-0-0-0-0-0-

Port Laviet, Medean Duchy, Theona

-0-0-0-0-0-

Tamesou Akio took a deep breath of the fresh ocean air as they moved through the bustling port city. Sailors and dockworkers bustled around loading and unloading cargo using surprisingly sophisticated wooden cranes. The arrangement of ropes and pulleys made loading huge crates full of cargo a breeze. Akio kept near his friends on the cobbled streets rather than exploring the wooden docks. Though it had been three days since they encountered the sharks on the beach, he was still wary of the churning blue waters. Who knew what immense, dangerous monsters lurked in those inky depths.

As the group had followed the northern road, heading up the coastline, they'd encountered many travelers. Many were willing to gossip and spread rumors for a few coins, sharing outlandish tales with little prompting. Though his sensei had wanted to investigate the rumors they'd heard on their journey to the east, the source was more northern, another week of travel up the coast to Blackwater Bay. And boy, were there rumours.

All of them agreed that there were monsters on the surface. Some said they were friendly and wished to trade with other people. Others said the monsters attacked and ate people. Some said they were the servants of an evil god, forcibly converting people and supplanting the local gods. Others said they were peacefully spreading the message of their god. They all agreed the monsters were capable of speech and originated from a recently discovered island off the coast. Coincidentally, it was the same island the three teen heroes and their mentors had been traveling to. Specifically, the dungeon they were going there to delve into.

Sensei Heliat had already been increasingly concerned about the rumors, only growing more thoughtful as the days passed. When Akio asked, he shared his reasons with the teens.

"Two distinct narratives are being pushed here," the paladin explained as they'd passed through the gates of Port Laviet. "One wishes to demonize the monsters and cast them in the same light as the intelligent monsters of years gone, The very ones my ancestor fought. They were terrible creatures, cunning and vicious. They terrorized their prey, drawing out fights and inflicting pain for pain's sake. The other side pushes a peaceful agenda, insisting the monsters are only interested in trade and spreading knowledge of their god. We know too little to confirm the truth, and I intend to rectify this."

They'd quickly made their way to the local guild hall, seeking lodgings and more solid information. They arrived quickly at a stone-built Guildhall that looked much like any other the transmigrators had seen on their journey. The hall was emptier than Akio had expected, though. There were only a few guilders on guard duty, with only one or two loitering around the entrance hall and job board. They paid for their rooms and were encouraged to stay there. Heliat and Jinasa had a quickly organized meeting with the Guildmaster, leaving the teen heroes and their tagalong behind.

Akio, Sophie, and Bruce were unimpressed, and Sophie threw herself on the couch with crossed arms the moment the door closed behind the adults.

"So first they insist we're mature and responsible, of age, and capable of making our own decisions, then they go back to treating us like children?" Sophie ranted, glaring at the door from her place on the couch. The room they'd gotten was a party suite with multiple bedrooms and a single common room.

"We already knew they were hiding things from us," Bruce answered, rubbing his meager stubble. The boy was very proud of the patch of hair on his chin and upper lip. "This is just more proof. We agreed the High Priests were untrustworthy, and though we've gone along with Heliat and Jinasa so far, it might be time to go our separate ways."

"Can we give them one last chance?" Akio asked, uneasy at the idea of running off on their own. He knew they were more than capable of surviving independently, thanks to Heliat and Jinasa's efforts. "We're not Platinum yet, and there may be things they legally can't share with Golds without permission from a guildmaster."

"Did... Did you forget I'm here?"

Akio paused, eyes flicking over to where Elize was leaning against the wall. He glanced back at his fellow earthlings, eyes wide. Yes, he had forgotten. Had they? Their equally wide eyes said they had as well.

"Well, you three are obviously hiding something. Priests, talking about not trusting your minders... You talk about becoming Platinum like it's a foregone conclusion. I've seen many strange things since we left the capital, but this cinches it." The girl pushed off the wall with her hip and leaned forward, eyes gleaming.

"You're Heroes, aren't you?"

There was a moment of silence.

"How do you figure that?" Bruce asked with an eyebrow raised and arms crossed.

"A few things," Elize answered, leaning back against the wall and holding a closed fist. She put out one finger as she elaborated. "Your relative youth and strength, for one. No one our age is as strong as Akio here, no matter how many monsters they kill. There just isn't enough time. Heroes gain strength and mana much faster than normal people, which explains how you became Golds so young and expect to be Platinum soon."

Akio frowned. Yeah, that was probably true. He'd heard similar comments about his strength and youth from Guilders not in the know.

"Two," Elize pushed on. "You three are under some kind of translation magic. I can read lips, and the shape your mouths are making and the words I hear you speak don't match. You three don't speak Phenocian but seem to speak the same language. I'm familiar with all the languages spoken on Theona, and this is none of them. It doesn't look like any dialect of Bahrain, either. Not enough clicking or harsh consonants. I've never seen you, or your minders, refresh this magic, and it's not any kind of enchanted item, either, since it worked when you were wearing naught but your underthings back on the beach."

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

Akio flushed at the reminder. Elize had been scandalized when he and Bruce stripped to their boxers and ran to the ocean. Obviously, the natives wore more concealing swimwear.

"Three," Elize continued, sporting a blush and putting out her third finger. "Your mention of High Priests and your minders themselves. There is only one High Priest per worshipped god, and all live in the Holy City. Heroes are summoned by the priests, in varying amounts, in times of crisis. They're trained by highly-ranked guilders until they can face whatever threat they were summoned to fight. Guard-captain Heliat is the head of the guard in the Holy City. A man with his responsibilities can't just up and leave. Even if he decided to train an apprentice, he'd do it near the Holy City."

"Finally... Your reactions right now. Everything I've said is true, and you know it. The average guilder doesn't know about the particulars of translation magic since they'll never need it beyond a few moments in their careers. You know about it but aren't trained to use it. While geniuses and early bloomers exist, they're almost always descendants of heroes. You're too old to be the children of the current generation but too young to be the last. To find three geniuses of the necessary caliber to match heroes, all of the same or similar ages is impossible. Admit it!"

"Fine, yes, you're right," Sophie growled, scowling at the noble girl. "We're summoned heroes. You would've figured it out eventually, traveling with us."

Elize's eyes glimmered with triumph, but her face quickly paled.

"And yes, we were summoned for a reason," Bruce continued, no doubt seeing the same thing Akio had. The paling girl's eyes flicked to the Australian boy. "You must have thought it some mystery to unravel without thinking about what us being heroes actually meant."

"I did, yes," her voice was quiet now. "Is... is it the monsters we heard about?" Akio shook his head.

"No, but if it's unconnected, I'll be shocked," he answered frankly, rubbing a finger along Amaterasu's facets and feeling the warm brush of her mind. "You don't need to know. If you stay around us, I have no doubt you'll figure it out eventually. Either way, It isn't like we're the only ones with secrets. Isn't that right... Princess?"

-0-0-0-0-0-

The Creator, Atlantis, The Kalenic Sea

-0-0-0-0-0-

After good progress on the transformation enchantment, I decided to check up on the dungeon. Boy, was I glad I had! The Isid-Cliche-Haythem raid was pushing deeper into the Eighth, and boy, am I tired of saying that every time I mention them. I need something better to call them. I'll figure it out.

The group showed off a couple new pieces of enchanted gear. Some had been purchased from my Drake-kin merchant on the first floor and products of my experimental chambers, others from chests found after defeating optional minibosses. Two boasted mana-goggles, an early version of my researchers trying to understand how manavision worked and putting the enchantment on glasses and goggles. It gave the user access to a weak and lesser version of manavision without resigning them to slow degradation of their vision until mana was all they could see. The few Children I'd gifted manavision to study it would have already begun succumbing to this process without a second enchantment to enhance the regeneration of their eyes.

Others had some prototype soundless boots, which use sound mana to calm and muffle sound waves in an area. A few other minor items were tucked into their cloaks and pockets, but these were the most important for now. They used them to significant effect in navigating the Glacier. This time, they avoided notice, following the same route they had before, with minor diversions when a manabeing was on their path.

The Second Peak awaited.

This peak involved the most choices. The challenge was finding the least precarious path or pushing through regardless. There were plenty of ways to cross the peak, but only one or two were free of danger. The Air Court's territory near the peak was hidden by clouds today. I felt like the guilders were cautious enough to avoid stumbling through a cloud atop a mountain.

And indeed they were. They explored the wide expanses of untouched snow, careful to keep away from edges and overhangs in case of traps. I mean, there were some, but they were linked to hardmode. The guilders were meticulous, combing every part of the mountain they could reach for potential paths. They found a few caves that were tunnels leading into underground paths that held their own dangers. Some were ordinary caves, yet others were hidden by Illusions of varying quality. Some were undetectable to even Isid's eyes, and others could be discerned by the unaided eye.

The undetectable ones, of course, led to the dens of Ice Foxes and their Evolutions, the Tailed Ice Foxes. Of increasing size, starting around the same as Maned Wolves, they were ever bigger and more powerful than the average fox; with an ever greater command of ice and snow and a strengthening Ice Aura, they could direct to freeze and slow enemies caught in its effect. Unlike other monsters with a single or couple of evolutions, the Ice Foxes underwent eight minor evolutions. I think you can guess what I went with.

Yes, each minor evolution increased its size and intelligence and added a single tail. Some within the packs of foxes were already strong enough to evolve, especially those bonded to Snowbolds. The strongest had three tails and could stand on its hind legs for short periods.

Speaking of Bonding, taking another look at it proved it was what I had intended to be. I'd developed the concept in the early days, and looking at a bonded pair now confirmed that their souls were indeed connected. While it looked like a rope of mana connecting their cores, I'd long proven the soul resided within the manacore of a being if they possessed one. Technically, was I not bonded to all my monsters in the same way this fox and Snowbold were to each other?

When those Children left my area of influence on the ship, did they experience the same pain of a breaking bond as a Tamer did when their bonded monsters died? That scarring on their souls?

I felt bad, but there was no point agonizing over it. They'd chosen to leave, and if they ever returned, I'd examine them and ask about their experience.

But back to the Eighth! In my tangent, the Guilders had chosen a path. It was one of the more unique ones, actually. This tunnel led to the Geothermic Valley, a slice of green in the mountains. It was technically the lowest point on the floor, disregarding the Glacier, and entirely underground. It was Illusioned to look like it was 'outside' amongst lesser peaks beside the Three, but it was actually a separate cavern.

There, of course, was a path that would lead them up to the Third Peak from here. If they could get past the wildlife and monster-filled valley.

The first indications they had that something was off in this forested, warmer section of the mountains were the chuffing, barking calls, a flash of scales amongst the trees, and a distant roar.

I mean, I had to put the dinosaurs somewhere before that island on the Eleventh, right? It'd be a good experience for later on when facing larger examples. And oh boy, did I have some extraordinary dinosaurs for them to fight.

-0-0-0-0-0-