A small slightly crumpled piece of parchment was the lifeline for a recovering city. Descriptions and price points were listed in order of importance on this paper, along with simple instructions of how best to not be scammed. It seemed to be a running theme of Max’s, people either trying to scam him, or telling him not to be scammed. It was one time, and I had a coupon! He would tell them, but they hardly listened.

Vel’s eyes scanned over the paper before she handed it off to the Drake, Bishop. “Looks do able. Are you going to be able to transport all of that in one trip?”

“I don’t think so, but I can make multiple. A round trip only takes me a few minutes of mana recovery.” Max answered. “Now I just need to know who to buy from.”

“It’s going to have to be through other cities than just Lesterwood. Someone would notice an unknown buyer suddenly buying materials fit for a city.” Bishop said.

“Agreed.” Max said back, “We had discussed Emi and I traveling to Salae via the Gate system for a few purchases. Not only would that break up buying location, but it would also allow me to view the market and find where stuff is cheaper. Not to mention I haven’t been to Salae and having a teleport spot there would be nice.”

“If you are going to Salae, your identity must remain hidden. They will bar you from leaving if they know your value.” Vel said. “Granted you could just teleport away, but I digress.”

Max nodded. “I understand. I guess I should speak with Clammy before I go, maybe she will know where the best bulk markets are.”

Vel scoffed. “You can ask, but she is a princess. They aren’t known for their knowledge of the peasant districts.”

“Vel, you shouldn’t say things like that. We both know that Clammy is nothing like her parents.” Bishop said.

Vel sighed. “Yeah, you are right. After everything they did to Lester… Heh, I would pay good money to see the looks on their faces when they find out that Clammy has been staying with us.”

Bishop chuckled. “Yeah, me too.”

The three continued to discuss optimal times to visit the markets of the cities connected to the Gate system. Like Max expected, morning seemed to be the time where most shops were open and ready to take orders. Most of the items on the list weren’t things shops simply had in stock, but rather in bulk warehouses. It was decided that Max would try his hand in the Salae economy in three days, as Vel was leaving to the Coalition on the same day and the two could travel together for part of the journey. In the meantime, Max would talk with the sellers of Lesterwood.

The rest of the evening consisted of Max practicing folding space while discussing various topics with his friends. One of the good things about practicing such magics, was that it could be done at the dinner table. Unlike teleportation, there was no real danger as the area of space he was manipulating was comparatively smaller than a teleportation spell. His ideal goal for a pocket dimension was to create a jewelry box sized hole, then incrementally creating larger and larger holes until he could store whatever he wanted.

From his talk with Xylem, custom ability of pocket dimensions was near infinite. Xylem stated that it was such levels of creativeness that led him to the discipline rather than teleportation or runic pairing. Pocket dimensions were just as the name implied, pocket worlds. Beyond small storage, dimensions could create jails, houses, or even contain armies. Xylem reveled at his chance to explain the history of his focus area, explaining that a once powerful [Space Mage] literally traversed across a desert while a dimension full of soldiers moved along with him. The story ends with the mage getting captured by the enemy before he opened the door, allowing the soldiers an inner base ambush. Max chuckled at the story, reminding him of the Trojan Horse from Earth.

Stories of [Kings] traveling to foreign nations with their palace, or hermits living in luxury mansions while venturing deep into jungles were common tales in the realm of pocket dimensions. But as Xylem explained such feats were only available for the greats. He, along with many others, never amounted to such amazing spells. Instead, they used their skills on smaller scale resorts.

But, at the end of the day, Max only wanted to be able to make inventory rings. He himself didn’t need one, but his friends did. Not to mention, he was tired of being the pack mule… The hours slipped by and eventually his trials with the spell were put aside for dinner. It had been a few days since everyone was available for a mansion-wide dinner. Usually, a few members were absent with meetings or prescheduled events. The table discussed various topics such as local politics or the ever-chilling weather. Celenia discussed her sparring matches with Clammy while Reep mentioned her second session with her ‘mental healer’.

During the dinner, Clammy had another vision. She explained a familiar story of a man sitting in a tavern. The poor princess visibly shook while talking. As it turns out, these visions have been plaguing her almost daily and she could never seem to grasp the bigger picture. She knew that something worthy of her attention was happening, she was just too weak or too improper with her magic to fully witness the event. But Max’s question of if she has ever seen the man in the bath caused her to laugh, pulling her out of her misery.

Even Emi was interacting and talking with the group, something she normally does but with a lot of translation from Max. Now, her vocal cords were strong enough where she could string full sentences and paragraphs without needing to stop or slow down. She was even giddy when Belopi agreed to tell Max bedtime stories. While Max found most of the stories tacky or redundant, Emi relished in the themes of valiant knights or epic adventures. For someone unlike Max, who had grown up watching movies and TV, stories such as these were new and exciting.

Through these stories, Max could tell culture on Nava was directly related to heroics of Gods or well-known adventurers and mages. Their ideals would branch and spread into the land they conquered or the village they saved, thus fueling generations to come. Repeating themes of mana and magic were among the older stories while emotions and personality were among the newer. All in all, the evening was nice and cozy. Before everyone went off to bed, Max spoke to Reep then Clammy.

“Reep, can you come to my Healer seminar tomorrow evening? I’m going to teach CPR and I could use your electric hands.”

“Sure.” Reep said. “Shatterwind told me to talk some time off anyways. She says I train too much, and I need to ‘relax and rest’.”

“Probably wise to listen to her, you don’t want to overexsert yourself.”

She nodded and slowly crawled up the stairs, a telltale sign of muscle fatigue. Max found Clammy sitting in a large soft reclining chair, idly rubbing the wooden bracelet Bishop had given her.

“Clammy,” Max said breaking her out of her thoughts. “I’m going to be going to Salae in a few days. Esmel has given me a list of items they need, and I’m going to purchase some over there. Do you know any good markets?”

“Gelin’s Court is the most well-known and largest market, but the most expensive. The Lesser Trade District is for smaller items and contractors. They sell in bulk and usually cheaper, I would try there if I were you. It’s in the area surrounding the southern city entrance.” Clammy said almost robotic.

“Are you alright?”

Clammy shook her head, dismissing her negative thoughts. “I have good days and bad ones. Today was…”

“I understand. Anything I can do to help?”

“Sure, if you can figure out The Prophet of the Mountain’s hidden meaning.”

“Hidden meaning? I thought he refused to tell you anything?”

“He did, but the more I think about it, the more I think he implied or hinted at something.” Clammy said.

“What did he say exactly? I was always good at finding the hidden meaning in books for school essays.”

“Essays? Sounds awful.”

“Oh, it was, but looking back on it… I guess I miss it. Life seemed to be so much easier back then. Back before… Nava…”

Clammy gave him a knowing nod. “Sorry you were pulled into this world.”

“I’ve come to terms with it.” Max said. “But enough about that. What did The Prophet say exactly?”

“That my name held power, and that I should use it to master my magic. Divination is just like every other magic, and to practice… Oh, and that Bella of Salae will soon take her revenge.”

“…What...?”

“Yeah…

The two sat in silence for a moment before Max spoke. “To be honest, it sounds as if he implied that Bella of Salae is a separate person than you, Clammy. If that was the case, I would think that ‘revenge’ relates to you stepping back into the persona of princess Bella, rather than the adventurer Clammy.”

“I came to the same conclusion. But I don’t know what it means.” Clammy sighed. “As of now, I have no plans to return to Salae. I like my life here, and I like being Clammy better than Bella.”

“You are speaking as if they are two people.”

“Well, yes. I mean, no. I don’t know… I just know that I am nothing like I was back in the castle. Before I was timid and irritable. I used my name as a bargaining chip, ordering servants around and getting what I wanted. Then… I ran, and everyone who helped died… But… But…”

“But you became strong.” Max finished. “You became what they saw you could have been.”

Clammy squeezed her knees, wrapping herself into a smaller form. “I don’t know any more.” She muttered as tears fell down her cheeks.

“Oh, don’t give me that!” Max said in a harsher than intended tone, surprising them both. But he doubled down and continued. “Sure, they died because of a mistake a spoiled and neglected child made. But their deaths fueled you into saving a city! Who knows how long it would have taken us to figure out the traitor within the [Arbors]! Think about the number of Elves you saved in the Class Stone Garden. If it weren’t for you, they all would have been victim of a suicide bomb! Don’t give me this self-pity crap, Clammy! Without you… I don’t think I would even be here. You were the first person I met in this godforsaken world, and without you I think I would have gone crazy in that cabin.”

Clammy looked at him with glossy and wide eyes. “That’s not tr-“

“It sure as hell is! I was alone and tired, hearing voices in my head and wandering through unfamiliar terrain and dancing with unknown culture. There is no way I would have survived those brothers without your warnings!” Max changed his tone to soft and caring. “Clammy, look, you are stronger than you think. I’ve seen it multiple times, you just lack confidence. You bounce between Clammy the hardened fighter and Bella the afraid and broken princess. If you are serious about not wanting to return to Salae, return to your family, I think it’s time to finally kill Bella.”

“Kill Bella…” Clammy muttered.

“I know, I know. It’s hard to hear and it may even be wrong. But I hate seeing you in this condition.”

When Clammy didn’t respond after a few minutes, Max stood and left. Right before he exited the room, he heard a small barely audible, ‘thanks, Max’, come from the comfy reclining chair.

That night, Max and Emi ventured deeper into the depths of the rift in the infinite beach. Before the start of their descent, they checked on the growth of the nearby coral reef. It had been a few days since their last adventure, as they had been distracted or simply too tired to traverse the cold waters. But the reef was just as floral as the last time they saw it, more so even. It was a small thing, but for some reason Max felt the need to protect this reef. Maybe it was that he and Emi had killed the previous guardian and taken its place as protector, or maybe it was knowing that they had taken part in the reef’s pseudo resurrection.

Regardless, the reef seemed to be happy and healthy, and the bonded pair resumed their slow sink into the unknown. They passed skeletons and small ridges, snails and other decomposers, and a lot of sand. Sure, the area above had plenty of sand, but it seemed as though the current and waves pushed all of the sand down into the chasm. Stalagmite formations of sandstone had been created over the many centuries, adding to the maneuverability of the slow drift down

Occasional artificial caves would appear, along with familiar signs of intelligent life. Runic light emitting rocks, along with hand cut gems were among the most common. But more sophisticated and obscure items such as map cartography tools or glass eye pieces were found as well. Max took all of the items they found, creating a small collection of sunken treasure in his inventory. Each cave also marked a ‘check point’ and potential resuming point for when they finally decided to be done for the night.

After a certain point, large and small eels and other rock-hiding creatures made their territories known.

Congratulations you have killed twelve level 44-58 Hatchetlion Fish.

You have gained 13,412,164 Experience!

Congratulation you have killed a Level 19 Big Mouth Arcanic Eel

You have gained 60,206 Experience!

Congratulation you have killed a Level 61 Jumdia’s Gigantic Snail

You have gained 12,812,782 Experience!

Congratulation you have killed a Level 55 swarm of Myren Mites

You have gained 6,179,731 Experience!

Congratulation you have killed a Level 41 Black Ice Clam

You have gained 1,166,309 Experience!

Overall, the hunting session brought many rewards. The first and most obvious was the experience. A grand total of a level and a half-bumped Max up to level 20 in both [Tidal Mage] and [Astral Dimensionist]. Emi also had her fair share of independent kills, sky-rocketing her own levels.

Name:

Max Fowler

Race:

Lost One (Human Earth)

Class:

Tidal Mage: level 20 (4201383 /52428800)

Astral Dimensionist: lvl 20(4101383/52428800)

Health: 310/310

Mana 430/430

Stats:

Strength:

Dexterity:

Stamina:

Intellect:

Wisdom:

10

10

10

85

105

Name:

Emi

Bond:

Max Fowler

Level:

16

Class:

N/A

Spells:

Manipulate Water (level 12)

Manipulate Space (Shared) (level 3)

Besides the levels, Max grabbed multiple carcasses and a few material drops. The surprisingly low-level Big Mouth Arcanic Eel had rows of mana infused teeth ready to be removed and forged into weapons. The Black Ice Clam, which the pair only saw one of, was also potentially worth a lot. Well, it’s glistening, and iridescent purple shaded pearl was potentially worth a lot. The shell and meat it was housed in, not so much. Even if the pearl was non magical, it was alluring. Max even thought about having it crafted into an article of jewelry for himself rather than selling.

Maybe something for Emi, perhaps? He thought.

Nothing put up much of a fight as the two [Water Mages] could attack far out of range of the fish and eels, but they both noted it was taking many more Ice Lances to put the target down. Before they could kill the enemies in one lance, but now it was taking four to six. A welcoming change, but one that surely meant troubled times. Regardless, the two only felt like they were in trouble once during their hunt. As it turns out, the swarm of Myren Mites were the most difficult to kill as their small size limited the types of attacks the two could use. In the end Max resorted to rapidly swirling water to pull all of the mites together with Emi boiling the mass of chitin. A spell did come from the encounter, however.

Congratulations you have learned the spell Whirlpool (Uncommon)

Rapidly rotate water around a single focal point, pulling in loose items.

Two mana every ten seconds active.

The spell left room to be desired, but the conformation that there was always more to learn was a nice sentiment. The night of hunting ended with one last artificial cave. There was nothing to note in this particular cave other than the usual intelligent items. Max memorized this location, and the bonded pair left the infinite beach with a sudden surge of salt water. The pair had done this many times now that gathering the exit explosion of water had become muscle memory. Nearby Vel was sleeping, ready to protect and heal if the need raised.

Spell Formations and Creation’s lecture was rather boring, surprising Max. It was strange to him that most of the topics covered so far had been things he had already picked up during his experiments with magic. There was also a sort of cultural difference between him and the rest of the class where a concept would be explained, and the class would nod along as if the idea was the most obvious thing in the world. Max guessed that it was an experience thing. Most of his fellow classmates have been studying, or at least been around magic, for most of their lives. Things they may consider unimportant or obvious just weren’t for Max.

Head Priestess Burk was just as ruthless in her tutelage of auras. She deemed Max’s Mana Misting ‘passable’ and moved on to the fruits of his labor. As it turns out, the best way to protect oneself against aura attacks is to surround yourself in a thin layer of aura. A battle of aura power would happen every time an attack collided, only fueling Burk’s aggressive teaching skills. Max walked out of her office healing many bruises. But, again, Max felt he had progressed in his abilities. His aura was beginning to feel as a tangible force rather than a emotional echo. Before he left, Burk assured him that his training would only get harder from here on out, since he was finally starting to ‘figure out a simple and easy concept.’

Max’s last stop for the day was the Healers in the atrium. He had prepared everything he could for today’s lesson. CPR was a topic he never thought he would need, but one he never regretted learning. Today felt as though it would either end in disappointment or an unruly virtue. Either he was going to become the laughingstock of the Healer community or finally achieve the respect Subuntu, and Manus thought he deserved.