“Farewell delicious food!” Aja shouted at Unagi Village. Behind the bobbing waves, the peninsula was shrinking by the second. She stuck her arms over their ship’s handrails as if reaching for some faraway lover and cried out. “I will never forget you; my dear fried squid balls and scallop soup! I will come back for you!”

Elem felt his abs burn as he chuckled. Even though he still felt extremely tired, his friend’s silly antics always managed to amuse him. No matter what, he could always count on Aja’s jokes and contagious positivity.

They had left the Unagi village at dawn, ferrying along with a local trader transporting sea urchins to the harbor town of Wellport. There, they would restock and continue their journey on land, eventually traveling to the southern reaches of the continent by bike.

As the waves gently slapped against the ship’s hull, Elem turned to the starboard side and peered at the endless blue. It felt good to have the salty wind blowing through his hair. He could still hardly believe that he had defeated the master of a summoning school and for the first time in his life he finally felt like a real summoner.

Their captain was a middle-aged man with a leathery tan skin, stubbles and a full bent pipe glued to his lips. Apart from sharing the fact that he didn’t actually smoke for health reasons but only carried the pipe to maintain a “certain image”, the

the man had been mostly quiet. Elem wondered if he knew about his match with Zorya. He most likely did and chances were that he had even been in the audience. Most of the Unagi villagers who had been cheering during the duel had awoken with a somber hangover. It seemed that the whole town was ashamed of the master’s loss and her conduct during the battle.

Elem could barely recall the weary days following his victory. They all seemed like one sleepy blur. The moment he had mustered enough strength to leave his bed, Elem had gone to visit Zorya to pay his respects and to check in on her recovery. He was met by a nervous Mei Mei at the school’s gate who explained that Zorya was still too ill from exhaustion and Essence overexposure to see him.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

“Of course she’s hiding after such a shitty performance,” Aja had blurted. “She put shame on her whole village with that elixir crap. I would even be embarrassed for ruining my family name like that and you know I hate my family!”

Although the Unagi master wouldn’t see them, Zorya’s father had come to the gate to congratulate Elem with his win. The old man had looked as sickly as ever but honorably shook his hand and even arranged for the ship to escort them to their next destination.

Looking back, Elem couldn’t blame Zorya for cheating. He knew that she was carrying the weight of an entire village on her shoulders and since he had no idea how that felt, he had no reason to judge her for collapsing under the pressure. Besides that, he had more pressing matters haunting his mind.

“Why aren’t you happier, huh?” Aja teased as she dug her knuckles into his side. She had clearly noticed his pensive expression and was having none of it.

Elem made a face, rubbing his ribs. For such a skinny girl, Aja had always been surprisingly strong.

“You should get that stupid frown off your face,” she continued. “Seriously, I swear I’ll throw you in the water if you don’t start smiling from ear to ear very soon!”

Elem stuck out his tongue and jokingly shoved his friend to the side.

“Not if I throw you in first!”

They both laughed and Elem had to admit that he had felt better than he had done in a long time. Despite everything, there were still things to be thankful for and his best friend was one of them.

But happy? No, there was no reason for true happiness yet. For that he was still too hurt.

Elem knew that there could be no real joy in his life until he had avenged his father’s death. The desire for revenge still lingered in his soul. The feeling of hatred still ached and festered within him and no night went by where he did not fantasize about taking an airship to Lightningrod City and beating Ferran to a bleeding pulp. But until he was strong enough to do that, Elem knew he had to maintain his focus. For now, all he could do was bide his time and dedicate his entire being to growing stronger. Improving, advancing and evolving until he was a summoner legend.