Chapter 12

The cool night air carried the scent of steel, mana residue, and distant city smoke as Eli and Alira stepped into a quiet alleyway just beyond the warehouse yard. The industrial sector around them hummed with power, glowing mana conduits running along the edges of the buildings, casting an eerie blue light against the dark stone walls.

Eli was still processing it all. He had walked in expecting something medieval, maybe some horse-drawn carts and a couple of candle-lit shops. Instead, he was staring at a fully industrialized world, glowing mana streetlights, and hovering cargo platforms moving across the skyline. Holy shit didn’t even begin to cover it.

“OK, change your clothes.” She said as started opening her satchel. Eli opened his inventory and selected the clothes, he got a prompt:

Do you want to change outfits? [Yes/No]

Eli selected “Yes” and immediately his outfit changed to what was in his inventory and his inventory now showed his Earth clothes.

Everything was a little tight for a split second and then they immediately shifted to fit his 6’4 frame and length.

“Okay, that was seriously cool.” Eli grinned looking at his clothes, a mix of something you’d see in a Jedi temple, crossed with the informal work attire of someone who did freelance adventuring. A loose tunic-like top, sturdy yet flexible pants, and boots that looked both practical and comfortable.

Alira immediately her usual flowing, nature-infused attire disappeared, replaced by something simple and unassuming. The new outfit was layered in dark tones, practical yet effortless, like she belonged anywhere and nowhere at the same time. Gone was the ethereal, untouchable presence—now she just looked like another traveler passing through the city.

“I knew that satchel had a pocket dimension storage!” Eli said, almost shouting it.

Alira didn’t respond—she was already scanning their surroundings, making sure no one was paying too much attention to them. Once satisfied, she nodded toward the street ahead. “Let’s move. We need to reach the Midland Hub before the next patrol passes through.”

Eli followed, still adjusting to the new weight of the boots. “Midland Hub—that’s where we’re catching the next train?”

“Yes.” Alira said not looking back to make sure Eli was following.

Eli took a couple quick steps, realizing he was going a little quicker than he intended and bumped into Alira.

“Oh god, I am sorry. Clearly trying to move quick and not be quick at the same time will take some getting used to.” Eli said looking a little embarrassed.

“It’s fine, Eli. Remember we are trying not to be noticed. Let’s move,” stressing the next word very slowly, “patiently.”

“Got it, patiently Eli. That sounds like a good title to my memories.” Eli said.

Alira had a tiny shake of her head, “Lets get to the train.”

“And that one’s… fancy, right? Like, actual public transport, not a secret underground supply train?” He asked.

Alira shot him a dry look.

Eli smirked, holding his hands up in defense. “Just checking.”

As they stepped out of the alley, Eli immediately noticed the security presence.

A small group of uniformed officers patrolled the streets—each one wearing a dark navy outfit with subtle red accents, a distinct insignia stitched into their shoulder patches. But it wasn’t the uniform that caught his attention.

It was the red sticks attached to their hips.

He nudged Alira. “Okay, tell me that’s just a baton.”

She barely glanced at them. “That’s the First-Tier Monster Force.”

Eli froze. “First-Tier what now?”

Alira sighed. “Arindral has a standing monster force—trained soldiers who keep monster threats in check. Every recruit has to do a few rotations in low-risk areas before they’re moved to higher-tier cities or front-line outposts.”

Eli stared at her. “Hold up. Monsters? As in actual monsters?”

She side-eyed him. “What did you think I meant?”

“I don’t know! I thought it was some cool-sounding task force name! Like—‘Monster’ as in badass soldiers—not actual monsters.”

Alira exhaled sharply. “Why would they call it that if there weren’t actual monsters?”

Eli threw up his hands. “I don’t know! Earth has Monster Energy drinks, and I’ve never once been attacked by a goddamn cryptid after drinking one.”

Alira pinched the bridge of her nose. “Eli.”

“What kind of monsters?” he pressed, his voice a little higher than before. “Like, are we talking small ones? Big ones? Because if some Godzilla-tier beast is out here, I’d like to know.”

Alira started walking again. “Keep your voice down.”

Eli followed quickly. “So that’s a yes on the Godzilla thing?”

She gave him a look.

“Right, shutting up,” he muttered.

As they made their way down the different streets to Midland, all Eli could think about was monsters that were the size of houses, or giant Godzilla and King Kong beast that he had to fight.

“Hey, Alira, how big are these monsters we are talking about?” Eli asked.

Alira, turned and was about to tell him to keep walking, but the look in his eyes told her that she needed to calm those thoughts.

“Eli, the monsters are based on tiers, and they manifest from the living animals currently on Caelum. Nothing higher than gold-tier should be around any where we will be.” She answered.

“Let’s go, we can talk more about this later, the hub is right around this corner.”

The Midland Hub wasn’t as busy at night, but there was still movement—traders, travelers, and workers shifting between terminals. The station was massive, built with sleek, angular architecture, glowing mana panels illuminating the floor beneath them. The air smelled of metal, ozone, and faint traces of spice from food vendors nearby.

The Hub had several different tracks but only two trains present.

The Midland Train they were taking was even sleeker than the underground rail. The outside gleamed with polished metal, engraved runic patterns pulsing faintly with mana. It looked part luxury transport, part high-tech war machine.

Eli whistled. “This thing looks like a bullet train and a spaceship had a baby.”

Alira ignored him, moving toward one of the ticket terminals. She pressed her palm against a mana interface, the machine flickering to life as glowing text hovered above it.

With a few swift selections, she dropped 4 silver coins into the machine and moments later, and two thin metal card ejected from the machine.

She turned, holding it out. “We have a compartment.”

Eli took the card. “Wait. You just… paid for it like that?”

☰ Item: Midland Transit Pass – Private Cabin

☰ Material: Engraved Mana Plate

☰ Description: First-class train pass for reserved transport. Linked to holder’s mana signature.

“Yes.” She said.

“No paperwork? No ‘show me your ID’ nonsense?” Eli Asked.

Alira raised an eyebrow. “Do you want to fill out paperwork?”

“…Fair point.” He responded.

They boarded with ease, stepping into a wide, dimly lit corridor lined with compartments. The walls were embedded with soft mana lights, casting a faint glow against the polished interiors.

His HUD flashed:

☰ Item: Grand Midland Rail – Engine Car

☰ Material: Mana-Tempered Steel, Conductivity Runes, Kinetic Dampeners

☰ Description: Primary transport between Midland and major cities. Runs on a closed mana circuit. Features auto-stabilization for smoother travel.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

Alira led them into their private cabin—a compact but well-furnished room with cushioned seating, a small table, and a viewport looking out at the city. The hum of mana-infused engines thrummed beneath their feet.

Eli put his hand on the cabin wall and his HUD flashed:

☰ Item: Private Cabin – Passenger Car

☰ Material: Mana-Insulated Alloy, Adaptive Climate Control

☰ Description: Designed for long-distance comfort. Includes basic mana-channeling vents for travelers with active affinities.

☰ Item: Mana Flow Conduit – Rail Core

☰ Description: The lifeline of the train, directing mana from the primary engine to all connected cars. Energy-efficient and self-regulating.

Eli collapsed onto one of the seats. Exhaled slowly, taking it all in. This was not some medieval world with magic tacked on. This was a fully developed magitech civilization. He slumped into his seat, grinning.

“Yeah. Okay. This world is actually cool.”

Alira raised a brow. “You’re only just realizing this?”

Eli just laughed. “Let’s just say my expectations have been completely rewritten.”

As the train hummed forward, Alira settled into her seat, closing her eyes. “We have an about 5 hours. Use it wisely. Meditate.”

Eli sighed dramatically. “Man, I was really hoping to pepper you with a thousand questions instead.”

Alira didn’t open her eyes. “No.”

Eli leaned forward. “Just one?”

“No.”

“Half a question?”

Alira’s expression didn’t change, but Eli could feel the exasperation radiating off her.

He grinned. “So, like… what if I had just walked into this world and decided to open a coffee shop instead of saving the world? What do you think my odds of survival would be?”

Alira finally cracked an eye open. “That is the stupidest thing I’ve heard today.”

“Hey, don’t knock it! I’d have premium coffee infused with trace mana properties. Energy boosts, focus-enhancing brews, maybe even a teleportation espresso—”

Alira rubbed her temples.

Eli smirked. “Oh. My. God. I can see it now—‘Eli’s Mana Beans: Brewed for Adventure!’”

Alira gave him a look.

Eli held up his hands. “Fine, fine, meditating. Geez. You must hate coffee.”

“I have no idea of about 90% of what you say.” Alira said with her eyes closed.

He leaned back, closing his eyes.

Alira couldn’t hide her smile, it had been a long time since she helped anyone this young and curious.

She was used to people treating her like a Ruby tier Mana User, Eli was so foreign from this world that he didn’t realize that a Ruby tier user doesn’t usually just casually travel with Copper Tier Users, let alone help and train them.

It definitely infused some youth back into her.

After what felt like 10 mins for Eli, he opened his eyes and just blurted out. “I know Kung-Fu.”

Alira just stared at him, “What?” Eli stood up, “How much longer?” Eli had a flash of a memory with his parents, driving to Disney World. He probably asked his parents “How much longer?” about a thousand times. His heart squeezed a little tight.

“We have about 2 hours left.” She answered him, seeing a faint flash of that pain he had so much of when they were in that cave…. just hours from being dropped into a new world and fighting for his life watching the 6 others lose their lives.

The train hummed softly beneath them, its smooth acceleration barely noticeable. The mana lanterns overhead pulsed gently, casting a dim but steady glow over the cabin’s sleek interior.

Eli sat back, hands behind his head, staring at the ceiling as if it held all the secrets of the universe. It had been a long day, and his brain was still trying to catch up with reality.

After a long silence, he finally blurted out, “So… when do I have to go to the bathroom?”

Alira, who had been perfectly content sitting in peace, slowly turned her head toward him. “What?”

“You know. Potty.”

She blinked. “Did you just say ‘potty’?”

Eli held up his hands. “Look, I don’t know the cultural norms here. Maybe ‘bathroom’ isn’t even a thing.”

Alira exhaled through her nose, half amused, half resigned. “Eli, you haven’t noticed anything… missing these past few days?”

Eli frowned. “What do you—” He froze. His eyes widened slightly. “Wait a second.” He sat up straight. “Hold on.”

Alira watched as realization hit him like a charging beast.

“I haven’t pooped in four days!”

Alira’s lips twitched, but she remained calm. “No, you haven’t.”

“WHAT?” He leaned forward, panic creeping into his voice. “Is this normal? Did I break something? Am I—oh god, am I mana-constipated?”

That did it. Alira laughed out loud. It was not a small chuckle, not a smirk—an actual, full, genuine laugh.

Eli just stared at her, mouth open. “Oh, sure, now you laugh.”

Alira shook her head, her expression warm. “Eli, your body is fine. This is completely normal. Once your Affinity manifests, your body stops needing to expel waste like before.”

Eli squinted. “That… does not explain anything.”

Alira smirked, regaining her composure. “Think about when you meditate. You’ve seen your mana stream, haven’t you?”

He hesitated. “…Yeah?”

She gestured toward him. “That’s how your body processes everything now. Food, energy, waste—it all gets dissolved directly into your mana stream and repurposed. Your body filters out what it doesn’t need and converts the rest into pure mana.”

Eli sat very still. He didn’t like where his brain was going with this.

“…So you’re telling me…” He squinted, as if saying it slower would make it sound less ridiculous. “That we are all just walking around… with poop mana floating inside us?”

Alira burst into laughter again.

“Eli, I have had a lot of conversations about this topic over the years,” she managed between laughs. “But I have never—never—heard someone put it like that.”

Eli just shook his head, rubbing his temples. “That’s not okay. That’s deeply not okay.”

Alira smirked. “You get used to it.”

Eli narrowed his eyes. “Do I, though?”

She shrugged. “Or you repress it. Either way, it stops mattering.”

He let out a dramatic sigh, slumping back into his seat. “Man, I was wondering why I didn’t have to go. I just figured this world had really efficient food.”

Alira smiled. “Non-mana users still go, if that helps.”

Eli thought about that for a second. “…Wait, so you’re telling me that mana users are just done with the whole bathroom thing, but non-mana users still have to deal with it?”

“Yes.”

“So they’re just sitting around knowing that these mana users not only have cool powers but never have to poop again?” Eli asked.

“Yes.”

Eli leaned back, arms crossed. “If I were them, I’d be pissed.”

Alira grinned. “Some are.”

Eli exhaled. “Great. Now I have to live with the knowledge that I have poop mana flowing through me for the rest of my life.”

Alira rested her chin on her hand, looking at him with clear amusement. “You’ve adapted surprisingly well to everything else—fighting, mana integration, an entire new world, meeting a Celestial—but this is what breaks you?”

Eli pointed a finger at her. “We all have our limits.”

As Eli sat back he was glancing around private cabin, it was sleek, almost too sleek.

The seats were soft, the mana-lights above hummed at a perfect, even frequency, and the air carried a faint, crisp scent—probably filtered through some mana-powered ventilation system.

Everything about the Midland Grand Rail screamed efficiency and refinement.

Eli felt like he could run a marathon and play back to back games and still not be tired. His senses seemed at a heightened level that he didn’t even think was possible. Eli sat up resting his elbows on the table in front of him, watching Alira.

She had just closed her eyes, her body perfectly relaxed in the seat opposite him. She exhaled, a woman preparing for peace.

She would not get it.

Eli tapped the polished surface of the table. HUD ping.

☰ Item: Mana-Carved Ashwood Table – Premium Quality

☰ Crafted by: Midland Grand Rail Guild

☰ Material: Ashwood, Hardened Mana Shell

☰ Durability: 98/100

☰ Enchantment: Scratch Resistance, Auto-Polish

His brow furrowed. “Auto-polish? Your trains have enchanted tables?”

Alira cracked open an eye, already looking weary of this line of questioning. “Yes.”

“That’s crazy.” He reached over, pressing a finger into the wood. A faint shimmer followed where he touched, and the spot instantly smoothed itself out. Eli grinned. “Okay, that’s actually awesome. So, does it clean itself completely? What if I spill something? Does it absorb stains or—”

Alira cut him off with a look.

Eli cleared his throat. “Right. Bigger questions.”

“Hmm.”

“…Do you guys have pizza?”

Alira’s expression didn’t change. “Do we have what?”

“Pizza. You know, round bread, sauce, cheese, toppings. Iconic food of all great civilizations.”

“…You mean flatbreads?”

“No, I mean pizza. It’s different. Trust me.”

She blinked slowly. “I suppose some regions have similar dishes, but if you’re asking if there’s a restaurant in Caelum with a giant sign that says ‘Eli’s Pizza Shack,’ then no.”

Eli sighed dramatically. “Tragic. I’m bringing pizza to Caelum. And we will have to work on the name.”

Alira pinched the bridge of her nose. “Do you have any relevant questions?”

Eli perked up immediately. “Oh, yeah. A ton.”

“So...”

“…How long have you been alive?”

Her fingers twitched slightly. “You wouldn’t believe me.”

“Try me.”

She studied him for a moment, then sighed. “Longer than some nations.”

Eli’s mouth opened. Then closed. Then opened again. “So like… you’re not just old, you’re history book old?”

Alira shrugged. “Something like that.”

“Damn. You don’t look a day over ‘could still be carded at a bar.’”

She ignored that, not taking the bate to ask what that meant.

Eli drummed his fingers against the table. “Alright, next question: if this world is so advanced, why doesn’t everyone live in cities? Why are there still villages and people running around in cloaks and, I don’t know, hunting for mushrooms?”

Alira did not look amused. “Caelum isn’t one single culture, Eli. Every region develops differently. The Capitals are powerful, but not everyone wants to be controlled by them. Some people prefer a simpler life.”

Eli nodded. “Okay, fair. But like, even in the cities, why isn’t everything mana-powered? I saw regular torches back in the village.”

Alira leaned back slightly, finally giving him something more than exasperation. “Because mana is powerful, but it isn’t limitless. High-tier mana-tech is expensive. Enchantments wear down over time. And some people—especially outside the Capitals—just don’t trust technology built on mana.”

Eli frowned. “Why not?”

She tilted her head slightly. “You ever hear of a storm that doesn’t stop?”

He blinked. “Uh… I think Jupiter has a storm that doesn’t end or maybe it will end but its been going for a long time?”

“What is Jupiter?” She asked, curious.

“It’s a planet in our solar system, its massive and is classified as a gas giant, meaning that it doesn’t have a solid surface, or at least we don’t believe it does, and when I say, we, I mean the royal we, I don’t think anyone cares what I think on the subject. Do you guys have planets in your solar system?”

Alira trying to keep up with Eli’s train of thought. “Yes, we have planets. 9 total, none can support life and a few are like what you say, Planets of gas that don’t seem to have a surface. I spent several years working with our astronomers here in Arindal. It is quite fascinating.”

“But back to my point on a storm that doesn’t end. There is a storm that is quite far south in the middle of what use to be a string of exotic islands. It has been raging for over a thousand years because someone lost control of a single mana experiment.”

Eli sat up. “Wait. Seriously?”

She nodded. “Mana changes the world. Sometimes, irreversibly.”

Eli processed that for a moment before leaning back in his seat. “So, what you’re saying is, somewhere out there, there’s a fantasy-world Chernobyl?”

Alira blinked. “…I don’t know what that is.”

“Bad. Very bad.”

“Then yes.”

Eli exhaled. “Damn. I mean, that’s horrifying, but also kinda cool.”

Alira rolled her eyes.

“What about showers? Running water?”

“Eli.”

“Okay, okay, last one for now. What’s the weirdest creature you’ve ever fought?”

Alira paused, considering. Then, with a small smirk, she said, “A spider that could turn into mist.”

Eli recoiled. “That is deeply upsetting.”

Alira actually looked amused. “It was.”

Eli shuddered. “Great. Now I’m adding mist spiders to my list of nightmares.”

Alira closed her eyes again, her posture settling. “Good. Now meditate on it.”

Eli groaned, slumping against the seat. “That was my last question, I swear.”

Five seconds of silence.

“…What do you mean could turn into mist?”

Alira threw a cushion at his head.