Lurona city [southern shores of Fuminao Legacy Kingdom], local time [1793.12.10]

Zeph’s tricks gave him enough time to hide from the worst of the attack – P’pfel taking the brunt of the damage like a tank he was not, withering quickly under the knowing-no-limits curiosity of the younger kids.

To Zeph’s relief, Yula, the older woman that took care of the orphanage, quickly berated them for getting too personal with the Gremling and causing him no small measure of discomfort, skillfully ignoring the fact they also managed to cause him pain, right after part of the horde discovered the hobo standing to the side.

The relief was short-lived, though. As they marched through the building to the dining hall, the older kids – curious even more – encouraged the youngsters to give requests to them.

At first sight, those sounded innocent and rational enough, but he quickly remembered why he never liked to play with kids. A girl, maybe six years old, was sitting on his shoulders as he was giving her a ride. The problem was, she exploited her superior position and ignored his earlier disapproval of touching his regrowing beard. But the unauthorized action of trying to pull his facial hair out could only be met with a grunt and a comment – nothing that could really stop her. At least until Zeph didn’t lose his patience and put her down.

But because hurting her feelings like that was out of the question, he endured the rude and slightly painful machinations. At least the other kids now knew his beard was really connected to his skin. Hopefully, no one else would want to re-check the ideas stating otherwise…

Did I mention Zeph didn’t like kids?

They left their luggage in a small room near the hall – a place Aisha always used when coming over. It was secured by an enchanted lock. The contraption was very similar to the door lock on the Avianna. The compression box P’pfel was carrying until now was also left there. It had to be connected to a small Mana-transferring pipe to keep it functional after the Gremling stopped powering it. It looked like a bulbous, medium-sized air tank made from brass. The slot at its top fit perfectly to the vent in the pipe, they just had to adjust the metal hold supporting the tank.

The girl on Zeph’s back scrammed before they even opened the storage room, as kids sped up to the dining hall, squeaking happily. She probably hurried to her own group.

They followed slowly behind, entering the vast room the last. It was a hall, alright. Zeph estimated a hundred orphans, maybe more, were present in the building. But two times that could be easily fit in here.

Aisha convinced Yula to relax for once and took a small army of older kids to help in the kitchens at the back. It seemed they had a custom of celebrating when the Warrior Priestess visited.

The rest of the horde attacked the shelves standing on the right side of the room, bringing to the long tables the toys and simple tabletop games. The left side of the hall was occupied by large windows that were built low enough to double up as an exit if necessary. They were adorned with colorful lace curtains that filtered the light coming in. The ceiling was almost four meters high, like in most of the buildings in the city, decorated only with pipes and small chandeliers hanging under them.

The older trio sat together in a silent corner at the end of a table spanning the whole length of the room. They would indulge in some talk, especially Zeph as he was interested in hearing more about the place, but the commotion produced by the kids was a little too much to speak comfortably. It became even worse when a young woman came in with a trolley full of sweet appetizers.

There was nothing left besides waiting, so Zeph decided to dedicate this time to observe. He could spot a few youngsters of different races. It wasn’t unexpected, as the population of the city was quite diverse from what he already saw, but he was shocked slightly when a group of Machoir warily entered the hall. He would have mistaken them for strange, big cats if not for the fact that all of them were wearing clothes and had much more expressive faces. After looking closer, he noticed the most striking difference – their paws have stubby fingers that were long enough to grab things, somewhat similar to Raccoons’. The retractable claws still had to be used to help with that, though. The kids were able to sit straight, so Zeph wondered if walking on their back legs was also possible.

Their anatomy was certainly close to the animals from which their predecessors evolved. A shame only cat-like type was present – he would be delighted to see non-mammals, too. That was probably the best proof that the System was, indeed, promoting intellectual evolution for all species.

They seemed apprehensive for some reason, but other kids quickly took care of that by inviting them to play and cuddle together. The small Veils of the kids allowed them to stay comfortable even in the close proximity of a whole group and explained their penchant for physical contact.

Zeph would be the same after entering this world, if not for his abnormal Intuition and Willpower. He couldn’t relate, though. Even on Earth, he wasn’t a fan of close, especially physical, contact with people.

He couldn’t see any more species, just a few different Human races. Like the big pale boy without hair on his head, evidently a Kitayamayan – a race that resembled fantasy Barbarians. They were living in the mountain caves of the far north, but they weren’t primitives – none of the sapients really was. Their people were big, muscular, pale, and very resilient.

In another corner of the hall, he spotted a few Hannyajin playing in a group. It was the same race as Kwan’s gang. The kids were smaller and paler than the rest, but what really set them apart were their mouths – their lips were full of color and when they smiled, their small teeth showed up, with two long ones protruding down from the upper jaw.

The most numerous ‘non-human’ group was formed from the Ljósálfar, or Youlasa, depending on the dialect. Those kids were thin like a twig, looking almost malnourished, but were also higher than the rest. Their most discerning feature was their olive-brown skin. They somewhat resembled Wood Elves from fantasy books, just without the characteristic shape of the ears. Well, their ears were bigger than they should, so maybe that counted?

He once again wondered why Earth’s books tended to describe species that were this close to the real deal in a neighboring world. Something was up but he couldn’t even guess what. Too many coincidences weren’t a coincidence, at least on a statistical scale.

Of course, more races were probably present, but he wouldn’t be able to discern the minute differences in their anatomy. Every high-level person had a chance to modify their body genetically, after getting access to those Exchange options, and start a new race, blurring the lines. Even the differences between species – like Humans, Gremlings, and Machoir – tended to lose their impact over time, as the number of body modifications and implants grew. The most restricting difference was an inability to walk on two limbs and hold a tool in hand, but even that supposedly had its workarounds.

Zeph somehow felt like he lost his passion for fantasy races after listening to his companion’s explanations and descriptions. How the hell do you discern between them if you have seven Dwarf-like Human variants and thirteen Elf-like ones? And that’s not even taking into account the possibility of mixed blood.

His idle musings were interrupted when food started arriving in the hall. Aisha returned alongside her cooking brigade and the festivities started for real.

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When the noise became more bearable, as everyone started to eat, Aisha took the opportunity to introduce them shortly to the crowd. The rest of the orphanage’s staff joined them at the end of the table to make their acquaintance and explain a little about the rules of the orphanage. Zeph was surprised only four people, besides Yula, worked here. They were all a part of Leilucia Temple, but more in name than in practice. This orphanage, like many others on the continent, was created by a group effort of a faction in the Temple. Naturally, Aisha was a part of it.

It was quite strange, though. They didn’t have a name for themselves – as they didn’t want to provoke a schism – even if it was more of an elitist kind of group. To become a member, one had to possess a rare Class, which normally required a lot of resources to nurture – Warrior Priestess being one of the best and most difficult ones. Everyone had to help with the basic activities, too. Building orphanages was one of them.

The members tended to be less reliant on the Temple itself, oftentimes not even associating themselves with it until absolutely necessary. The factual hierarchy was filled with people following Leilucia’s words to the letter – concerned more about preparing for emergency events to help the promising people survive.

In a way, Aisha’s faction was the stray one. They were nurturing talents, instead of looking for and after them, effectively increasing the overall living standards and prospects for certain social groups – like orphans, who were numerous enough because of the death rate of the people.

Their reasoning, that the overall situation of the races changed from the times Leilucia walked on these lands, fell on deaf years, though. The Goddess herself didn’t care enough to direct them on this matter. Or, maybe, she saw the disagreement as a positive change in her Temple.

Either way, people hired here weren’t truly approved by the Temple, with the exception of Yula. They were more of a hired force that technically belonged to the organization.

It was quite complicated; the political struggle hindered both sides, as the resources belonged to the hierarchy and the strongest people to the second faction. Zeph was no longer surprised Aisha despised politics and bureaucracy that much.

The discussion on the topic lasted until the party ended. While Yula showed them to their rooms – placed on the highest, third floor – Aisha went to prepare their amulets. She invited them to come to her own abode after they were finished moving in.

In Zeph’s case, there wasn’t much to unpack, though. P’pfel would take longer because he refused to stop working on his enchantments even for a few days, stating that he would die from boredom. As such, he visited the Warrior Priestess alone.

He knocked on the doors and entered after Aisha responded. He felt that he disrupted a Spell when doing so, but it rebuilt itself behind him.

She looked up from some paperwork. “You are alone?”

He shrugged. “As you can see? Is this room safe?” he asked, looking around. The place was quite empty; filled with only the most necessary furnishing. There was a set of wooden closets, a bed, and a table with four chairs. Quite modest in comparison to his room.

“It is, obviously,” she said, placing down her pen and reaching for one of the two wooden boxes lying on a windowsill by the table. “Maybe it’s even better that you are alone. Here, your amulet,” she said giving him the box. “I will take care of the paperwork. Just give me the papers you received from Ruthia back in the Torrent mountains.”

He opened the box and indeed, inside was a simple medallion. On one side, a depiction of a war hammer could be seen. At the back, a long number was engraved. That was it, there was no instruction or fancy metalwork.

“How does it work? There is no ‘progress bar’ or anything?”

“You will be paying the orphanage tax with your Mana, so there is no need to trace the progress,” she said with a small smile. “Just make sure to send at least three million mana per day. The kids aren’t able to pay their own taxes, so we have to compensate when someone visits. The staff isn’t obliged to pay for them. Well, except for Yula, but she is a special case. It should be easy enough for you, right?”

“Yes, it’s around…” he paused to do the math, “half of my Mana regeneration? Ugh, it’s actually quite a lot… How are they even tracing the amount of Mana if we can just leave the building?” he asked skeptically.

“They don’t, in this case. I will get a memory amulet for you later from the City Administration Hall. For now, just help us here? You don’t have your equipment here to experiment, either way,” she said, crossing her arms.

“Whatever, I can do some charity if it’s needed. But what is the normal tax?” he asked instead.

“Half a million per day. If I guessed your current Mana regeneration correctly, you will have to at least double the amount that you produce at night during the day. And before you ask – the effectiveness of gathering Mana from your room is much lower than on the ship. You can expect the same from most of the lodges in the city. Around one-tenth, if I am not mistaken,” she explained patiently.

“Well, I can do that. But what did you mean when saying that Yula is a special case?” he asked with curiosity. She was the first person that was really old, that he met until now.

Aisha closed her eyes and seemed to be deep in thought. He waited, understanding that the topic wasn’t easy for her.

After half a minute, she finally nodded to herself and started to speak. “I suppose, some explanations are in order. It’s a part of our deal, so don’t spread what I will tell you,” she said, alluding to her promise she made on the Avianna – to give him valuable information not accessible otherwise. “Yula actually managed to get one of the most valuable post-level-100 Classes in the past. The Blessed Innermore Priestess. Probably thanks to that, she survived the Nether infection she got soon after the Class evolution. She was a veteran… and now is just a Soul-cripple. Our group makes sure people like that are accounted for, too,” she said in a sad voice. “She is a full member of the Temple, but can no longer train with her Skills… Can no longer advance… Her Class was destroyed, alongside her potential. Truthfully, she should be dead with her… Soul fragmentation. It’s above the 15% threshold,” she said after hesitating for a second.

Zeph could understand what she was insinuating but stopped himself from commenting. He forcefully subdued his emotions, numbly noticing it was more effective than it should. Probably another function of the Willforce Morphon. The ‘unknown’ part of it.

Aisha continued after making sure he was cool-headed. “Yes, you should also be crippled with the Soul fragmentation you have. And the System coaxed you to take this path – to keep your fragmentation for longer… To be more specific, you should have started to fall into madness a while ago. But you didn’t. Yula also didn’t, but she can no longer depend on the System to fix her…” she paused again. “To tell you the truth, I am not sure if the Onji can fix you anymore. Not after so many changes took place in your Soul. But your species has its quirks, Greater Willpower being one of them. I am no longer sure what is possible…”

“That doesn’t matter,” he said with conviction, surprising her. “We will find our own path. I know the System enough to believe that we… That I was not left without options. But what with Yula? Shouldn’t she try to… I don’t know… Gather enough points to try healing her Soul?” he asked, sitting down on a free chair. Hearing Aisha’s explanations made him weary.

But more importantly, he was more surprised Gru didn’t notice a thing about Yula.

“Graaar?” it vibrated as if on cue.

Aisha relaxed somewhat and leaned back on her chair. “You wouldn’t be able to – her Soul was patched up to the best of System Onji’s capabilities. Her wound is hidden below the Soul constructs of a past-level-100 – I would be really surprised if you could notice that,” she lightly said, then become more serious. “Both Onjis, System and Leilucia, promised her a safe reincarnation to restore her Soul. For her… the life she has now already ended. She decided to wait for the time when she could become active again…” she sighed heavily. “Even if such promises may never be fulfilled, she believes in her only two Gods…”

“If we ever find a way to heal her, we will make you know,” he declared without hesitation.

“Gra!” it vibrated in approval.

“I think that my life is not in a jeopardy, though. I ended up here with much worse fragmentation – my situation only got better after that. Especially my mental state… I was on the brink of killing myself for many years, you know?” he said, deciding to share his story with her, too. “Anyway, let’s leave that for after I visit the System Shrine.”

She smiled at him warmly and started opening her mouth to say something, when another knock resounded in the room.

Aisha opened the doors herself this time. They were expecting P’pfel, but instead the same girl that Zeph gave a ride earlier this day was standing there in her pajamas, holding a big, stuffed bunny.

In a small voice, she explained that she has problems with sleeping and that she felt much more comfortable when she was near Zeph earlier, so she wanted to sleep with him tonight.

One had to be a monster to refuse such request, so he gave her the keys and instructed her to wait for him because he was busy right now.

Meanwhile, Aisha was giggling to herself on the side, which he promptly ignored.

Sleeping kids weren’t anger-inducing, so he didn’t care. The probability she would cause him pain during sleep was miniscule.

Or, at least, that’s how he rationalized the voice of his softer side.

Anyway, he sat back on his chair, waiting for the question Aisha wanted to voice out.

“What are your plans for the future anyway?” she asked, sitting in her chair, too. “You wanna stay in the city and do the research?”

“Actually no,” he answered with a small smile. “I will have to visit… some places soon,” he said, thinking about the rare metals necessary to upgrade all of his gear made from the Earth’s alloy. “Probably very rural regions, too. But before that, I have a list of places to visit in the city,” he finished. “I hope you can direct me some?”