The way back to their village known as Whisper was filled with talking. Synexus had to admit that it was nice with all the guards around that he didn’t have to have his guard up. The only thing he had to worry about was conversing with nearly twenty strangers. His fingers kept fidgeting against his armor. He almost took out seeds just to have something to focus on, but then Ahae and Kumo fell back to be next to him.

  Ahae spoke first again, “I know this was a lot to throw on you both, but after I heard the plan the Branch had for you, I knew it was the right path. Back when I first got my class, my father sent me into the woods alone for weeks to level up and although those weeks were hard, I learned a lot about my class and myself. This is what I want for you Kumo.”

  Kumo responded quickly, “That’s fine. You know I’ve always wanted freedom, but why with him?”. She nodded towards Synexus and then added, “no offense”.

  Her father looked at her with raised eyes brows before speaking again, “He has been out in the wilderness for days alone and he is already heading to Gale. You two just received your classes, so you are both in a similar situation. You can learn from each other and watch each other’s backs. I’m not asking you to be best friends, just to travel together.” He had finished his statement to his daughter and turned to Synexus, “And it’s not without some perks for you as well. Safe passage across the ocean on a decent ship will cost quite a bit of guins. I’m sure you had a plan for that, but instead I could provide you with 100 silver guins and 10 gold guins a piece. That should be enough for passage and some supplies for the journey.”

  Synexus took in a slow breath before speaking, “I have no guins at the moment. The Elder thought it’d be a learning experience for me to earn the funds for my passage. I was going to sell crimson aura root when I got to Gale and hope it was enough”. He looked around at all the guards for a moment to calm his mind. “I have felt different my whole life. I was one of the Branch, but still on the outside even though I didn’t let it bother me. I wouldn’t mind travelling with you, Kumo. One thing I’ve always found comforting over the years is learning. If your father thinks we will learn more travelling with each other than by ourselves, then I accept his proposal”.

  Kumo looked at him with wide eyes and went to speak but her father beat her too it by slapping Synexus on the back and saying, “See! There we go. It’s settled then. Stay in Whisper tonight and then you both can head out first thing in the morning!”

  Ahae walked away and left Kumo with Synexus to talk. She looked upset which wasn’t Synexus’ intention, so he broke the silence, “Your father is enthusiastic. I’m sorry if my decision forced you into a situation that you’d rather not find yourself in.”

  Kumo went to speak then closed her mouth for a few seconds before trying again, “He had already made his decision. Nothing you said would have changed that. I was just surprised that you would agree to travelling with a stranger that quickly. You don’t know me at all. Do you really want to be stuck in the woods with me for a week?”

  “I am worried that I don’t know you or your family. I like knowing things. I am excited for the change to learn those things, however. I have gaps in my knowledge of how to socialize with humans, especially about classes. The Branch didn’t tell me anything about it because they wanted me to navigate the world on my own. I’m hoping to learn about you and from you.”

  Kumo looked astonished for a second. “I guess it won’t be so bad. I’ve always wanted more freedom. My father has always been so protective of me. This is my chance for that freedom”. She paused for a moment like she was lost in a distant thought. Her expression changed from cold and calculated to a bright smile. “First thing first, we should share our classes with each other each other. My ancestry goes back a century. My whole family have been powerful Aeromancers or specialized classes of Aeromancers. I’m a Cloudmancer which I know sounds soft and fluffy, but it can do some damage”.

  Synexus smiled back and with a newfound comfort spoke, “I could see that. It was impressive seeing you take down that monster. I especially liked the cloud blades. I’ve always loved watching the clouds drift through the sky”. After realizing that she was waiting on him to share he continued, “oh right my class. I’m a Progress Druid. Level 4 if that’s something we are supposed to share”.

  “I have never heard of that class. What can it do? And I’m level 3 in mine, so my father was right that we are pretty close”.

  “So far, I only have three skills. I don’t know if that’s for every class or not. I can store genetic information about different plants. I can alter the genetic information of plants. Then I have a skill that lets me grow plants with mana”.

  “Genetic information? Like you can create plants? How does that even work?”

  “I don’t really create plants. I just edit existing ones to add different traits to their genomes. For example, I took a specialized bamboo variant that excels at fast growth then I took that trait and put it in a hybrid breed of crimson aura herb to make a fast growing variant”.

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  Kumo stared at him in amazement. “That sounds incredible, but complex. How is that even used in combat?”

  “Well mostly I rely on my sword in combat since I was trained to use it by the Branch, but my skills aren’t useless. The other day I killed a swarm of mimic spiders by creating bombs out of plants and my pantleg”.

  She laughed, which sounded like the perfect breeze felt. “I hate spiders so I’m glad. That sounds like quite an adventure though. I look forward to seeing what you can do. As for my skills, I have five. I can create cloud blades which are just hyper condensed air which you saw already. One of my skills can create a fog that can be as dense as I want. I have my own breeze which I can control, it’s super fun to mess with people using it. Then I can create my own personal cloud cover to create my own shade. That one is kind of useless in combat so far, but I will find a use for it. The last one allows me to create a super condense cloud that explodes out to create a wave of air that pushes all enemies away. You’ll find that skill will blow you away too, so we must be careful with that”.

  She finished explaining as they approached the gates of Whisper. Synexus said, “Your abilities sound incredible and quite useful. I feel like we can synergize with each other quite well if we work on some tactics. I guess we have a whole week in the woods for that though”.

  Ahae came back over to tell Synexus that he was invited to have dinner with them at their home. This was the first time he had been invited to dinner, and he wasn’t sure what to think. He didn’t need to eat after all. He could and his body would turn it all into energy, but he hadn’t in nearly 15 years. Tonight, that would change because he wasn’t going to turn down their hospitality.

  As they walked through the streets of Whisper, the villagers were all staring at him and whispering to one another. Synexus knew it was probably his half torn up clothes, but it still made him self-conscious. It didn’t help that the walk from the gate to the house of the Kaze’s took them through the entire village.

  He on the other hand was observing all the sights that the village offered. Most of it was rows of small wooden hours, but there was a whole street of markets. Stands of fruit, vegetables, herbs, and various meats were on display. One lady was selling jewelry that interested him because it was made of natural materials. Anything on her table would match his armor perfectly. Another booth was open in front of a blacksmith forge. It sold various weapons and armor. He didn’t need anything like that; however, it was still interesting to see how abundant things were. There were beautiful gardens and even a wooden sculpture of what reminded him of the wind. He was admiring the complex twists and turns of the sculpture when they finally made it to their destination, a beautiful three-story house built out of polished wood and stone that made the rest of the structures in town look run down.

  Synexus couldn’t help but stare at the structure in front of him. It was so intricate. The Branch all lived in wooden domes. This was immaculate compared to those. He realized that he had stopped moving while everyone else continued forward to the door, but Kumo waited for him to catch up.

  Inside the building was even more of a wonderment than the outside. He had never seen such complex architecture. It was truly fascinating. They were living in a piece of art, and it didn’t seem to faze them at all. He couldn’t blame them though, life after all was different for everyone.

  A man led him to a room which apparently was his for the night. It was bigger than his space at the Branch settlement and the bed was incredibly soft. After a week in the forest, this was truly a treat. The wonders kept coming too when he found that it had a whole room attached for just bathing. The water came out of pipes attached to the wall and it was warm somehow. Okay he knew how. He had kind of cheated and used his inherent knowledge of technology and deduced that it had some sort of heating mechanism where the water collected. It was still amazing.

  After his bath, he threw on his ratty clothes and went back to the sleeping part of the room. A lady standing in the corner startled him and almost jumped back into the bathroom. She apologized and explained that she was had a class named Seamstress and she was asked to fix his clothing. He agreed and in moments the tattered clothing was mending itself. His pants grew a new leg and all the holes in the shirt became whole again. It was like the fabric was brand new again and she had done in it seconds. This place kept getting better and it was just a village. What would the city be like?

  Dinner was fun, but uneventful well except for the beginning. They had just sat down, and he had been served some sort of meat and vegetables. He realized that he really hadn’t ever eaten anything but nuts. He grabbed the fork and knife like everyone else was doing and mimicked them like the damn spiders. When he stuck the food in his mouth, his eyes lit up. It was delicious. The flavors were exploding in his mouth, and he didn’t hide it well. He opened his eyes to see everyone staring at him.

  “You’ve never had roasted Screech before?” Kumo questioned.

  That’s when he explained that he technically didn’t need to eat due to his race ability to absorb sunlight. That’s also when they realized he wasn’t human. They had never heard of a Zaxillian before and said that it was the same for him which they took as a joke and laughed. That was the end of the discussion, and he was surprised they hadn’t asked a million other questions. He was glad they didn’t, but it still surprised him.

  The dinner went on normally after that. Ahae was telling stories of his proud Aeromancer ancestry, and everyone was in a good mood. There was a lot of laughter and smiling going around the table. Synexus was glad he had a perfect memory because he never wanted to forget this. He knew that today had already changed his life. Tomorrow his journey would start again, but he wouldn’t be alone. He would have his new friend Kumo with him.

  At first light, him and Kumo left the mansion. They walked side by side in silence through the empty streets. All the markets were closed. It was as if all the people from the evening before were ghosts and they had faded away overnight. His thoughts were on the adventure ahead and the progress they would make together. The gate creaked open and out they went. Gale was calling them both, and they would make it there together. If they survive another week in the forest, that is.