“Although this is a lot of information to take in, I can’t find any reason for you to stand out here.” Skymaster Doug stated while observing the deep expressions on the groups face.

            “So would it be possible for us to see this mage tonight?” Asmodeus asked

“I am afraid not. The mage will not be available until sometime tomorrow,” Skymaster Doug replied.

            “Oh… ok, then guess tomorrow it is,” Asmodeus replied.

Skymaster Doug signaled the tower to open the gates which crept open revealing a small town with numerous wooden buildings scattered about what appeared to be a main street. Observing the town Kronos showed a slight interest in its layout but was more concerned about this so called mana and Ki that Skymaster Doug spoke of. Although they were allowed in the group still felt as if they were being watched while the followed Skymaster Doug down the main street. Dragging the large beast behind himself Atlas was probably the reason for all of the strange stares however.

            They continued to walk through the town until they came across an old fashioned inn. Noticing the group’s glances Skymaster Doug commented, “Here is a place where you all can stay. You can tell the innkeeper that tonight is on me.”

“Thanks so much for your help man.” Atlas cheerfully replied.

“No thanks needed. Meet me tomorrow at the entrance to the inn and I’ll bring you to meet the mage. I’ll also give you more in depth information about Ki.” Skymaster Doug said. “Oh and one more thing I can keep an eye on that beast corpse for you until the end of tomorrow. That way you don’t have to worry about it until you’re ready to sell.”

“Thanks for that Doug.” Asmodeus casually commented back.

            Finishing his statement Asmodeus follow the group through the front door of the inn to find that despite its appearance it had a very quaint atmosphere. On the far left wall was a stone fireplace reaching all the way up to the second floors ceiling. Two very comfortable looking chairs sat in front of the fireplace which currently had a roaring fire going. To the right of the chairs were two long wooden tables with several chairs lined around them. Looking to his right Atlas noticed a wooden counter with a door behind it in the center. Running up to the counter Atlas proceed to ring a golden bell several times in order to get someone’s attention.

            From out the door walked a man of average height with a very lean build. The man proceeded to ask, “So how can I help you young men tonight?” while he rung his hands together as if he had just finished working.

“We were told by Skymaster Doug that we could get a free room at his expense for a night.” Asmodeus said while giving off a slightly friendly feeling.

“Ah… Since that’s the case I’ll go ahead and bring you to your room. Right this way please.” The man replied.

Noticing how quickly the man gave them their room Kronos took note, making a mental reminder to not mess with the Skymaster for now.

“By the way name’s Axle, just let me know if you need anything” the man named Axle told them.

“Thanks man” Atlas replied with a gleeful smile on his face.

            Both Asmodeus and Kronos elected to remain silent. Coming out from being the counter the Axle walking in from of the group leading them towards a staircase on the right hand side of the room. Walking up the stairs to the second floor which had two doors on the left and two doors on the right Axle guided them to the end of the hallway to door on the left hand side. He turned around and commented with a cordial attitude, “This will be your room for the night.” Outstretching his hand he revealed a key stating, “Here is the key for your room. If you need anything else please come find me downstairs. I hope you have a good night.” Taking the key from him Asmodeus replied with a short thanks as Axle walked past him. Without saying anything more Axle turned around and walked back down the stairs as no more conversation was necessary.

“Well that sure was convenient” Atlas said while shrugging.

            Exhausted the group proceeded into their room ready for some shut eye. Walking in they noticed that the room was of a moderate size with a small desk on the right hand side with three beds spread evenly apart. As if in accordance with a unspoken agreement all three walked towards separate beds with Kronos taking the bed closet to the desk, Asmodeus taking the bed on the farthest right, and Atlas taking the be in the middle. Too tired to think of anything to say they plopped down onto the beds, passing out as soon as they hit the sheets.

            Several hours passed before the sun slowly rose shining into the room from windows located in front of the desk. Atlas slowly woke up with a smile on his face as the morning light hit his face. Stretching while he sat up he glanced around to check if the rest of the group was up only to find Kronos and Asmodeus tiredly looking at him while they sat on their beds.

He exclaimed, “So are you guys ready to get a move on?”

With an irritated side glance Kronos said, “We’ve been waiting for you to wake up you dunce.”

Asmodeus chimed in, “Yeah bro it’s really hard to wake you up in the morning man.”

Ignoring their replies Atlas joyfully said, “Let’s go guys!!!!”

            Hopping of his bed Kronos grabbed his glaive from beside his bed as Asmodeus grabbed his bow and arrows which were propped against the front on his bed. As they all got up Kronos was the first to be out the door as he proceeded to head downstairs. As the group headed down the stairs Axle heard them coming as he prepared to greet them at the foot of the stairway. When he saw them coming down he courteously questioned, “May I interest you young gentleman in a light meal?”

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Giving the other two no time to respond Atlas loudly said, “For sure man I’m starving…” While he said this his stomach rumbled loudly.

Whacking the side of Atlas’ head Asmodeus said, “Come on man can't you keep your stomach under control!!!”

“Owwwwwww that hurt….” Atlas sullenly said as he tried to contain his hunger.

            Walking over to the table on their right hand side, they plopped down onto their seats around the table. Axle went to the door behind the counter opening it and walking through. The group just sat there in silence waiting for the food to arrive. It only took a few minutes for Axle to come out with the food that looked surprisingly delicious. When Atlas saw all the food he couldn’t help himself from staring, licking his lips ready to dig into the meal. At the same time Asmodeus and Kronos displayed an expression of annoyance, flabbergasted at Atlas’ attitude. It didn’t take long for the groups to finish their meal, and once done they headed to the front of the inn.

            As soon as they walked out of the building they saw Skymaster Doug with his back to the doorframe. Sensing that the group was behind him Skymaster Doug turned around and told them, “Morning gentlemen. How are you doing this fine morning?”

Kronos coldly stated, “Just fine.” 

Skymaster Doug went on to say, “I took the liberty of selling the beast’s corpse for you so that you would not have to go through the trouble of dealing with merchants. It sold for a considerable amount.” Outstretching his hand with a bag of coins jiggling as he raised his arm. “And here you go, seven silver. I had it converted to copper pieces for you convenience.” Reaching out and quickly taking the bag from his hands Asmodeus asked, “Are we finally able to see that mage now?”

Ignoring Asmodeus’ rude action as if it was of no importance to him Skymaster Doug explained, “Yes, he should be ready now so I’ll take you right to him.”

The group eagerly followed him relieved that they can finally find out some new information of this strange world. Skymaster Doug walked with a brisk pace leaving them behind almost effortlessly. Although his initial brisk pace was hard to keep up with the group took next to no time at all to catch up with him walking side-by-side once they caught up. The group continued to walk for a while until they came up to a strange building that was made of a very unusual stone. It gave off a very unfamiliar but powerful air that they had never come across on their world.

Walking up to the front door Skymaster Doug knocked on the door twice promptly asking, “Hey Jouhn you there?”

It took but a second for the personal to arrive opening the front door. From the shadows of the inside of the building a hunched figure appeared. Coming closer the figure was revealed to be a hunched back old man who was carrying what appeared to be a wizard’s staff. Casually glancing at Kronos, Atlas, and Asmodeus he turned to look at Skymaster Doug asking, “Is there anything is can help you with Skymaster Doug?”

“No not me my old friend. But you can help these young travelers. They wanted to get a better understanding about mana so I brought them over to see you.” Skymaster Doug replied

“Ahh… Well go ahead and come inside this might take a while.” Jouhn told the group leading them to some tables inside the building. Signaling to one of the assistants to bring some tea for them he waits until the tea has arrived before starting to explain. “Well lets’ start with the basics. Mana is an ethereal substance that exists in every signal object and thing in the world. It is a form of the purest energy that acts as the foundation for all things in existence. All living things have the ability to tap into this energy source in order to perform great feats. From the smallest bird to the largest demon beasts all things start off with an inherent amount of mana in their bodies. In people this mana manifests as a drop of life, it is what allows the races to do what they do.”

Taking a break to take a sip of tea Jouhn continues, “Now while the amount of mana that exists in a given person depends on what race you are the future growth of said mana relies on one’s talent. This talent determines how quickly this source of mana, also known as a mana pool grows. Now all mana pools grow over time but in magicians this is ever more apparent. Magicians focus on drawing in mana from their environments in order to rapidly speed up the growth of their mana pools. As a mage grows older and stronger this mana pool can rapidly increase in size from the smallest of droplets to the largest of seas. Any questions so far?”

Speaking up Asmodeus asked, “So how does the size of ones mana pool correlate to how strong that person is?”

“Ahh… excellent question.” Jouhn replied, continuing “While there is a direct correlation between the size of ones mana pool and strength it is easier to use the commonly accepted Star System. The Star System consists of 5 levels starting at 1-Star Mage and continuing until 5-Star Warlock at its strongest. A better way to think of the peak 5-Star Warlock level is to compare it to the might of an S-Class adventurer, although those kind of people are incredibly rare. Skymaster Doug could easily be considered as a Ki fighter of this level.”

Stunned by the way that Jouhn presented these facts the group had a look of surprise on their faces. The was that Jouhn spoke left no doubt that he knew exactly what he was talking about. They also amazed at his ability to talk for that long without making a single mistake in his explanations.

“Do you have any further questions for me at this time?” Jouhn asked already growing tired of this conversation.

“I think we are good for the moment.” Kronos replied with the same tone asn, like they had reached a mutual agreement in their heads. After what Jouhn led them outside the building shutting the door behind them as he was going back to what he was previously doing.

“I’ve got a couple more questions to ask you Skymaster Doug.” Asmodeus stated.

“You may ask me anything you want. As long as I have the answer I’ll provide it as long as the answer is not confidential.” Skymaster Doug stated.

“Can you please explain how the Ki system a little further. You gave us a brief description yesterday but I’d like to get a little better description today.” 

“I can certainly do that for you. Lets’ see…. Well to start off Ki is fundamentally man at its base, but unlike mages who use external mana to cast spells Ki warriors use their internal mana to fuel their body. This form of energy is commonly used by warriors in order to enhance their muscles and strength. Similar to the mage system the strength tiers uses the Star System and starts at 1-Star Warriors and ends at a 5-Star Master. The main uses of Ki are the enhancement of physical strength, increased endurance, and an increase in speed. In order to achieve the higher star levels and Ki warrior must open the 12 main meridians and 8 sub meridians in their body. Through the opening of their meridians a warrior starts the long process of clearing out any impurities in the body allowing for them to be less susceptible to major diseases as well as allowing for a much more vast flow of Ki throughout the body.” Skymaster Doug explained.

Taking a breath he continued, asking, “And what was your second question?”

“Is there any sort of large group where warriors and mages can gather to do quests and sell monster parts?” Asmodeus asked.

“Why yes there is. It’s called Underneath the Sky which has several branches throughout each county and I am one the Skymaster of this lesser branch” Skymaster Doug replied. “So any more questions?”

“Yeah, how would someone go about joining this organization” Atlas interjected with a serious look on his face.

“Well you can’t do that here. You would need to be evaluated at one of the larger cities in order to join and gain a ranking. After that you can report the results of any quests you take which would increase you’re rank. Also the higher your rank is the more profits you can gain as you will be allowed to take higher ranked missions which are provide on notice boards inside the main office.” Skymaster Doug replied.

“How is the ranking setup?” Kronos asked.

“Well rankings usually run from F to A with the highest rank S having to be granted by Underneath the Sky headquarters. The S rank promotions are the least common however as that kind of rank requires you to be unfathomably strong, which is very uncommon.” Skymaster Doug replied.

Finished with their questions the group stopped to ponder over all the new information that they’d gained. What with the introduction and explanation of mana and Ki it was a lot to take in. They stopped walking in order to fully digest this chunk of information so it took them a few moments to fully understand all that they were told.