He went directly to 'Nostalgia' compartment and pressed yes.

Nostalgia has restricted access. Provide the access code? Y/N?

"Hmm.. So you locked your compartment."

He moved to his compartment.

Armad has 133/200 slots. Explore? Y/N?

He pressed yes.

White robes (x50), retrieve item? Y/N?

Red robes (x50), retrieve item? Y/N?

Green robes (x50), retrieve item? Y/N?

Cloaks (x50), retrieve item? Y/N?

Other coveralls (x50), retrieve item? Y/N?

Face masks (x50) retrieve item? Y/N?

Sandals (x50) retrieve item? Y/N?

Cover shoes (x50) retrieve item? Y/N?

Headbands (x50) retrieve item? Y/N?

Underwear (x50) retrieve item? Y/N?

Toothbrush (x50) retrieve item? Y/N?

Perfumes (x50), retrieve item? Y/N?

[Enchanted] Armors (x50), retrieve item? Y/N?

Vitality potions (x50), retrieve item? Y/N?

Longevity potions (x50), retrieve item? Y/N?

Spirit Horse (x1), retrieve item? Y/N?

"A specially prepared storage device just for you, master? The sword worshippers are trying hard to gain your favor."

"Did she respond to your message?" Armad asked.

"No, not yet, master. I can resend it if you want."

"No, don't."

He retrieved a pair of sandals, a green robe, a bright red headband and finally the spirit horse. Everything was brand new and speckless. The horse looked like a unicorn with an unrivaled silky, white fur. It had a single horn at the centre of its forehead which pointed toward the sky like a spear.

Armad climbed the horse carefully.

Syncing your mind with the Spirit Horse... Done. Control the horse with a thought.

A sudden awareness appeared in his mind. He knew he could now command the horse by just thinking about it. It was the same as learning spells. As soon as they were incorporated into your SLP, you would just know how to use them.

Alright. What's your name? Armad asked.

[I am Ubbaru, master.] Its voice sounded like the neigh of a hundred horses joined together. Armad took a step back due to the suddenness and chaos of the voice.

Alright, Ubbaru, take me to the closest civilization.

Armad rode the spirit horse into the forest. At some point, he removed his headband and threw it away to reveal the slave brand - a symbol of three interlocked fingers with the character for 'peace' at the centre.

Admiral Uznu, I'll return the favor a hundred times more. Armad promised himself.

With Ubbaru, it mattered little where he was. The surrounding forest disappeared and everything blended into a hazy blur. The wind, the sound and dust all disappeared, which made it difficult for Armad to know the actual speed of the horse. But he could gauge. And even the lower range of his estimate was absurd.

He practiced the gestures and conjuration of his spells for two hours.

SLP

Thunderbird

Conjuration: 58%

Physical gesture: 38%

Manifestation: 0.04%

Longevity Sense

Conjuration: 61%

Physical gesture: 40%

Manifestation: 3%

There had been marked improvements. Manifestation was the actual training related to a spell. It varied but usually related to the nature of the spell. For instance, the manifestation of an ice spell would involve adapting to some frigid energy. The better your body adapted to the polar energy the more you would manifest. It was a bit more complicated than conjuration which just involved chanting and physical gesture which just involved stylish movements.

"I must say master's growth is pretty fast. You have only been training for a few hours." Iqra said.

"Not fast enough." Armad said. "Iqra, my mom is suffering from some form of disease of longevity. Do you know anything about it? Like how to cure it? You've probably seen it in your previous life, right?"

"Disease of longevity?"

"Yeah." Armad nodded.

"You... just need to give the victim your longevity. That's all." Iqra answered simply.

Armad knitted his brows and held his breath. He didn't expect such a straight answer. "Is that supposed to be something anyone can do?"

"No, no, no, only those with the Gift can do it. Disease of longevity is commonly contracted when a mage forcibly increased their longevity beyond their Natural Limit. All the methods used for gaining longevity can lead to this disease. I don't know what caused your mom's. Back then, people used to call it the Death Sickness because it is a one-way ticket to an early grave. That's why mages prefer not to increase their longevity above their Natural Limits. Any slight mistake can lead to death. Air potions and pills are all temporary supplements. The only real cure is for another mage to give their longevity to the sick mage. The amount needed would depend on the severity." Iqra explained hurriedly, sensing the uneasiness in his master's mind.

"IS THAT SUPPOSED TO BE SOMETHING ANYONE CAN DO?" Armad snapped.

"No, no, only those with the Longevity Soul can do it. Your Gift is the only thing that can cure this disease. It's the only Gift that can give or take longevity from anyone, the same way you can give or take a coin."

"You are telling me I am the cure?!"

"Yes, you are. And now that you've activated your Gift you can cure your mom, with a little training that is."

"I guess you can give me all the training I need." Armad half asked half stated.

"No, unfortunately I can't. In case you didn't notice, I'm not a Wilberforce. Your only option is to get another experienced Wilberforce, or you join the Scorpants' den. Even Aeriyon has trained in the den. I'll advise it."

"Scorphants? What's that?" Armad had a puzzled look on him.

"Scorphants are... Scorphants. Wait... you don't even know them? Then the black-eyed First Worlders must have hunted them down and killed them. But those things are hard to kill, there should still be a few remaining. We just have to search harder."

"Listen, Iqra, I don't know what a Scorphant is." Armad repeated himself. Barely holding himself from shouting.

"Er.. really? Well, Scorphants are powerful magical beasts that can manipulate longevity, just like you. They've the body of a scorpion and a stinger as large as the nose of an adult elephant. They are of course poisonous, but the most important aspect of these creatures is their ability to manipulate longevity. There are about two hundred different species which were publicly known before The Descent. Some of them lived in the Divine Palace with his Majesty. If I remember correctly they had something called longevity balls stored in every den. These longevity balls are how they controlled longevities. If you can find even a single one, then you can learn a lot."

"So, this den is like a home of some sort?" Armad asked.

"Yeah... somehow. The den is like an extended family of some sort. Not that they were blood related, but they could use the same longevity ball. It's a bit complicated. Look, I didn't train with the Scorphants. They call people like us muggle - a mistake of some sort not supposed to last forever."

"Really? That's a really abusive term." Armad said, shocked.

"No, master, it wasn't that abusive. If you think about it, only people with the Gift can live forever. Natural Limit is just a convenience for you. Aldaima lived for more than six thousand years, Aeriyon lived for more than nine thousand years and most other Wilberforce were like that. Muggles like us don't live that long. We've to abide by our Natural Limits. In other words, we are just like the mortals who have to live according to their natural lifespans. Unlike you master who's an immortal. All you need is to perfect your Gift and you can live like Aeriyon and Aldaima."

Armad sighed. He was both happy and reluctant about the new info. Happy his fate wasn't tied to a fortune teller anymore, and reluctant because of these mysterious Scorphants that called everyone a muggle just because they didn't have the Wilberforce blood flowing in them. But one thing was clear: he needed to train his Gift to survive and to cure his mom. In other words, his survival was tied to his mother's fate.