes never laid off me, almost as if he was trying to gauge my reaction.


    "So why are you here?"


    "To talk." Freinson declared, "Isn''t that what every man wishes?" He let out a slight chuckle.


    "Then get to the point; what do you want to discuss?"


    He glared at Elenoir, "I''m sorry, but am I talking to you?" Freinson looked back at me, "I''m talking to this man over here who hasn''t said a single word yet."


    "I have nothing to say," I smiled brightly. "You don''t interest me all that much."


    Freinson chuckled once more, looking straight into my eyes, "I suppose that''s valid, which is why I''m telling you this now: whatever your demands are, I reject."


    "Reject?" She scoffed, "How do you have the nerve to reject us after attacking my people?" She questioned.


    He cleared his throat, "I have every right to reject. Despite my ordering of my soldiers to your village, I never requested them to kill any of your men." He paused for a moment. "While your men mercilessly killed my soldiers who had families and children."


    It was enough for Eleanor to keep quiet as he did make a logical point.


    "Not only that, but the only reason why we demanded your livestock was because we were misled into believing it was your village doing the action."


    "What do you mean by that?" Eleanor questioned.


    A simple grin appeared on his face as his finger pointed to us, "They were secretly spying on us."


    Eleanor looked at me with confusion. "Is that true?" She asked, not wanting it to be factual.


    I nodded, "It is."


    "The Village of Facia caused the problem in the first place." He clapped his hands together, "If it weren''t for them, the two of us wouldn''t have this problem in the first place."


    It looked as though Eleanor felt disheartened hearing this information.


    "Could you leave the room for a moment?" She looked at Freinson.


    He smirked and nodded as he stood up and left the room.


    "You did this?" Eleanor spoke out. "I mean, they came here because of your people."


    "We didn''t mean to." Zac attempted to reach out to her.


    "I think I''ve heard enough." She waved her hand in dismissal as she looked at the two of us. "I think you should both leave this village. . . I need time to think about this."


    "For how long?" I asked.


    "I don''t know." She answered, "But please just leave."


    I couldn''t say anything at the moment to appeal to her. The last thing she wanted to hear was me trying to convince her that he was wrong, but there was no point.


    Freinson was right. We did all those things, and we couldn''t argue against them.


    I left with Zac, and the first thing I saw was that Jove and Frienson were seemingly waiting for me.


    "You''ve won this time." I looked at him straight in the eye.


    "Won?" He smiled and shook his head. "I have no idea what you mean. There''s no such thing as winning. I was only giving my perspective to this whole little dilemma."


    I remained silent, letting his words soak in even more.


    "Let''s go," I announced to the other as we walked past him.


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    I looked over my shoulder to see Jove spit onto the ground, and I knew this wouldn''t be the last time I would encounter them.


    "Are we just going to leave like that?" Zac hurried beside me, whilst I could tell that Tara and Lusan were thinking the same thing.


    "We are." I declared.


    "But we can''t just do that," Tara said in immediate rebuttal. "It''s obvious that they''re planning something."


    "This is why we''ll be ready to return to The Village of Ustrin."


    They all smiled, nodding with determination.


    That was the least I could do for them now.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    When we arrived back at The Village of Facia, there was only one thing to say.


    "Woah. . ." Lusan said in awe.


    Woah indeed.


    We all watched as people were already constructing whatever Rickston had in mind for us.


    "Oh!" Rickston shouted from afar, approaching us. "You guys made it!" He said with a cheery smile.


    "Where did you get all of these workers?"


    Rickston shook his head in confusion. "I thought your expedition to the Village of Ustirin worked?"


    "Not really. . ." Tara muttered, but her eyes immediately lightened again, "But that means she was nice enough to uphold her part of the deal."


    I nodded, "I think I have to go somewhere."


    "Do you need anyone to come with you?" Lusan asked.


    I shook my head, smiling. "This might take a while, but thanks for asking."


    They all looked at me with confusion, but they didn''t need to ask me any more questions to know that whatever I was doing had a purpose.


    They couldn''t be any more right about it.


    <u>ELEANOR</u>


    It had been a couple of days after that situation happened. . .


    I still couldn''t wrap my head around it all.


    It was hard to digest that Lenin and his people were the reason the Village of Scopa came to demand our livestock.


    I told them the truth about the village, which is how he repays me.


    Maybe I overreacted too much to the situation, or perhaps I had every right to be angry at his actions.


    In all honesty, I didn''t know what to feel about it.


    I still couldn''t believe I had decided to send some workers to their village to work on whatever they were constructing there.


    Hell, if I didn''t know any better, they were probably using that to trick me into falling for their plans. I didn''t know what to think anymore, sighing to myself.


    WHOOSH!


    My eyes widened, "What is it, Dove?"


    "The Village of Scopo! There he-"


    But before she could utter another word, a splatter of blood dropped to the ground.


    Dove looked at me, and I realised that blood had been coming out of her mouth, but that wasn''t the worst part of it all.


    She looked down at her stomach to see a sword right through her.


    Her mouth quivered as the sword pulled back, leaving her body as her body dropped to the ground, lifeless.


    "Jovo, what are you doing here?" I instantly reached for my sword, arming myself for what would come.


    "Payback." He boastfully chuckled, "If I can''t kill that bastard, Lenin, then I''ll be damn to kill you."


    "But your orders from Frienson was to back off."


    He grumbled, but that didn''t stop him from smiling: "His orders are irrelevant; he''s too soft, too weak." He chuckled even more as he approached me closer.


    "Which is exactly why he''s currently occupied."


    Occupied? That could have meant many things, but I couldn''t think about it now.


    All I could think about was how I would take Jovo out.


    WHOOSH!


    He swung his sword viciously as I managed to evade; his attack caused everything in the room to drop to the ground.


    He lunged forward with greater precision.


    Given his size, I was more than surprised by how handy he was in attacking me.


    I quickly dodged the attacks away with all my strength.


    It took all of my strength to even block one of his attacks.


    "Not bad little girl!" He chuckled manically, swinging his sword even more, "You''re a lot stronger than the men I have fought against. So at least you''ll die knowing that."


    I gritted my teeth, continuing to block and dodge the attacks he had been attempting on me.


    Time and time again, I scurried around the room, but the onslaughts of his attacks had been taking a toll on me, my sword slowly chipping away.


    He grinned even more comprehensively than ever before, realising that he was having the upper hand.


    WHOOSH!


    Out of nowhere, he threw his sword away, swiftly using his hand to hold my throat, lifting me in the air.


    I did everything I could, punching him, but there was no use; his skin was too hard as it was hurting me more than it did him.


    I dropped my sword to the ground, gasping for air.


    WHOOSH!


    He threw me through the window as I rolled on the ground. I did everything I could to stand up on my own two feet, but I saw the utter destruction around me once I did.


    "You have no idea how much I wanted to see this insignificant village burn to the ground."


    My hands trembled as I readied myself to fend him off.


    "I''m impressed at how you manage to stand on your own two feet." He declared, "I almost feel sorry having to kill you."


    "Do your worst." I spat on the ground, glaring at him.


    He smirked, "Oh, I''m well."


    WHOOSH!


    At that very moment, I thought it would be over in a rapid second.


    As corny as it sounded, I truly believed that my life flashed before my eyes, something I thought I would never experience.


    But no. . . It seemed that I wouldn''t be facing death just quite yet, that it wasn''t my time to finally be with my parents quite yet, as if I still had some fight in me.


    I slowly opened my eyes, and like a dream, there in front of me. . .


    "L-Lenin?"


    He shielded me from Jovo''s sword, catching it with his hand, blood dripping from his hand as it dropped to the ground like a puddle.


    Lenin looked over his shoulder with a smile, instantly telling me it would be alright.


    The look on Jovo''s face was a joy to see.


    It was a face wrapped in fear, confined by that fear.


    His eyes clearly show that the last person he expected was him.


    Hell. . . I wasn''t expecting it to be him after I practically scolded him, but I was lucky he was there.


    BOOM!


    Before I knew it, Lenin had shattered Jovo''s sword, sending him flying miles away.


    Seriously? How strong are you, Lenin?


    <u>LENIN</u>


    I took a deep breath, looking over the aftermath of what had just happened.


    It was an unfamiliar silence that I would never get used to.


    "Thanks. . . For helping." Eleanor finished off by saying.


    She was ashamed for apologising after the onslaught of words she had said to me a couple of days.


    I shook my head, a gentle smile plastered on my face. "I should be thanking you; you still sent those workers after we didn''t tell you the full truth."


    Eleanor sighed, looking at the ground, "I guess I owe you another one after saving my butt, huh?"


    "No." I declared, "You don''t have to owe me anything; I don''t want this partnership to be based on having to owe each other."


    "Yeah." She nodded in agreement, "That sounds pretty good if I say so myself, so what''s next?"


    "Well, it''s about time we visit The Village of Scopa."


    Eleanor''s eyes widened ever so slightly, "After what just happened, you seriously want to go there?"


    I nodded, "This is the best time to go there." I answered.


    She sighed, a little smile etched on her face. "Then what are we waiting for? Let''s go."


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    One thing I learned about these travels to other villagers is that it always took a couple of days to arrive there.


    I had never actually been to The Village of Scopa, but from what I gathered from the others, I should expect something to happen here.


    We walked further deep into the forest, where the soil was wet, and the plants were rolling with water.


    The air was cold, but we continued.


    But to my surprise, there were bodies in front of us, waiting for us to discover ourselves.


    I crouched down, examining what might have caused this.


    Eleanor looked over my shoulder, "Aren''t those. . ."


    "Scopian men?" I looked over my shoulder, "They are."


    "Who could''ve done this." She muttered.


    Their bodies had been sliced and diced up; it was obvious that an all-out battle had happened here.


    After it all, there were bodies scattered throughout the forest waiting to be found.


    It was a massacre¡ªa bloody one at that.


    Nonetheless, we enter deeper into the forest to see bodies across the ground.


    It was only when we exited the forest that we finally found ourselves on the outskirts of it.


    There, soldiers, or should I have said prisoners, were lined up, having to head to some unknown place.


    I didn''t have enough information to know what was happening here.


    It was about time that I decided to tap into my Solum discreetly enough that Eleanor would not be able to notice it.


    An air of purple flowed in their air, seeing the trace of everything.


    The life of plants, the Purpura Solum that was everywhere, and, more importantly, the heat signs of everyone near us.


    Funnily enough, I sensed people above the trees, waiting in silence.


    "Eleanor, you trust me?"


    She looked down for a split second, "I do."


    "Then do exactly what I tell you to do," I whispered, and Eleanor sensed the urgency in my tone.


    WHOOSH!


    Before we could say anything, they had already jumped ahead of us, which was exactly what we wanted.


    PHOOSH!


    I rubbed my eyes slowly as I instinctively moved my arms, only to realise that chains had restrained my arms.


    In the corner of my eyes, I could see Eleanor, knocked out cold, her hands too restrained by chains.


    How long had we been out for?


    "Oh, good. You''re awake." Freinson smiled; he, too, was locked up.


    But that wasn''t the only surprising thing; his face had been bruised, and despite all that pain, he still managed to have that classic smile.


    "I was beginning to wonder if you''ll wake up. It seems that you did before Eleanor did."


    He chuckled only to begin coughing out blood. "My apologies. . . It appears that we''re in an interesting predicament."


    "We are, " I replied. "Tell me, how did you end up like this?"


    "Like all men do." He smiled, "Too ambitious, too naive and more importantly, too forgiving."


    "Jovo?"


    He tilted his head, his smile growing more comprehensive than ever before. "You''re pretty intelligent yourself. I always knew that Jovo was aggressive, but I thought I could control him." Freinson looked away for a slight second.


    "But it appears I was wrong. . .which is why I must tell you. I truly apologise for him attacking her Village. Those were not my orders to be sent out." He muttered, looking over the unconscious Elenoir.


    I realised from his eyes that he genuinely meant every word he said.


    "Well, if it makes you feel better, Jovo has been taken care of," I answered.


    "Taken care of huh? Did you kill him?"


    I shook my head, "I let him go."


    He scoffed as he began chuckling even louder than before, "That was your biggest mistake; if I were you, I would''ve killed him straight away. He''s a cancer."


    "Maybe. . . But everyone deserves forgiveness."


    He raised an eyebrow in amusement, "What are you, some saint?"


    I chuckled and shook my head. "No, I wouldn''t say that. I''m simply an idealistic person."


    "In an unrealistic world," Freinson answered the last part for me.


    "Yeah. . . That." I replied with.


    "You know you can''t have something like that with the people surrounding us, right?" He grinned.


    I shrugged, "You may be right, but someone has to believe there''s hope for all of us, or we are all truly doomed."


    Whether or not that affected Frienson in any way, as long as he listened, was all that mattered to me.


    "Where are we."


    Eleanor rubbed her eyes, realising that she was trapped.


    "Good." Freinson chuckled, "It seems that we''re all awake."


    Eleanor glared at him, "I should''ve never trusted you."


    Freinson chuckled, "I find that quite insulting; what have I done to lose your trust?" He questioned her, "I have done nothing but keep the interest of my people at heart. Tell me, have I ever lied to you once."


    Eleanor gritted her teeth, but she knew that there was no argument to be made. "But still, you are not to be trusted."


    He shrugged, accepting her declaration, "You can believe whatever you want; I can believe you''re weak."


    "If I could, I could kill you where you stand." She spat on the ground.


    "I expect nothing less." Freinson grinned, "But for now, it appears that we should use our collective minds to escape, right?" He titled his head.


    Eleanor mumbled to herself, knowing that he was right.


    If I wanted to, I could break out of these chains instantly, but I knew it was probably best not to reveal anything too soon.


    "So, what do you suggest?" I asked.


    "I''m glad you asked." He smiled, "Since Jovo had taken over my village, it''s clear that the people who follow him are a reflection of him."


    "Meaning?" Eleanor asked.


    "If they''re anything like my former right-hand man, they''ll be open to corruption and greed."


    I exchanged looks with Eleanor as she reluctantly nodded.


    "Alright, what''s the plan?"


    WHOOSH!


    The door opened to reveal a guard assigned to check whether everything was working as it was meant to.


    "Ah, we have a vis-"


    GUH!


    The guard kicked Frienson''s chest with full force, causing him to cough blood.


    Freinson became almost ragged, "You always despised me, didn''t you, Vistof?"


    WHOOSH!


    He grabbed Freinson by the chin, "Damn right I did. Serving under you was the most pathetic experience ever." He spat on his face.


    Eleanor let out a light snicker as Vistof looked over his shoulder, "And you? What''s so damn funny."


    "No, I''m glad I can see that bastard in his place."


    Vistof was not expecting that response: "Hey, maybe you''re not so bad after all."


    She nodded, "How about we make a little deal?"


    "A deal?" he asked, shaking his head. "I''m listening."


    "If you let me go, I promise I''ll give you bags of Solum."


    His eyes widened in glee when he heard the word Solum. "And why would you do that? Even if I am inclined to let you go."


    While their conversation happened, I did my best to release myself from the chains that trapped me.


    Thankfully, it wasn''t placed well enough to keep someone here.


    As Vistof ultimately had his back against us, I managed to break it with some strength.


    "What?"


    WHOOSH!


    I immediately kicked him from the back, causing him to fly to a walk and knock himself out.


    First, I released Eleanor from her constraints using the key on him.


    "Thanks." She smiled, stood up from the ground, and looked at Frienson.


    "Mind setting me free as well? After all, it was my plan."


    "I prefer to say no." Eleanor snapped back.


    "A pity." He sighed, deciding to stand up for himself.


    "Wait? You were already set free? When?"


    "From the beginning." Frienson smiled, "It would have been a wonderful surprise, but it appears that Lenin already knew that."


    We eyed one another as if he were a sly person.


    He could have escaped whenever he wanted to, but he didn''t.


    What he was trying to do was the real question.


    "Besides, you need me." He answered, "I know a way out of here."


    Eleanor looked over at me as I shrugged my shoulders.


    He wasn''t wrong about that at all.

 Chapter 9: Different Territory, Different Rules

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    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

 Chapter 10: The People Along The Way

    <u>LENIN</u>


    I did not expect this when I came back.


    How long has it been? It had only been a month or two, and I kept myself updated on what was happening while I was gone, but I did not expect this.


    Seriously, it was good to be back at the Village of Vaia.


    Everything came rushing into me, reeling my mind with memories of nostalgia and happiness. All I could do now was smile and bask in its warmth and glory.


    "To the left!"


    I hear that voice from afar.


    That voice. . . I knew that voice from anywhere, and I could feel a slight tug of smile form. Things were about to get slightly more exciting today, weren''t they?


    "Not my left! You''re left!" He grumbled to himself.


    I chuckled as I moved closer to him.


    He didn''t even realise I was walking up to him because of all the stress on his shoulders.


    Before he knew it, I touched his shoulder, ready to warmly greet him.


    "Lenin! You''re back." He chuckled, patting me on the back. It took you long enough."


    It was good to see his face again, and I felt a warm welcome.


    "How has it been," I asked curiously.


    He opened his arms, "Have you seen this place?" I felt the joy and happiness beaming from his face.


    I smiled, looking around the place.


    The farms had improved significantly since I last visited; even footpaths had been installed in the Village.


    Not only that, Rickston, too, seemed to be a lot happier than in the mansion he was initially living in.


    "You were right about this place, you know?" He gave me a soft smile.


    I titled my head, "Right about what?"


    He chuckled, punching me on the shoulder. "About this helping with my creativity, it worked like a charm."


    I smiled, feeling a sense of happiness wash over my shoulder, "It seems you have a lot of workers now, huh?"


    Rickston said excitedly, "Whatever you did out there, it seemed to work out damn well."


    "So what''s on the to-do list now?"


    He tapped his chin, thinking carefully about that question of mine: "Well, I''ve been having a couple of blueprints for schools we should create here. But we still do need to go to the Village of Vaia."


    I nodded, knowing that he was right.


    It was the only village around us that we had not fully interacted with, but it was much better at being more of an educational ground than us.


    Schools were the most fundamental thing that children needed. Their brains need to be cherished and nurtured into something that would help them and the community.


    The children here would be fine if they weren''t taught with such strictness and intensity as I was.


    If we hadn''t educated our children, we would have already failed in our mission to make the Village of Facia a better place.


    "Also, I forgot to mention that Kassie and Rachel decided that they were going to run a little daycare while you were gone."


    In amusement, I raised my eyebrow, " That sounds like them."


    It was pleasing to hear that Kassie was taking the initiative and doing things she wanted to do for herself while I was gone.


    I would visit her as soon as possible, but first, I would have to deal with all this business I missed.


    "Solum! Solum!"


    A voice called out as we all looked in that direction.


    A carriage had arrived at the village''s entrance. Inside was a boy holding some bags of Solum, which I must admit was funny.


    It weighed much more than he was, and he struggled to drag it across the floor.


    The kid did look quite familiar, though I just couldn''t put my finger on it yet.


    "Say," I told Rickston beside me, "That kid, he lo-"


    "Familiar?" He smirked. "He''s Lylia''s lackey, the one you saved."The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    My eyes widened ever so slightly as I looked closer at him.


    He looked fresher and cleaner than the last time I met him. He was now vibrant with colour and pump to his steps.


    "Good morning, sirs!" He chirped happily over to us as he managed to drag the bags of Solum all the way here. "5 bags of Solum from Lylia."


    Rickston and I both looked at each other in amusement.


    "Say, does Lylia pay you anything for this?"


    The kid raised his eyebrow, "Pay me? I don''t get paid anything."


    Rickston chuckled, "So you''re doing all this for free?"


    Once more, the kid ecstatically nodded, "Of course!"


    I titled my head in slight confusion, "I''m sorry, but why would you still want to work for Lylia. . . I mean, she did you know. . ."


    He tilted his head, confused at what I was trying to say.


    How old was this kid?


    He must have been around 13 or 14.


    He shouldn''t have been clueless about everything, would he?


    "He''s talking about slavery, kid," Rickston commented.


    If I could kill myself out of embarrassment, the time would certainly be now.


    "Oh, that! Yeah, slavey, what about it?"


    I rubbed my temple in disappointment, but maybe more so embarrassment.


    This kid was either stupid or innocent of the world around him.


    "Damn," Rickston muttered to himself, "I could see why you were in the arena fighting."


    I nudged him on the ribs; that was enough for him to retract his words.


    "I don''t know what you guys are talking about, but I came here on my own accord!" He pointed at himself proudly.


    Rickston and I exchanged blank stares.


    "You''re saying that you came here without Lylia forcing you to do so?" Rickston asked curiously.


    I could instantly tell that he was getting interested in the kid.


    "Geez, what''s with the questions, old man." The kid rolled his eyes at Rickston.


    "Old man? Who are you ca-"


    "Lady Lylia didn''t force me to come here; I asked her if I could do this job."


    Rickston was at a loss for words; hell, I was even at a loss for words.


    He needed to learn what he was getting into because working with Lylia meant being asked to do many things.


    "Besides, " the kid said, taking a deep breath before looking at us, "I wanted to visit you guys."


    "Visit us?" I chuckled lightly; who in the right kind of mind would have wanted to travel here?


    Sure, I was excellent, and while Rickston was above average, I was still cool.


    I could think of many ways this could turn wrong for the kid.


    "Sorry to burst your bubble, but we''re not special." Rickston chuckled, patting him on the shoulder.


    But the kid shook his head. "You guys are special!" He looked at the ground for a moment. "After all, you were the one who saved me, " he muttered lowly, looking over at me.


    "I was lost, I was scared. But when you were in that arena, it was the first time I felt as though I was safe." He paused momentarily, "If anything, I see you guys as my idols."


    So that was the reason, huh? Pretty reasonable and fair, if I say to myself.


    Soon enough, I could hear Rickston sniffling.


    "Hey. . . You''re seriously not crying, are you?" I chuckled, punching him on the shoulder.


    "No!" He wiped his eyes, composing himself. "It was just a fairly good reason to hear, that''s all."


    How did Rickston, the person I know to be grumpy and angry since we were young, become an emotional wreck?


    "What''s your name, kid?" I asked him as his eyes lightened up, saluting at the both of us.


    "My name is Jeremiah." He puffed his chest, almost as if trying to impress us.


    "Man, this kid is great!" Rickston put Jeremiah in a headlock, ruffling his hair.


    After a couple of seconds, he let him go.


    "Well, whatever you need, I''m always here to help! Look, I can fight!" He began throwing the worst punches I had ever seen someone throw in my life.


    "Maybe we should keep our hands to ourselves." I lightly chuckled.


    "So, what talents do you have."


    "Well. . . I don''t have many. . ." But his eyes widened in excitement, "I have one talent that might be something cool."


    "Do tell us." Rickston grinned, wanting to see whatever Jeremiah had in store.


    "Do you have those blueprints?"


    "Blueprints?" Rickston smiled proudly, "Let me just get it for you." He reached for his pockets, and to our surprise, he looked at me. "It''s gone."


    It made me think that there was only one possible reason as to why he managed to lose his blueprints.


    "You mean these?" Jerimiah chuckled, raising the blueprints in the air


    I couldn''t help but chuckle in amusement, "Not bad kid, not bad at all."


    "Thanks." He smiled, handing over the blueprint to Rickston.


    "How did you learn to do that," Rickston added.


    Jerimiah jokingly began tapping his chin. " The only way I could survive was by learning to steal properly."


    We both nodded, but I knew there was more to that than the surface answer he gave us.


    "Well, thanks for the Solum," I added, looking at the bags before us, "Keep a bag for yourself."


    He looked at me blankly. "Are you sure? You don''t have to?"


    I waved my hand in dismissal, "Don''t mention it. You deserve it for travelling this far."


    "Thanks!" He smiled, putting the bag over his shoulder; I was surprised that the weight didn''t crush him.


    "I''ll be sure to return with more Solum that Lady Lylia gives you."


    We nodded as he began to walk back to the carriage, leaving us alone.


    "That kid is something else." Rickston smiled proudly like a father would do for his son.


    I nodded, "Yeah, he does have some potential."


    "How did he steal my blueprint in the first place?"


    "When you headlocked him," I answered his question as the realisation struck him.


    "Clever kid."


    He wasn''t the only one who was clever; Lylia was pretty smart.


    The fact that she was using Jeremiah to do her dirty work was enough to know she was serious and willing to help us out here.


    No one had ever expected a kid on a carriage to be trafficking bags of Solum to some unknown village.


    I had to give her praise for that.


    "Well." I cleared my throat, "I should get going and check how Felix is doing."


    "Right." Rickston nodded, patting my shoulder, "See you in a bit."


    It was as if he, too, had left to return with his business.


    The lab was near here, and I could see people going in and out.


    I ventured my way to the lab to see two familiar guards outside.


    "Lenin!"


    They both cheerfully said.


    "Lusan and Tara." I smiled warmly at them as they gave me a big hug. "How''s it been?"


    "It''s been perfect." Lusan said, "There''s been great improvement here while you were gone. It seems like everything is aligning with each other."


    "That''s great news." I nodded, "See you guys in a bit."


    As I entered the lab, they both returned the nod, and I was amazed to see how much had changed.


    It began to look like one of those labs they would have at the Kingdom of Juvo, but of course, we were still a long, long way from something like that.


    But as I walked deeper and deeper into the lab, I noticed that it became foggier.


    Only then could I see Felix; he worked with every minute detail of his work.


    I could see from afar that he was developing something with the Purpura Solum, and it was an honour to bask in.


    Someone who had such innovation was honestly a sight to see.


    I leaned against the wall, watching him as I cleared my throat.


    He took off his goggles and looked over in my direction.


    "Well, if it isn''t the traveller himself!"


    I shrugged sheepishly as we both chuckled in unison.


    A traveller, huh?


    That was one way to describe me, and I certainly wasn''t complaining.


    But I wonder, where was I going to travel next?

 Chapter 11: The Path Ahead of Us

    <u>TARA</u>


    It had only been a few hours since Lenin returned to the village, but it felt like he had never left.


    We would all have to attend a meeting in a couple of minutes.


    Whilst everything was mostly good in the village with the establishment of new infrastructure, there were always people who would have something to nitpick, let alone argue about.


    Zac had grown more aggravated with Felix''s rule; perhaps it was because he felt anxious that with innovations, there was a chance of people being able to notice these things happening and invade us.


    I would think that Zac was the only person with this type of thought, but there was growing support from people aligning with Zac''s belief.


    Though nothing had happened, the tension was there to feel.


    But now that Lenin is here, I hope he can tame the people who feel this way.


    After all, if Zac admired anyone, it would have to be Lenin himself.


    Thanks to Rickston''s ingenuity, our meeting room has grown more extensive and vast.


    "Tara!" Lusan raised his hand in the air, calling me over to a table, saving a seat for me.


    I happily walked over, taking a seat.


    The meeting room seemed more alive than ever, which was always lovely.


    "I can''t believe we finally have seats now," Lusan chirped, looking around at the people already there.


    It was clear that there was a diversion, with Zac''s side of the people on the other side of the meeting group.


    "Thank you all for coming once more," Felix declared, examining us all. As you know, Lenin had been on an extensive mission for quite a while, but now, he is here to tell us everything that has happened whilst he was gone." Felix gestured for Lenin to take the spotlight as we watched silently, eager to hear the updates.


    After hours of debriefing, what he had told us was unfathomable to the ear. His words were a vital source of information that seeped deeply within this meeting room.


    No one here dared to speak up as we were so focused on those words coming out of his latching onto our ears.


    Some of the things that he said were almost unbelievable.


    But if it came from Lenin, it had to be true.


    Soon after the meeting, everyone began to disperse, but not people like us.


    As Lenin began to look at us now, we still had some things to deal with.


    "As you know, we''ve been to the Villages of Ustrin and Scopia." He paused momentarily. This brings us to one village we have yet to interact with: the Village of Vaia, " he answered.


    People began murmuring to themselves, curious as to what would happen here.


    "Which is why we need to have volunteers for this expedition. Of course, we''re not forcing anyone to participate in this, so I''m offering it a position. Any takers?"


    Soon, the usual hands began to be raised in the air. It was always good to gain experiences from these things. After all, it was the only time we could leave the village every once in a while.


    However, an unexpected hand rose in the air.


    "I would like to go."


    We all looked to see Kassie raise her hand.


    I knew little to nothing about her. The only thing I did know was that she was Lenin''s wife, but besides that, I knew absolutely nothing.


    During the meetings, she was always composed and kept to herself, almost as if there was an elegance around her.


    Lusan and I never dared approach her; we were too scared to.


    But now that she wanted to participate in this expedition, I knew in my heart that I needed to go.


    It would be a great experience to connect and meet with someone new, especially someone like Kassie.


    I quickly looked around to see who else raised their hand; Zac would be one of them, too.


    Lenin smiled, "Well, if my wife wants to partake in this expedition, then I won''t be attending this one." He nodded enough for Zac to put down his hand immediately.


    From the looks of it, most of these people only wanted to experience what it was like to be with Lenin.


    After all, he was practically the face of the Village.


    He clapped his hands, "Alright then, Kassie will be in charge of the expedition. You have a couple of days until you leave the village. Enjoy!"


    I instantly looked over at Lusan.


    "So, what do you think?"If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Lusan shrugged, "What do I think about what?


    I rolled my eyes, slapping him on the shoulder, "Thinking about us being in a three-person squad with Kassie. . . Well, three women squad when you think about it?"


    "You calling me a woman?" He chuckled out loud as he began tapping his chin. "But now, when I think about it, it would be nice to get to know Kassie."


    "Yeah!" I smiled, "It would be cool."


    He chuckled at me as I titled my head.


    "What''s so funny?"


    "Nothing." He waved his hand. "It''s just that I never expected you, out of all people, to be so positive. I mean, I remember a time when you just hated everything."


    I chuckled, scratching my chin. "Yeah, I guess I was pretty interesting in the day."


    Interesting was an understatement; I was a total bitch.


    Things change for the better, and I''m glad it did.


    "We should talk to Kassie when we have the chance," Lusan added, but he felt nervous even after finishing that sentence.


    "We should talk to Lenin; he might advise us."


    Lusan gave me the thumbs up as we made our way to Lenin.


    "What can I do for you guys?" He smiled, looking at us.


    Lusan and I both exchanged looks at one another.


    "Well. . . We just wanted to know Kassie''s life since we''ll be on an expedition with her."


    Lenin''s face was covered in a knowing grin as he placed his hand on our shoulders. "You guys are scared of her, huh?"


    My body jerked as I instantly attempted to wave my hand in dismissal, "No! Of cou-"


    "Yes. I''m shitting bricks."


    I punched him on the shoulder, "You weren''t meant to say that." I grumbled in defeat.


    Lenin could only chuckle at our antics, patting us both on the shoulder, "It''s alright, I was scared of her too."


    I blinked at him for a few seconds, "You were?"


    He nodded, "Yeah, I was. But trust me, as soon as you start talking to her, you''ll be surprised at how friendly she is."


    We both nodded, "Thanks for the advice!"


    "Of course, I''m always here if you need help." He gave us a thumbs-up. "Now, get ready for the expedition that''s ahead of you. We don''t know how or how the Village of Vaia would react to your arrival, so just be alert."


    "Right." We both nodded as we left with the advice given by Lenin to heart.


    The only thing left for us to do was prepare for anything that might come our way.


    Outside was none other than Zac waiting for us.


    "Zac, what are you doing here?" Lusan was the first one to ask as Zac folded his arms.


    "I''m just curious about your opinion on something." He replied.


    I raised my eyebrow, "Since when did you ever care about our opinion?"


    "Just answer my question." He scoffed, "With everything that Lenin said, do you still think we won''t have to prepare ourselves for a potential attack one day?"


    "Look." I declared, "Even if someone does decide to attack us, we''ll focus on it then, but we don''t have to worry about it now."


    Zac nodded, walking away from our sight.


    "Well, that went surprisingly easier than I thought."


    I sighed, "Tell me about it; I was expecting him to fight back with his words."


    But with that, we continued.


    <u>LENIN</u>


    After everything that happened, there was only one place that I would possibly ever want to visit: home.


    Well, that was what I initially planned to do, but Felix stopped me.


    "What''s up?"


    "Nothing much," Felix responded, "But I just wanted to ask. As strong as Kassie is, should she be out on expeditions?"


    I knew that when I introduced myself to this conversation in the meeting room, Felix would also question me about my actions, but I was confident I could stand my ground by nodding.


    "She needs the break. She''s been working hard since she came here, and we both know that by now."


    Felix slowly nodded, "Yeah. . . I get what you''re saying. She does deserve it, but still, we don''t know what the last village is like. We only have information from scouts, but that''s not nearly enough."


    Felix was asking valid questions about this.


    I placed my hand on his shoulder, giving him a reassuring look that I hoped would calm him down.


    "Out of everyone in this village, she''s the strongest. Besides, she can handle anything that comes at her."


    He smiled slightly, "I know, but that brings me to the other situation. . . Zac."


    I raised my eyebrow in amusement, "Zac? What''s wrong with Zac."


    He sheepishly shrugged, "While you were gone, he''s been much more aggravated, thinking things had been too slow and that we needed to modernise faster."


    I chuckled, "We''re doing our best, and don''t worry about it. I''ll handle him."


    Felix let out a sigh of relief, "Thanks, I don''t know what I would do without you. . . While everything good is happening, it''s just a lot more stress on my plate now."


    "Yeah, I know, just be sure to rely on others. After all, we''re not just here for anything, you know?"


    He nodded, "Thanks again. I don''t want to waste your time anymore." Felix declared, giving me an all-knowing grin, "You probably want to talk to Kassie now."


    I raised my hand in surrender, "You know me."


    He left me to my thoughts as I made my way back home.


    I entered the home and noticed how quiet it was; not a single sound reverberated around the room.


    It wasn''t a sad silence but a comforting silence that welcomed me in its arms.


    That silence was disrupted when I realised Kassie had been watching as she gave me a little wave.


    "Well, well. . . Look who it is, the leader for the next expedition." I bowed jokingly as Kassie rolled her eyes, wrapping her arms around my neck in delight.


    "Well, if it isn''t a loser of my husband." She gave me a joke back at me.


    Her eyes were drowned in tiredness, and her body was sluggish than usual.


    It differed significantly from the beaming and energetic Kassie I knew and loved.


    Motherhood had taken a toll on her, but she didn''t regret it; after all, that toll was Maro.


    A soft smile appeared as I looked at all the hard work and long hours she had dedicated to him.


    A pant of guilt loomed over my shoulder, but at least I was here now.


    "Woah, not cool, buddy." I chuckled, "I have. You know I''m very cool."


    Kassie returned the chuckle, taking a seat on her chair.


    "Speaking of which, where is Maro?"


    She gently smiled at his name, which was always enough for her to activate her mother''s monitor.


    "He''s sleeping as we speak, thankfully, " she joked.


    It was always lovely to hear that Maro was sleeping well as usual, but I felt terrible for Kassie for caring for Maro alone.


    "Thanks for volunteering yourself. . ."


    She waved her hand in dismissal, "No need; besides, we both need this." Kassie smirked, pointing at me, "You spend some quality time with Maro while I spend some time alone for a bit."


    She was correct; we both needed something like this.


    With what happened with Elenior and Freinson in their villages, a well-deserved break was exactly what I needed, and an adventure for Kassie was what she needed.


    I was happy that we could do what we wanted without trouble.


    "You know what''s funny? Lusan and Tara approached me, asking how they should get to know you."


    "Really?" she chuckled, covering her mouth. "Well, it wouldn''t be too hard for them to approach me; they''re pretty cool people."


    I nodded in return at her remark; they were pretty cool people.


    "So. . . I''m guessing you''re very excited for what''s to come."


    She nodded, stretching her arms. "Definitely. It''ll be nice to get out of this house. As I said, you need to spend more time with Maro."


    I was excited to hang out with Maro and see all of the cool little things he had learned


    It was simply some father and son bonding time.


    "I''m assuming Maro has been doing pretty well for himself."


    "He has been." Kassie smiled to herself, "To me, at least, he''s been learning quite quickly."


    It was always good to hear about your son and their constantly improving.


    Kassie slightly yawned, covering her mouth.


    "Long day?"


    "Yeah. . . It''s been a long day, but it''s been a good one. Seeing you again."


    I chuckled, scooping her up from her seat. "Enough with that sap. We should probably get some sleep."


    She wrapped her arms around my neck, slowly nodding, "Lead the way, please."


    Exactly that I did.

 Chapter 12: Learning Is Our Greatest Asset

    <u>TARA</u>


    What felt like minutes felt like hours.


    Why, out of all the times, did I feel so nervous about an expedition?


    I mean, I''ve been to multiple ones by now. Sure, I wouldn''t be getting the jitters, but that feeling still creeps up on me.


    "You alright, Tara?"


    I snapped out of my trance, "Yeah. . . I am."


    Lusan smirked, giving an all-knowing look.


    "Maybe not." I sighed, dropping my shoulder in defeat.


    He chuckled, giving me a thumbs up, "I''m sure we''ll be fi-"


    I waited for him to continue his speech, but he stood frozen.


    "Be what?"


    He slowly pointed his finger as I looked over to see. . .


    I looked. . . Woah, I was not expecting to see something like this first thing in the morning.


    The bask of the sunlight around her almost acted as her little spotlight, a sparkle to our eyes.


    "She looks. . ."


    "A goddess," I answered.


    Lusan looked at me with a chuckle, "I wasn''t going to say that, but sure, buddy."


    If my jaw could drop, it would drop to the core of this planet.


    "How does she look so good with armour on?"


    It was as if the armour was made for her; the armour basked in her elegance as she strides towards us.


    Who was this woman?


    "Hey guys!" She chimed happily. "I''m so excited to finally talk to you guys." Kassie clapped her hands together.


    That wave of bubbly energy hit us in the face first as Lusan and I exchanged looks.


    I was not expecting that at all.


    "Well, I brought some food just in case we need it."


    "Uh, thanks."


    "No worries! Now onwards!" She struck a pose as she galloped away.


    Lusan cleared his throat, "Did that just happen?"


    "Yeah." I nodded, "It did."


    I didn''t expect that from a person like Kassie, whom I regarded as composed and elegant.


    Most of the time, we walked behind her as she hummed to herself out of pure joy. She looked at the surroundings with such excitement on her face, like a child seeing new things.


    "I did not picture her to be like this." Lusan chuckled as we watched Kassie smell the flowers that she had just taken from the ground.


    "Me neither." I smiled. If anything, she was the last person I expected to be a soldier, judging from her awe of everything around her.


    "Wow! It''s so green!" Kassie clapped to herself.


    I cleared my throat. "Excuse me, Lady Kassie. Could I ask a question?"


    She turned around, tilting her head at me. "Sure!" She smiled happily, but soon, a finger pointed at me. "But drop the Lady, I''m not invincible."


    I needed clarification on that; the way that Lenin spoke about her was highly praised, not only that he declared Kassie stronger than him.


    That was unfathomable to think about. It would mean she had something that we had yet to see.


    "I was just curious as to why you wanted to go on an expedition. . . It is dangerous, after all."


    Kassie tapped her chin lightly, "Well, it''s because I needed a break from being a mother for just a couple of days." She paused for a slight moment, "It''s my first time exploring too."


    So that was why, huh?


    "What about you?" she gestured to us. "Why do you guys go on expeditions?" Kassie asked.


    "Me personally, these expeditions give me time to gain experience. It''s always nice to have an adventure as well."


    Kassie clapped at my response as she looked at Lusan, gesturing for him to speak.


    "For me. . . We''re making a big impact on our village. I would have never expected it if you told me we would do this thing a while back."If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Kassie jokingly wiped her eye, "That is so beautiful, you guys!" She pulled us in a big hug, which I had not expected. "We''re going to have a blast together!"


    We continued walking to the Village of Vaia. From what we knew from our scouting, this village would be a lot tamer than the others.


    Well, I hope so, at least.


    Suddenly, Kassie stopped as she slowly looked over her shoulder.


    "We''re here."


    Lusan and I nodded as we looked over Kassie''s shoulder to see the Village of Vaia and its beauty.


    It was exactly what I expected it to be like.


    There were guards on standby. They prepared themselves before the entrance as they noticed us upon arrival.


    "Good morning, " they saluted. "Could we have your names?"


    But I could tell they were surprised by Kassie; she was a goddess of women.


    Still, they composed themselves like guards would do.


    Kassie nodded, placing her hand on her chest, "My name is Kassie, and these two are Lusan and Tara."


    We gave them a little wave as the guards acknowledged our presence. They were more friendly than most people I have met.


    "What brings you here."


    "We come from the Village of Facia, and we would like to meet your leader for an opportunity we would like to talk to them about."


    The guards looked at one another and nodded. "Wait one second. We''ll be back to you guys soon."


    With that, they left their post for us to wait for.


    It only took them a couple of minutes to open the gates, and as we entered, two people were waiting for us.


    "My name is Gemma, and this is my Co-leader Nath." She said as her emerald eyes reflected our own, a vibrant and fresh aura circulated her, with her matching eyes.


    Whilst Nath towered over her in height, his positioning suggested that he was experienced in craftsmanship.


    They both bowed their heads. This was undoubtedly different from the encounter we were expecting from them.


    Most Village leaders were usually reluctant to talk to us, let alone pay respect to us.


    This was a first for sure.


    Kassie bowed, and Lusan and I knew it was our cue to do the same.


    "It''s an honour to meet you," Kassie declared. I could hear the shift in her voice, becoming more severe than ever before.


    That energetic voice I had heard throughout this expedition had ceased to exist, but now it was what I had initially envisioned her to be.


    She posed, calm and collected.


    The two leaders looked at each other silently, examining who we were and calculating every small insignificant detail about us three.


    "Would you like a tour of the place?"


    "Yes, please."


    All I could do now was stand in awe as people from all walks of life lived in the Village of Vaia.


    The conversations flowed through the air; its chatter was beautiful and inviting.


    Everyone here seemed friendly and welcoming.


    The Village wasn''t grand like the others I had been to, but more cosy and comforting to one''s eyes.


    The walls constructed here spoke of history, of untold stories yet to be discovered.


    We continued to walk into the centre of the Village, where children''s laughter became at the forefront of our senses, running past us without a care in the world.


    A blissful ignorance, one that I would wish would arrive at our village too.


    Soon enough, we arrived at a meeting room that was smaller than ours, but it did its job.


    We sat on the chairs that softened our bodies, relaxing into our seats as both Gemma and Nath did.


    "I hope that you enjoyed the tour." Gemma smiled fondly.


    Kassie bowed respectfully, "Your tour was lovely, as is the Village."


    "Now, what exactly brings you here? We don''t usually get that many visitors, if at all. . . Any." Gemma began slowly eyeing Kassie.


    She had every right to be sceptical of us.


    I would have been, too.


    But still, Kassie remained calm and collected. Meeting Gemma''s gaze, Kassie said, "We come from the Village of Facia, my people, and I hope you would be interested in working as a collective rather than individually." Kassie took a deep breath.


    "For too long, our people have isolated from one another when instead we should work together to become more modernised."


    Both Gemma and Nath looked at one another, slowly nodding their heads.


    "While that does sound quite wonderful, I''m afraid we cannot accept," Gemma muttered with a hint of regret.


    "Why is that?" Kassie tilted her head.


    "We don''t think we can offer you anything you already don''t have." Nath crossed his arms, looking away from us, almost as if he was ashamed of something.


    "Might I ask why?"


    Nath deeply breathed, "Our Village has been under multiple attacks from Plantea Beasts." He commented. "While we''ve tried our best with the few soldiers that we have, it''s not enough; they keep attacking the village, trying to find any sort of Solum we have when we barely have anything for ourselves."


    Kassie tapped her chin, "I see. . . Well, if you would accept, we might be able to help you with that."


    Gemma looked over at us as if we were some magical beings, the way Kassie had calmly said, "Hell, even I was shocked."


    I remembered the last time I faced Plantea beasts with Lusan during our first expedition with Lenin, and I could confidently say that I was knocked out for most of it.


    "How could you do that?" Gemma asked curiously.


    Kassie smiled, "It might sound ridiculous, but we do have some experience dealing with Plantea beasts. . . That is if you choose to trust us."


    Gemma remained slightly as she shrugged, "Well, we don''t have any options in dealing with them." She looked at Nath, who nodded, "I guess why not?"


    "But under one condition." Nath declared.


    "What is it?" Kassie asked.


    "While we do want to believe your claim of being experienced at fighting Plantea beasts, I would request that one of your people fight one of ours," Nath added as he scanned his eyes at Lusan and me.


    "Call it a test of acceptance."


    "Well then. . . We can do that."


    "Good." Gemma asked, "Would you like to be taken to the arena."


    The arena?


    Gemma and Nath directed us outside the room, and we followed them from behind.


    We saw the arena in all its glory, soldiers practising with all sorts of weapons that I had never seen before.


    The ground was plain dirt. This arena was undoubtedly not for leisure but for practice.


    "While we don''t have many soldiers, we pride ourselves on quality over quantity." Nath looked over his shoulder, "These soldiers have trained since they were kids, learning the ways of the Vian people."


    I looked at the soldiers currently fighting, who were probably without shoes to protect their feet from the ground.


    "There''s a reason why we have two leaders in this village. Gemma is the leader when it comes to administration and education. While I''m a leader for military, foreign policies." He declared, "What I lack, she covers for."


    These soldiers were no joke; I would have wanted to learn how strong they were if they had trained from a young age.


    I noticed that some had significantly longer hair flowing to their shoulders while others had no hair.


    "Mind if I ask something?" Lusan asked.


    "Sure." Nath smiled.


    "What''s with the hair? Not to judge or anything, but is there a reason why some of them have, you know, long hair?"


    Nath chuckled without looking back at us as he answered our question, "Hair represents a lot for us in our village''s tradition. The longer your hair, the more battles you''ve won."


    We didn''t need him to explain why some had short hair; it just meant they weren''t as good as the others.


    Hmmm, hair was a currency for gaining respect in this part of the place.


    The longer the hair, the more people will acknowledge you for the person you are and consider you a respected individual.


    Well. . . That''s what I like to think, anyway.


    So, what else does the Village of Vaia have to offer us? One thing was for sure: there were still so many things that I could learn from a place like this.

 Chapter 13: Duels Are Just Getting Started

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 Chapter 14: Our Inventions Call Us

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 Chapter 15: How Did We End Up Here?

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 Chapter 16: Trapped in whos land?

    <u>LENIN</u>


    Seriously. . . How was I getting myself into these situations?


    First, it was with Eleanor and Frienson, and now, it is with Zac.


    I watched as Zac refused to grapple with the current situation that we were in, attempting to escape the chains that bound us here.


    "First time?" I smirked as he stopped wrangling with his chains.


    "How can you be so calm? We''re trapped!"


    I shrugged, "Calm or stressed, what''s the difference? We''re still in the same situation either way."


    That was enough for Zac to cool down as he looked at the ceiling.


    "So, what do we do now?"


    I looked at my surroundings and saw that we had been in a confined room for who knows how long.


    Despite our situation, there were multiple ways that we could have broken out and escaped, but that wouldn''t have done anything useful for us.


    Instead, we were going to play it out and see what happens.


    "We wait," I answered back.


    WHOOSH!


    The doors went wide, and several bandits got us to our feet without hesitation. Our chains were still intact, and they pushed us to whatever destination they pleased.


    As I watched, I noticed what type of place we were in, and so did Zac.


    The faces of these people must have been from the market, working tirelessly to supply these bandits with what they wanted.


    They are working for them now.


    I watched from afar as a blacksmith worked on creating a sword. Lava flowed to the pot, sizzling, and soon became solid metal.


    I could see the chain on his feet and a bandit looking over everything he was doing.


    The bandits were practically invasive diseases that watched every movement; their breaths latched on the skin, trickling down to their feet.


    On the other hand, I could see these bandits sitting together, having the time of their lives, drinking themselves to death as they cheered, each more stupid.


    "Now get in!" A bandit chuckled, pushing us to what seemed like the camps where they were holding the other people.


    People from all different lives here, not from joy or excitement but from the pain and suffering inflicted on their faces.


    We continued walking as the bandits led us to our camp section. Few people were there, and those there didn''t dare look up at us.


    Except for one who seemed to mind his own business, drawing on the wall, no one dared approach him; even the bandits didn''t.


    "What''s with that guy?"


    "That guy?" The bandit scoffed. "They call him the crazy genius, but he''s just crazy." He answered, "Most of the time, he''s spent talking to himself. Forget about him, and in you go."


    He pushed us with the others, and a devilish smirk appeared on his face, "Get ready for the first day of work."


    But to my surprise, Zac was no longer with me.


    They must have placed us in a separate area so we couldn''t talk to one another.


    All I could do now was wait and see what would happen next.


    From the looks of it, the people from the markets weren''t the only ones who were held captive; it was anyone that they could get their filthy hands on.


    Everyone around me was huddled in corners, their arms acting as a protective shield from the dangers that would come to them.


    I sat in silence, thinking about what they were planning for us to do.


    I knew they would put us to work; the question is, what was it for?


    Now, the ceiling was the most exciting thing about this place, besides the people who looked defeated.


    Seriously, how was I going to make my time here enjoyable? Was there anything else that I could do besides talk to someone?


    I was bored out of my mind here.


    Well. . . There was one person here that I could talk to.


    But it might be dangerous based on what everyone said about him.


    Though, who cares?If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    I took a deep breath before approaching him as he carved tallies onto the wall.


    I cleared my throat. Sitting beside him, I said, "So, how long have you been?"


    My eyes widened as I realised he had touched my lips.


    Okay. . . I was surprised to find out about this on my bingo list.


    The rumours about him may be true.


    "Do you hear that?" He released his finger off my lip.


    I slowly shook my head, "Uh. . . What am I supposed to hear here?"


    He tapped his head, "The voices, they''re telling me many things." He looked around his surroundings.


    He seemed almost paranoid. I was slowly starting to regret moving here.


    It could have been better if I hadn''t spoken to him.


    "What are they telling you?"


    "There telling me. . ."


    I listened intently, waiting to hear the following words from his mouth.


    "To go to sleep."


    He instantly dropped to the ground, sleeping.


    What the fuck?


    How the hell could someone sleep so fast, let alone do that?


    "Great," I muttered, leaning against the wall. "What am I going to do now?"


    It was as if the Deus from above had heard my calls, and something worth waiting for had arrived.


    "Everyone!" The bandit''s voice boomed across the room, and his whip echoed alongside it, causing the ground to tremble, "I want everyone out! It''s time for work." He grinned at us.


    The ones in the corner began to move out of their spots begrudgingly; they knew better than to resist.


    After all, who in their right mind would want to be whipped for it? Indeed, not anyone in this room.


    Everyone had left, leaving the two of us in the room.


    "Why haven''t you moved?" The bandit towered over us, his whip clenched in his hand.


    I knew he was excited to use it on someone as I looked directly at him.


    I shrugged, "We''re just tired."


    "Tired?" he chuckled. I can see that with him." He pointed at a guy who was currently sleeping.


    "You''re disobeying orders." He leaned closer to my face. "You know what happens."


    WHOOSH!


    I instinctively moved my arm to the side, taking the sizzling hit; I could see the imprint of that attack.


    It wouldn''t be long until my arm would be bleeding from that.


    He chuckled in amusement, "You got balls, huh? I''ll let you have that one. . . Get your friend here ready before something worse happens to you both." He eyed as down before leaving the room.


    I glanced over my arm; the pain was infuriating.


    I hadn''t been hit that hard in a while, but I couldn''t use my Solum even if I wanted to.


    It would simply blow my cover.


    "Huh. . ."


    I looked beside me to see him rubbing his eyes as his gaze slowly darted towards me.


    "Who are you again?"


    My smile instantly faded, "Seriously? We just spoke moments ago, and you don''t remember me?"


    Man, this person needed to be more mindful.


    He shrugged as he began drawing on the wall, continuing the tallies.


    "We should get going, you know? You don''t want to get punished, right?" I stood up from the ground as he reluctantly stood up and exited the room.


    I followed along to see all the other people getting ready for whatever task lay ahead.


    Not far from me was equipment that we would need; to be frank, this didn''t look safe.


    The equipment''s rust and decay were evident. My fingers wrapped around it, feeling the grease of the people who had used it before me.


    Sanitation was not this place''s priority.


    "Where the hell are we going. . ."


    "We''re going to the mines."


    I looked over my shoulder to see who had said that.


    "It''s you again," I declared as he shrugged. "I never got your name, you know?"


    He waved his hand in dismissal, "Because you don''t need to." He looked at the entrance to the mine we would be entering.


    "Those who stand for nothing fall for anything." He muttered to himself continuously, almost as if it was on a loop.


    One by one, the people entered a void of nothingness, the mines we would all be entering soon enough.


    I followed behind the man as he casually spoke to himself as if making conversation with his imagination to keep him entertained.


    "How long have you been for?"


    No response.


    "Um, what did you do before all of this?"


    No response.


    The only response in return was the shared silence that grew between us.


    The only thing I could look at was his back.


    "But an-"


    "Well, please just be quiet, " he said, looking over his shoulder.


    At least now I got something out of him, as I raised my hand in surrender, "Can you at least answer one question of mine."


    He rubbed his temple, saying, "Fine, only one."


    "Why do people call you the crazy genius around here?"


    He paused momentarily, looking at the ground, "That''s none of your business."


    I saw that one coming, but it was worth a shot.


    The man sighed, "Pan." He answered.


    I raised my eyebrow in amusement. "Pan? Are you being serious?" I let out a slight chuckle, immediately fading as Pan glared at me.


    "You know. . . You''re pretty scary." I muttered, looking away


    "Just do your job here." He moved away.


    "What am I meant to be looking for here?"


    "Solum. . . Of course."


    "Solum." I nodded to myself; I could do that.


    Ah yes, of course, the classic. . . Everyone wanted Solum, didn''t they?


    With everyone doing their own thing, I needed to sense if there was any Solum in this dungeon in the first place.


    I channelled my Purpura Solum to see if there was any Solum here.


    One, two, forty-five, maybe sixty-seven?


    Solum was all around us, but it was deeper into the dungeon.


    Everyone knew that the deeper you went into these dungeons, the more likely you wouldn''t return to see and bask in the sunlight.


    It was apparent what these bandits were trying to do here; they were willing to sacrifice us like lambs to the slaughter, all for some Solum.


    No wonder they needed all those people in the markets to mine in this dungeon; it would take them forever to extract all of the Solum.


    I looked at everyone who was mining. They were devoid of emotion, and there was not a single inch of happiness on their faces.


    After all, who would be living in conditions like these?


    I couldn''t let any of these bandits become suspicious of me. I still needed to find out where Zac was, assuming he was also in the dungeon.


    I was curious as to what he was doing.


    In the meantime, there''s one thing to do, mine, too.


    There was nothing too ordinary. I would have to go deeper into the dungeon to find anything, and that is precisely what I did.


    As I ventured deeper, I could feel the drops of water hitting the ground. It was a clear sign that few had passed at this level.


    Or thought I thought. . .


    A trail of bodies had been lined up on the floor, their blood splattered and painted across the walls.


    Some arms, some legs, completely ripped out of their bodies; simply the bloodiest of things had happened here.


    Unfortunately, these people managed to gain some basic Solum from mining.


    They must have been leaving the dungeon with their findings, only to realise they had been ambushed by what seemed to be Plantea Beasts.


    I was sure that nothing besides that could do damage like this.


    WHOOSH!


    My eyes widened in an instant, "Pa-"


    "Shush," Pan whispered, covering my mouth with his hand and pointing at it with his finger.


    I looked in the direction he had pointed to see a couple of Plantea Beasts lurking around, waiting for a single noise or scent of Solum to devour.


    Little did he know who he was currently covering with his mouth.


    WHOOSH!


    People needed to know that Plantea Beasts didn''t have the best smell, which was why they were so reckless.


    But it becomes pretty straightforward for them when they smell a big pile of Solum in one sitting. And I''m saying this because it was happening to us.


    "Run!"


    We both shouted.

 Chapter 17: To New Friendships

    <u>KASSIE</u>


    Gosh. . . This was seriously taking such a long time.


    Maybe I regret having to take part in this expedition after all. . .


    But no! I shouldn''t have thought that; after all, we needed this village to cooperate with us, and besides, I was going to get a taste of genuine action.


    Nath was leading us deeper into the dungeon, and to my surprise, Christof had managed to recover quickly, being on his two feet already.


    "So, how deep have you been into this dungeon before?"


    Nath looked over his shoulder, "We''ve gotten close, but never close enough to destroy the core of the Dungeon."


    Ah, yes, the core of the dungeon.


    Some dungeons would have a core, while others wouldn''t have one.


    It was said that if you managed to destroy the core of a dungeon, it would grant you something special.


    It''s like a gift from the Deus.


    Most of the time, you wouldn''t be gifted anything, but the times you did, however, let''s say that there was life-changing.


    But that was the last thing I was worried about, let alone think about.


    I should be thinking about the dangers ahead, but I just couldn''t.


    Simply because I was worried about whether Maro had eaten anything that day.


    Seriously! That was a valid thought to have.


    I mean, what was he eating? Was he eating right?


    There were so many unsolved questions that I desperately needed to know as soon as possible.


    Lenin would like to say that I spoiled Maro, which may be valid to an extent.


    But still! What mother wouldn''t spoil their child?


    Maro was the cutest child alive, no questions asked.


    "Is everything alright?"


    "Huh?" I broke out of my trance. "Uh yeah! It''s fine."


    Okay, enough thinking about my family of the day and focus on the mission at hand.


    They weren''t joking when they said they had a select few soldiers ready to fight, as it was just Christof and Nath.


    They underestimated what these Plantea Beasts could do to you if they were desperate for Solum.


    "Christof, could you pass the bags."


    He nodded and handed it to Nath, who threw the bags far away.


    I was impressed at his strength in being able to throw that far.


    We waited for anything, something to happen.


    WHOOSH!


    Like invasive diseases, the Plantea Beasts rushed over to the bags sucking out every single bit of Solum.


    Their veins are growing purple and fatter than before.


    I looked over my shoulder to see Tara and Lusan preparing for the worst.


    But I was surprised by the flame of determination that danced around Tara''s body.


    Her eyes a piercing gaze, never looking away from the Plantea.


    It was only a short time until the Plantea Beasts recognised our presence, specifically mine.


    They could probably smell the intense pungent Solum within me and came rushing towards us.


    Nath instantly wrapped his hand around his sword.


    WHOOSH!


    In an instant, he had sliced a Plantea Beast in half, whilst Christof did the same fighting against the other beast.


    We soon took into action as we charged at the Plantea Beasts.


    While everyone was fighting, fending off these Plantea Beasts, it was evident that more of them came running at me, thirsty for the Solum.


    With quick and efficient slices, I could take them down fairly quickly; I was more surprised about how Nath and Christof could do it just as efficiently.


    Christof''s apathetic look never left his face, even in times of trouble, as both Nath and Christof''s fighting styles were consequential.


    Their swords were an extension of themselves as I watched Nath slice the heads of the Plantea Beasts and, in return, drop Solum.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    I continued fighting my challenges as they continuously charged at me, their teeth ready to seek into my skin. Still, I dodged and evaded their wishful attacks, instantly putting them all down to the ground.


    Tara and Lusan did reasonably well because of their previous experiences with Plantea Beasts.


    But now and then, I noticed Tara''s hands shaking.


    WHOOSH!


    I sliced a Plantea Beast in half as Tara turned around.


    "Thanks. . ." Tara smiled in disbelief, "I must have missed one."


    I returned the smile, scanning the area, "It''s alright, just be careful next time."


    She nodded slowly, a bit disappointed in herself for her performance.


    "If you fight as sloppy as you did just then, you''ll be dead." Christof declared, patting the dust off of his armour.


    "Thanks for the supportive words," Tara muttered lowly.


    Christof tilted his head in confusion, "What do you mean?"


    Tara waved her hand in dismissal, "Forget about it."


    Christof nodded casually, venturing deeper into the dungeon by himself.


    I watched as Tara scoffed to herself, simply glaring at Christof leave, "The nerve of that guy." She folded her arms, "He has the nerve to say that."


    Lusan grinned, patting her on the back, but that was instantly stopped, and now the glare was onto him.


    "Okay. . . Never mind then." He slowly stepped back, raising his hand in surrender.


    Nath cleared his throat. "I''m sorry for his behaviour; it''s just that Christof isn''t used to working with people he doesn''t know much about."


    Tara rolled her eyes. "But still, he could be a bit nicer, " she muttered, looking away.


    "Trust me when I say this," Nath said, touching his chest. He means well. . . Once you get his trust, he''ll be a lot nicer. Trust means everything to him."


    "Well, I won''t be working with him if he doesn''t want to work with me."


    Nath sighed, a light smile on his face, and nodded, "I''ll catch up with him; I''ll meet you guys there."


    Lusan followed alongside Nath deeper into the dungeon, leaving the two of us together.


    A smirk grew as I placed my hand on her shoulder, "Do you want to talk about what''s going on?"


    Tara was going to fight back with her words, but she knew it was worthless, "That obvious, huh?"


    I nodded, "Definitely."


    She sighed, "It''s just. . . Christof is right about me being sloppy." Tara looked at her hands filled with the blood of the Plantea Beasts, "I freeze up whenever I see them there. . . Scary, you know."


    I couldn''t help but feel sorry for Tara; she had every right to be scared of facing these monstrous beings.


    Besides, it wasn''t every day that you would go up against them.


    "It''s alright to feel that way; everyone''s human."


    "Do you ever get scared of those things?"


    "Me? Never." I chuckled, waving my hand in dismissal.


    As I looked back at her, "But still. . . I''m not scared about them, but I am scared of the ones who care about dying." I muttered lowly.


    The thought of someone being in danger twisted and rolled my stomach in all directions.


    "Aren''t we all?" Tara smiled gently.


    My eyes widened in delight. "I know what we have to do!" I clapped my hands together, and Tara was taken aback by the random surge of energy that reached her.


    "What are we going to do?"


    I tapped my chin, "Actually. . . I completely forgot what I was going to say."


    Tara chuckled in defeat, looking over at me with a playful glare. "When I think about it, I can see why you love Lenin so much. You guys have so much in common."


    What an insult. . .


    That was the most brutal insult that someone could have possibly told me.


    Tara titled her head in confusion, "Did I say something wrong. . ."


    "You most certainly did!" I pointed my finger at her.


    "What did I do?"


    I folded my arm, "You said I''m like Lenin."


    "Am I wrong?"


    I wriggled my finger at her, "It''s the other way around, my dear friend. My husband is exactly like me." I pointed at myself proudly.


    Tara chuckled, saluting me, "I apologise, Captain."


    "That''s the spirit!" I patted her on the shoulder, "So how about it? We should catch up with them; we don''t want those boys to have all the fun, do we?"


    Tara nodded confidentially, "Yeah, you''re right. It''s time we join in the fight."


    I smiled proudly. "Let''s do it then."


    We delved deeper into the dungeon and saw the others finishing off the last Plantea Beasts in this section.


    Lusan smiled brightly at us, pulling his sword from the Plantea Beast.


    "Did we miss out much?" I asked as he shook his head.


    "A little bit of action but nothing much besides that."


    "This is the furthest we''ve made it into this dungeon," Nath declared, his smile etched. Thank you guys for coming in the first place. . . It''s a courageous thing to do, and you will always have my respect." He smiled proudly at all of us.


    "Of course." I smiled. I''ll do anything to help you guys."


    Lusan raised his hand in the air, "So. . . We won''t know what will be in this dungeon now."


    Nath nodded, "Precisely, anything can be here for us."


    Lusan sighed in defeat, "Great, just our luck." He muttered as he began moving to the final section of the dungeon. I could feel a relief off my shoulders, knowing that our journey here would end.


    But to my surprise, there was nothing in store for us.


    There was no sign of life here; the only thing here was a mist stuck to the ground.


    "This place is so creepy. . ." Tara commented behind me.


    "Tell me about it." Lusan added, "I wasn''t expecting something like this when I came to the dungeon."


    Nath pointed his finger, "The core. . . It''s there."


    I looked, and there it was, the singular thing we needed to destroy this dungeon once and for all.


    The core was deep in purple, floating with nothing supporting it.


    It was so beautiful that most people wouldn''t have wanted to destroy it; it was just that the core looked electrifying to the eye.


    Something that you couldn''t dare take your gaze off of.


    "It looks pretty cool, doesn''t I-"


    "Tara?"


    To my surprise, she was no longer standing where she was once.


    As I looked back, neither Lusan, Nath, or Christof was here anymore.


    Where did everyone go?


    The mist had grown larger, almost circling me as if I were some prey.


    I stepped back, checking my surroundings, but it was no use. Everything around me was the mist. . .


    There was nothing at all.


    Just like that, the mist completely evaporated, and something appeared before me.


    No, not something, someone. . .


    I squinted my eyes.


    It was me.


    "You certainly weren''t expecting this were you." She smiled, walking over to me with such purpose.


    "Am I dreaming?"


    She chuckled and shook her head. "No! Of course not! Now, why would you think that?"


    This dungeon must have been playing tricks on me, and the mist must have caused me to hallucinate.


    I could only do one thing to get out of this situation.


    I began to activate the Purpura Solum that was waiting ever so desperately to be unleashed.


    She chuckled, applauding me as I felt the Purpura Solum bottling up.


    "You could do that; it''ll take you out of this little predicament." She smiled, "But wouldn''t you want to hear your deepest, darkest secrets? After all, I am you."


    I scoffed, "Trust me, that''s the last thing I want to hear when I''m stuck in a dungeon." I paused briefly, looking away, "Besides, I already know my darkest secrets."


    She slowly nodded, "Very well then. . . Just know, you will regret this action."


    I smiled, "Sure, I will. Bye-bye now."


    My hand had become a blinding light of Purpura as I washed back into reality.


    I looked at the others standing motionlessly; they must have been stuck in my trance.


    WHOOSH!


    A laser of Purpura Solum emitted from my hand as I instantly destroyed the core.


    What would take these people months to destroy? I had done it in a second.


    There''s no need to thank me for doing that.

 Chapter 18: Why am I always doing this?

    <u>LENIN</u>


    "Run!"


    Holy shit. . . Never have I ever run this much.


    The wind whipped my face, trying to drive us backwards as the Plantea Beasts ran at us.


    "Where are we going!"


    I continued to run after Pam, who ignored me once more.


    "Are you seriously still not talking to me!" I shouted as I looked over my shoulder to see that the Plantea Beasts continued chasing us.


    It felt as though we had been running for ages; hell, I wouldn''t have been surprised if it was


    I could admit I wasn''t helping; they weren''t chasing Pam.


    They were chasing me.


    "Duck."


    "Wh-"


    I instantly ducked, looking over my shoulder to see a bag of Solum being dropped to the feet of the Plantea Beasts as they went to eat it.


    While it was good to have the Plantea Beasts get distracted by eating the Solum, it only made them stronger.


    They would grow in size and become more aggressive until they wanted more.


    "Right!"


    We both moved right, but there was a dead end.


    "Not to hurry you up, but we are dead." I chuckled lightly as I began to hear the growls of the Plantea Beasts.


    They would be sure to come and catch us, and I was certainly not looking forward to that.


    I examined Pam as he touched the wall, which had inscriptions that I could recognise somewhat.


    "The door of praesidium."


    The door of praesidium?


    The door of protection, what did it have to do with anything in a dungeon like this of all places?


    WHOOSH!


    As if Pam had read my mind, the inscription had blinded us with a bright purple as the wall slowly opened itself whole for us.


    "What the hell?" I muttered lowly.


    I had seen a lot of things during my time, but I had never seen something like this before.


    It was out of a book I read in the Kingdom of Juvo, but seeing something like this was special.


    Pam looked over his shoulder, "Are you entering or what? Do you want to be eaten by them?"


    I chuckled lightly and jokingly saluted him, "Of course not."


    He rolled his eyes as we stepped into unknown territory¡ªwell, everything here was unknown territory.


    Something told me for Pam; it was another story.


    What kind of person knew that those ancient words had any value to them. . .


    On second thought, that sounded dumb.


    The growing silence within the tunnels was killing me. I was itching to talk to him, but I knew all I would get from him was a simple shrug.


    I''d be lucky if he managed to respond to me.


    So there was only one thing I could do: whistle to myself.


    Pam stopped in his tracks.


    "Can you please stop that?"


    "Stop what?"


    Pam sighed, rubbing his temple as he began muttering to himself, "You''re going to get me killed one day." He looked over his shoulder, "You''re whistling; stop it."If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    I raised my hand in surrender, "On one condition."


    "What."


    "Will we start having a friendly conversation from now on?"


    He paused for a moment, almost as if he was trying to weigh the pros and cons.


    Was I really that annoying to the average person outside of Kassie?


    "Fine." He sighed, "If that means you''ll stop whistling."


    I nodded excitedly as I noted that whistling could solve many problems in life, including this.


    "So. . . Now that we''re friends."


    "We''re not friends."


    I nodded, "Cool, cool, cool, understood. . . Since we''re acquaintances, mind telling me how you understood those words?"


    "I studied them when I was younger." He answered back.


    A smile appeared on my face; we were getting somewhere now.


    "Oh, you studied them? So I''m assuming you''re not from here?"


    He shook his head, "I am from here; I''m self-taught."


    "Self-taught?" I declared in awe. "So you can speak Vestivian?"


    He nodded, "I can, but I''d rather not; that language is for those who don''t live in these conditions." Pam slowly eyed me.


    An unsettling tension crept onto my shoulder, grabbing hold of me, but I shook it off as we both continued walking.


    Soon enough, we had found our way to a door.


    This was seriously getting weirder. What kind of dungeon had a door to it?


    Slowly, he opened the door, and a fresh air scent hit my nose whilst the wind washed my face.


    I looked over at him, and there was something I had never expected to see in a million years.


    A whole underground system was working here.


    It was filled with people moving around, having a task to work on.


    Even kids, we''re currently running around the place, this underground system, which is acting as a play area for them, too.


    "What is this place?"


    "This." Pam gestured, "Is what I call the Tubes."


    "Pretty basic name if you ask me," I muttered lowly.


    He glared at me, "That''s beside the point. This is where everything happens¡ªall the magic," Pam declared.


    "Magic? What do you mean magic?"


    For the first time, a slight smirk appeared on his face. "What do you think? Our escape. Follow me." He waved his hand over at me.


    I followed him from behind as the people here greeted us with happy smiles¡ªa stark contrast to those from above.


    To think that these people were more alive and lethargic here.


    "Here we are." He stopped in his tracks as we both looked up at the way.


    "Woah. . . Is this?"


    Pam nodded, "These are the routes of the dungeon, as we know of them."


    "Who did this?"


    "Well, that''s easy to answer; I did." He declared.


    I stared at him blankly, "How did you manage to do all of this?"


    He shrugged, "A lot of time scouting this place. The ones that you think don''t come back usually end up here, but some are more unluckier than others. . ." Pam drifted away.


    "So everyone knows this place?"


    Pam shook his head, "No, not everyone knows this place." He replied, "Only those who were willing and capable come here to help the cause."


    "Those who are willing and capable, huh?" I smirked, "I think that''s the first time you complimented me."


    "Firstly, it wasn''t a compliment." He shut down my joke in an instant.


    What a way to ruin a blossoming friendship between us.


    "Secondly," he folded his arms, "you have value; after all, you are a Solum user, aren''t you?"


    My eyes widened, "How did you know?"


    "They don''t call me a crazy genius for nothing." Pam noted, "Besides, Plantea Beasts don''t usually run that fast for something that doesn''t have immense Solum."


    "You make a great point there." I chuckled, "So, since they call you a crazy genius, what''s your plan for taking over?"


    "Simple." He declared as he pointed at me, "You."


    I pointed at myself, smirking, "You think I can do something about this."


    "I know you can," Pam responded. "If you wanted to, you could level this whole area. Am I wrong?"


    I chuckled and shook my head. "No, not at all. But still, what''s in for me?"


    He gestured around us, "Is this not enough? You help people, letting them return to their families safely?"


    Pam had a point; that was all I needed to hear to agree with what he wanted from me.


    But I could''ve done all of that way earlier if I wanted to; there was still one thing I needed to know, and Pam was probably the best person


    "Sure, but before that, I need to know something first."


    "Go on."


    "The bandits." I declared, "What is their end game here."


    "To expand, of course." Pam responded, "But if you want to know, something big is going on, which is why it''ll be in your favour to stop them before they do it."


    "Is there anything else I need to know?"


    "No." He shook his head, his gaze never leaving me, "Just that all hell will break loose once you do what you do here."


    "Is that so." I smiled, "What will I be doing here."


    "I think you know the answer to that."


    Oh, that I did.


    "Alright." I clapped my hands together, "I''ll do as you wish, but before all that, this dungeon has a core, right?"


    "It does."


    "Good!" I smiled, "I''ll deal with that little situation first."


    Pam nodded, "If that''s what you want. . . Also, there''s no one else deeper in this dungeon, so do what you want."


    I returned the nod, "I also have something else I want to ask; I need to find a friend."


    Pam continued to look at me. "You have nothing to worry about; your friend is at their doctor''s."


    I titled my head, "Medic? How do you know that."


    What would Zac do to end up in a medic?


    Did he do something to injure himself so severely that he needed one?


    "How else? As much as you think most bandits here are evil, I can assure you that some are good and willing to help."


    I see. . . Some bandits were working behind the scenes to help these people.


    "What happened to Zac? Is he doing okay?"


    Pam waved his hand in dismissal, "He''ll be fine. The best medic is treating him there is here." He paused for a moment, "You should probably get going soon. You wouldn''t want to miss out?"


    "Alright then. I''ll trust you on that." I nodded and left the room.


    Do what I want, huh?


    It was about time that I would have a little bit of fun.


    The walls had opened up to me, and I was ready to explore more of this dungeon, but there, the Plantea Beasts that I had encountered before were waiting, hungrier and more robust than before.


    Just my luck.


    I smiled, forming a Purpura sword.


    Let''s begin, shall we?


    WHOOSH!


    Before the Plantea Beasts could even think to attack me, I had already done them a favour and stopped them from feeling altogether.


    Their heads landed on the ground, and I walked over them.


    I channelled my Solum, checking out the surroundings.


    There were a couple more Plantea Beasts before I reached the dungeon''s core.


    So what would I do now?


    Easy, I would simply kill them all.

 Chapter 19: Time to introduce you to. . .

    <u>ZAC</u>


    I groaned in pain; it was as if a heavy weight had been set on my arm on fire, coursing throughout my body.


    It was clear that whatever had happened to me in the dungeons had done a number on me.


    But I could not remember a single thing about what had happened there. . .


    However, that feeling of pain and distress had been alleviated so quickly, almost as if it was never to begin with.


    What was happening to me?


    "Almost done."


    A gentle voice reached my ears. . . Whose voice was that, and why was it called to me now?


    "There we go, all done. You can open your eyes now."


    I slowly opened my eyes, and there she was.


    Her eyes shun like diamonds. . . No, it was better than that; it was exactly what I felt Purpura Solum to be like in the flesh.


    I was in awe of her.


    With her hair tied up in a bun, she was the only one who seemed professional, even elegant, in her manner.


    The only thing I could think about was how I ended up with someone here. . .


    "Where am I?" I asked, looking around the place.


    It was obvious where I was, but I needed to talk to her.


    You know, to not make things as awkward as it already is.


    "Well, you''re in the medic bay, " she answered, removing her clothes and washing her hands in the sink. It seems like the Plantea Beasts got the jump on you while you were out mining. Someone found you, and here you are now." She turned around and slowly began to tilt her head.


    "Um, your jaws opened, by the way."


    I shook my head and cleared my throat. "Oh! Sorry about that. . . Yeah, sorry about it." I muttered lowly.


    She gave a light chuckle, looking at me. "You''re all patched up now, so you should probably head back now."


    "Yeah, right," I answered, standing up from the bed while my injuries were relieved; I could still feel a tinge of pain every once in a while.


    Before I left the medbay, I knew I couldn''t leave without having to ask something. . .


    "If I could ask, what is your name?"


    "My name?" she pointed at me, forming a soft smile. It''s Abigail."


    Abigail. . . That was a nice name that rolled out of my tongue.


    "It was nice to meet you, " I said, and she nodded.


    She waved her hand in dismissal, "Don''t mention it. I''ll check on you in a few days to see your progress."


    "Thanks." I smiled as I left the medic bay, examining the outside world and the reality that had hit me.


    This place was desolate and barren from any pristine area compared to the medical bay I once was in.


    I wished to return to that medic bay, a haven of cleanliness and gentleness.


    "How was the medic? Were the rumours true?" Louis asked excitedly. He was practically pulsating with energy.


    I could see in his eyes that he desperately wanted an answer.


    "Well. . ." I smiled slightly, "The medic bay is pretty clean and nice, as they say."


    "Eh, no one cares about that part!" He shook my shoulder, grinning, "Is it true what they say, the medic goddess?"


    His eyes beamed with pure joy, asking that question of his.


    I was surprised at how excited he was for me to answer my question; I would give him the satisfaction.


    "Yes, I can confirm that she was, as you call it, the medic goddess."


    "Damn!" Louis exclaimed, "I wish I could''ve seen her for myself." He muttered lowly, looking away.


    I couldn''t help but smile, placing my hand on his shoulder, "Maybe one day you''ll get to meet the medic goddess if you get injured yourself."


    He chuckled, rolling his eyes, "When you mean by injuring myself, that means me getting myself killed." Louis answered, looking at the ground.


    Louis was someone I met on the first day of this bandit camp.


    While I got split with Lenin into different sections of this place, I wouldn''t have been able to survive if it wasn''t for the likes of Louis.


    He was able to calm me down in a shitty hole like this.


    I felt terrible for him, though. He was getting picked on by other people in this place, especially the Bandits, who treated him like he was nothing.


    Someone who had been constantly disrespected.


    I knew how that felt because Felix, too, sometimes disrespected me.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    Lenin was the only one who had ever given me a sign of acknowledgment, let alone appreciation.


    The people at the Village of Facia had always opposed my views. While they had been doing what I wanted, modernising the village to increase our power, it wasn''t because Felix wanted to do it.


    But we were moving in with things here because of Lenin.


    He was why the Village of Facia was performing well, not Felix.


    I was confused about how Felix took credit for everything Lenin genuinely achieved.


    Which is why I saw Louis in me.


    Maybe I could become a better person if I could help and guide him.


    It was easy to see that these bandits were looking at Louis as if he were prey.


    These bandits were desperate to get their hands on Louis and beat him to a pulp.


    Louis shuns his gaze away from them, "They''re looking at me, aren''t they?"


    I wrapped my hand around his shoulder, "You''ll be fine. Besides, you''re getting stronger, aren''t you?" I punched him playfully on the shoulder.


    "I am, but still. . . They won''t respect me unless I''ve gone to the dungeons. . ."


    I nodded understanding; who wouldn''t fear entering a dungeon without knowing what would be in store for you?


    Also, Louis would only end up being eaten alive if he entered as of now.


    He simply wasn''t ready to go into the dungeon just yet.


    "Well." I patted him, "Don''t worry about that now. You still have some time to train, and we should get some sleep. It''s a big day ahead of you."


    He smiled in amusement, "A big day?" He nudged me on the shoulder, "You mean a big day for you! You get to see the medic goddess again for your check-up."


    "One day, my friend, you''ll meet with her."


    "Better be soon!" he raised his fist as we entered our cramped room, which was filled with other people.


    It was looking at things like this that my energy sounded depleted.


    Seeing their miserable faces was enough for me to want to do something.


    But I knew now wasn''t the best time for that.


    I rested against the wall, taking a deep breath as I watched Louis relax. Then, there it was: I shifted, closing my eyes, welcoming myself to a pit of darkness.


    As I entered into a slumber of sleep.


    WHOOSH!


    PHOOSH!


    WHOOSH!


    I rubbed my eyes open, groaning as I could''ve sworn some commotion was happening.


    I scanned my surroundings to see the usual people sleeping, except for one.


    Louis.


    My eyes widened as I scanned the rook again, but he wasn''t there.


    I quickly made my way out of the room, and there, I saw it in its most detailed form, which was enough for me to imitate it.


    "Get away from him!"


    I pushed the bandits off of him.


    "Oh! Looks like we fight here." The bandits chuckled, looking over at me.


    I looked at the ground to see Louis''s disbelieved face and bruises from all the punches that he must have taken.


    "Can you stand?"


    He slowly nodded, but I knew that even doing that hurt him.


    That was enough to send daggers their way.


    The bandits chuckled to one another as their chests were puffed in pride.


    They just wanted me to tear their smirk faces down until their defensive walls were destroyed.


    Then, it would simply be their shell of a hollow person.


    I planted my feet on the ground, looking at the number of bandits with us.


    3, 4. . . Maybe even 5.


    I raised my fist, looking at all of them in the eye.


    One of them raised an eyebrow in amusement, "Are you sure you want to take us all on? You did see what happened to your friend, right?"


    "I don''t give a shit." I gritted my teeth, "I''m fighting you all."


    "If you wish!"


    WHOOSH!


    A quick punch I just barely dodged as I took them on one by one.


    They threw countless punches and kicks to put me off balance, but I continued to dodge and weave, letting myself move with the air.


    These punches that they were rolling soon became annoying as I pushed them off.


    I could see on their faces that they were beginning to feel aggravated by the lack of punches they could land on me.


    GUH!


    As I blocked one of their punches with my forearms, I did not see the punch from the side connecting with my ribcage.


    Despite the pain that was filling my body, I continued to push on.


    But their attacks had begun overwhelming me, drowning me in the punches landing on me.


    To the point that I was forced to take a knee as they began mercilessly kicking me down on the ground.


    I did my best to cover any places on my body that were exposed, but that was pointless.


    I could see Louis attempting to push them off me in the corner of my eyes, but they smacked him away like a rag doll.


    Is this what we were to these people?


    "How do you like that!"


    GUH!


    He kicked deep into my stomach as I clutched my chest, coughing out blood.


    "That''s what you get, you stupid prick." He learned closer to my face, "Look what happens next."


    As I braced myself for another kick to the face. . .


    "That''s enough!"


    A voice echoed from afar. The bandits looked to see who it was and immediately composed themselves.


    "B-Boss." One of the bandits stammered as he approached them.


    "What are you doing he-"


    WHACK!


    A searing red slap landed across his face, and the only thing that could be heard now was the silence that rained down upon us all.


    He pointed his finger at him, "What did I tell you about hurting our slaves?"


    "Bu-"


    WHACK!


    "Listen here, Olfen. Do you know the shortage of our people? We must go into the dungeons now because they never return." He pulled him by the shirt, "Don''t make me go into the dungeons by yourself."


    "No, sir!" Olfen immediately fell to the ground, begging for his forgiveness. " I promise I''ll never do bad in your name again."


    "That''s enough from you for one time." His voice boomed with authority and command, "Take them to Abigail. She''ll deal with them."


    "Yes, sir." He nodded as he got us both up on our feet.


    Everything surrounding me was nothing but pain.


    I had never felt this much ever before and to be treated like we were insignificant creatures, even worse than Plantea Beasts. . .


    I despised them for that, for them to call us enslaved people and treat us as if we were expendable.


    These people had lived, and these people had families.


    But these bandits, these monstrous beings, and their lack of remorse were all the more reason to stop them.


    They needed to be dealt with; how many innocent people were going to get killed because of their actions?


    Olfen pushed us into the medic bay, glaring at the two of us.


    I glared right back at him, letting him know my intentions.


    I would be damn if I let him treat us like that again, let alone even touch Louis like that again.


    "You got lucky. . . The next time we meet, I''ll be sure you won''t get off so lucky." He declared, his gaze simply on me.


    "Likewise," I responded. You don''t want to be sent to the dungeon by your boss, do you?" I smirked.


    In an instant, he froze to where he stood but remained composed, looking at me again. "You bastard. . . The next time I get my chance, I''ll rip you apart until next time." He declared, leaving us be.


    "Y-You have an enemy on you," Louis muttered lowly. "What do we know?"


    "I''m not sure," I muttered, "But we''ll have to think about something."


    I know they wouldn''t be doing anything too rash now, but they''ll surely come back and attack us.


    I placed my hand on his shoulder, "On the bright side. . ." I looked at the entrance of the medic room. "At least you''ll get to see the medic goddess."


    His eyes sparkled with joy. There it was again, that look; it was always one I loved to see.


    It was the only thing that kept me sane in a hell hole like this.


    We entered the medic bay, and I instantly felt Louis''s nervousness surging.


    I had heard him talk so much about the medic goddess, but now, when he had the chance to be treated by her, let alone speak to her, his voice seemed to disappear.


    I couldn''t help but smile at that revelation.


    There she was, reading a book all to herself.


    I never understood how someone could mind her business without caring about the world and still look like the earth revolved around her.


    "Eh, she''s alright."


    I snapped out of my trance, giving him a blank stare.


    "You''re joking, right?" I chuckled nervously; I mean, come on. . . She was elegant and gracious to the eye.


    He shrugged, "I mean, conventionally, she''s the prettiest woman I''ve ever seen. . . But I don''t care." Louis chuckled, scratching the back of his head.


    What a colossal disappointment.


    He had wanted to see this for ages, only for him to give me a shrug.


    But despite all of that, I couldn''t help but smile, ruffling his hair.

 Chapter 20: Let me show you more

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 Chapter 21: In a sticky situation

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