Kai dragged his feet as heavy footsteps resounded in the air. Soft rays of sunlight crept through the forest’s canopy, occasionally hitting his pale skin, causing it to itch slightly. His backpack rattled as he and Onyx slowly advanced through the treacherous terrain, leaving deep imprints behind them. Kai wore his mask, and on his head was a larger shirt he had found in the backpack. It protected him against any stray rays of sunlight, however, clearly, it wasn’t a permanent solution.

“We’re close to the border…” Kai said, breathing heavily. “Just a bit more and we can rest in the city…”

Onyx yelped in response, looking down at the floor while licking his snout, as if to say ‘I’m so tired, my legs can’t no more.’ A light chuckle escaped Kai’s lips, pulling a water pouch to his mouth and drinking it like he just walked forty days through a desert. Stopping, he gave some to Onyx as well before wiping his mouth and continuing on their path.

“I have to say, surprisingly we’ve only met some wild beasts that ran away as soon as they saw you. Or is it that the smarter ones just didn’t dare approach? Either way, I’m glad we didn’t have to fight anymore, it would have been too exhausting.” Kai remarked, smiling happily behind his mask while petting his companion’s fur. Thankfully the forest around here is abundant, so the sun didn’t burn me too much but… looking at the map, for some weird reason it seems to end after this city.

Onyx’s tail wagged happily, and dried leaves and sticks, along with dust, flew behind him as he created small gusts of air. Barking once, he hastened his steps, dragging Kai along with him as they sped through the forest. Before long, a large city wall made out of spiked wooden logs appeared before them, with a lookout tower placed every ten meters. Inside the towers stood groups of four to six archers, vigilantly watching everything happening within the area.

The wall’s grand and imposing stature became clearer and clearer as they approached it, casting a looming shadow that stretched far into the forest. Soon, they stood before a wooden gate reinforced with iron and steel plates, with a few guards patrolling each of its sides, and two others seemingly controlling the gate’s mechanism.

“We’re finally here… Menthral,” Kai murmured, glancing up at the towering walls surrounding the city lying at the border between Aravia and Evicario. A small river ran through its middle, its soothing sound giving power to the soldiers stationed in this military city. Along its length were a few mills, used to grind the grains grown by some villagers to make bread and pastries.

The patrolling guards’s heads snapped toward Kai and Onyx, and they quickly got into formation while readying their weapons.

“Halt!” One of them yelled, walking forward with his companions following closely behind. Their light armor rattled as they stopped a dozen or so meters away. “Identify yourself!” The guard’s firm voice echoed in the calm forest, grabbing Kai’s attention as he too, stopped. Observing the guards, Kai’s hair stood on end as he inspected their weapons- halberds, spears, and swords. Accompanying the foot soldiers were the people on the towers, whose arrows were pointed right in their direction.

Gulping, his lips parted as a shaky voice escaped his lips. “My name is Kai! This here is my companion, Onyx!” He yelled back, pointing toward the large Obborik, whose yellow eyes narrowed upon watching the guards pointing their spears and halberds toward them. “We’re here to rest and re-supply!”

The guard’s eyes lingered on Kai, whose hidden face brought a sense of mystery and vigilance to the man. “Captain, that man seems suspicious, and that beast following him… if I’m not wrong that’s an Obborik.” Upon hearing that, the man’s pupils narrowed, and the hold on his spear tightened as he asked. “How can we be sure your ‘companion’ won’t wreak havoc?”

Kai thought for a second, his gaze lingering on the ground before he slowly placed his backpack on the ground, kicking up a small cloud of dust. Rummaging through it and pulling out the letter he had from Orphelia, he rolled it up and extended it toward the guards, saying, “This was given to me by a friend, it should give you some assurance.”

Almost immediately, a guard ran up to Kai, his legs trembling as he took the paper from his hands. Hastily retreating and handing it to the captain, he took his position and brandished his weapon. After reading the letter, the man’s eyes widened in surprise. Clearing his throat, he raised his hand, signaling the archers to put down their weapons.

“You may enter, but if anything is to happen…” The intention behind his words was clear as day without needing to finish the sentence. Retreating toward the wall, the large gate creaked open as the guards maneuvered its mechanism. Kai and Onyx hurried toward the captain, who waited for them right at the entrance. “Thank you for letting us in, sir…”

“Rudolf.” The captain said, handing the letter back to Kai with a slight smile. “Welcome to Menthral, enjoy your stay.”

“Mhm.” Kai nodded, patting Kai’s fur as they stepped foot inside the city. Menthral, in comparison to Nivero, was like night and day. Nivero’s large and lavish buildings were replaced with barracks and small houses, each of them owning a small courtyard where they could grow or build whatever they wanted. The city hall looked like a small church, but no actual church was present in this city. Squads of thirty to fifty men ran through the city, their armor rattling as sweat dripped down their tanned skin while they sang along to the river’s soothing rhythm.

An astonished expression colored their faces as they passed Onyx and Kai, picking up their pace as if to avoid bothering them. “Boy, everyone we meet seems to be scared of you. Smile more, maybe that will help?” Kai quipped, letting out a light chuckle as he advanced. A snort escaped Onyx’s snout, and his tail trailed behind him as he walked alongside Kai. “What? It was funny.”

“Anyway,” he continued. “We need to find a place to rest, buy food… and get ready for running our last mile. I’ll also need something to cover my head, there won’t be any more forests going forward.” Saying that his eyes jumped from building to building until he finally spotted a building that somewhat looked like an inn or hotel.

Its exterior, in stark contrast to the one owned by Orphelia’s family, was simple. A one-story building built out of wood and yellow stone, on top of which lay a layer of thatched roof made out of hay and grass. A sign with the inn’s name was nailed above the entrance Its rough handwriting and bloody imprints spoke volumes about the kind of place Kai was about to step in.

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“Warrior’s Jail. Well, that’s not ominous.” He whispered as he walked in. Almost immediately, a putrid stench of cigarette smoke and alcohol inundated his nostrils. Everyone present immediately turned to them, their eyes widening in surprise upon seeing Onyx, whose head almost reached the roof, enter the bar. Glancing at the crowd, Kai noticed that besides the humans, elves, and dwarves were also mixed within the groups. “They look just like they do in our media… well the elves are a bit different but I don’t know what exactly…”

However, even as he thought that he felt his pulse rise upon glancing at the new races. The dwarves were short in stature, with tanned skin and well-defined muscles, wearing tight leather and chainmail armor. Large, puffy, and tied beards decorated their face, and most of them had an expression that screamed murder plastered on their faces.

The elves, on the other hand, had fair skin, seemingly untouched by the elements. Thin and tall builds, wearing loose clothing of different, yet vibrant colors. They had brown, green, yellow, and even blue eyes. However, each of them wore the expression of a hardened warrior, the scars they bore proof of the countless fights they went through.

Both races had weapons strapped to their bodies. From swords and daggers hanging by the waist to bows and arrows tied to their back, as well as wands holstered on their belts.

Kai coughed heavily, holding his breath in as he asked the receptionist, a middle-aged man, for a room. “A silver coin.” He said in a stoic voice, not even giving attention to the Obborik. Paying the man, Kai made his way up to the first floor, the lock opening with a click as the door creaked. Inside the room lay a simple bed, a desk, and a coat hanger.

“Well, this is quite a humbling experience. Not like much would change, I’ll still be sleeping on you, boy.” He joked while putting aside the backpack and the sword, flopping on the bed, and letting out a heavy sigh. “Soon…” His heart raced inside his chest as the image of a beautiful elf flashed before his eyes.

Elly’s words still lingered in his ears, and her gentle appearance sent a wave of warmth coursing through his body. Another heavy sigh escaped his lips as he turned on his side, hugging a pillow while taking off his mask. “I hope tomorrow will go smoothly, I’m almost there…” Murmuring, he closed his eyes and fell into slumber under Onyx’s gaze. The Obborik quickly joined him in bed, curling up next to Kai as much as he could.

…

By the time the sun had set, Kai was already out and about, walking through the night city. Unlike Nivero, life after dark didn’t differ much from the daytime here, except for the lack of soldiers training and even less so villagers wandering the streets. Despite that, some shops were still open, which Kai quickly visited and resupplied from. He bought curated meats, and some vegetables and refilled his water pouches from the fountain. He also purchased a dark robe with a large hood. It was thin but large enough to hide most of his skin from the harsh sunlight. As time passed, he noticed that the bars and brothels began to open up, and beautiful women filled the street, almost like a small red-light district.

Scoffing, he avoided those parts of the city, however, he couldn’t help but notice the amount of soldiers entering and leaving such establishments. He shook his head and before long returned to the inn, emptying his stuffed backpack and neatly arranging the food. Pulling out a few extra pieces, he threw eighty percent of them toward Onyx, who immediately devoured them.

“I don’t know why but I feel that the more you grow, the hungrier I’ll be.” Kai laughed, chewing on his food while reading through the ancient book. I can almost read some of it, the language seems to be similar enough to the current one but… it’s like trying to read Latin as an English speaker… Regardless, the amount of subjects that can fit in this relatively small book is astonishing. From what I understand, it describes the continent’s history, going as far back as the first king had appeared. Before that, however… it seemed like the pages had been ripped off or damaged in some way.

Besides history, it talks about magic, spells, techniques, incantations, enunciation… I never would have imagined that the way you chant a spell could affect its power. It talks about why but… I can’t understand anything. However… Kai let out a long, heavy sigh while rapidly flipping through the pages. It barely mentions anything related to broken mana veins… or cores. It doesn’t even contain medical knowledge… I guess my last hope is Elly or someone she may know… He thought as he read the few related pages, and his eyes widened in surprise upon reading the little he understood. <>

I managed to use some magic back in the fight with the bandits, and to show off to Léandro… I… why did I do that? Anywho, I was still able to use magic. Then the necklace almost killed me, but my veins and core still managed to withstand the mana impact… I should have been dead long ago but I’m not… Ah… I’ll have to ask Elly…

With that thought in mind, he ruffled Onyx’s fluff while staring at the ceiling. Rays of moonlight sneaked through the open window, a cold breeze accompanying them. Kai shuddered, and looked toward the moon, watching it rise as its soft light landed on his pale skin. As Kai’s gaze remained fixated on it, his lips trembled as he jumped to his feet, and quickly walked to the window.

With widened pupils, he held his hand out, making a grabbing motion toward the moon, and hiding it within his palm as he murmured. “When the sage points at the moon, the fool looks at the finger.” A smile creased his lips as he dashed toward the backpack. Rummaging through it, he pulled the old notebook given to him by his grandpa. Its pages were already yellow, damaged by time and the elements. However, that didn’t stop Kai from slamming it open on the desk, pulling out a pen, and fervently writing in it.

What a fool I am! I still have Rodney’s memories, he was a genius. Although he focused on chemistry and psychics, there is no way he didn’t study medicine in his free time. If I managed to use his memories to alter the mana core forming process… although I’m not sure it was a failure, something changed. Proof being… I’m not dead. Besides that, I gained an affinity with five out of six elements, almost like cheating… so then… Kai began writing down every bit of medical knowledge he recalled from Rodney’s memories, even the most insignificant ones. Although he found that most modern medicine practices could be used, they pale in comparison to healing magic and potions.

…

The night quickly passed by, accompanied by Kai’s rapid scribbling and occasional rests. His dried lips smacked against each other as he sipped from a leather pouch he bought earlier. The sounds of flipping pages caused Onyx’s ears to twitch as he woke up every so often, looking at Kai before going back to sleep with a low grunge, almost as if he was complaining.

With the sun finally rising, Kai finally put his pen down, letting out a heavy sigh of relief while leaning back on the creaking wooden chair. Picking up the notebook, he flipped through the five or six dozen pages he had filled out, grimacing at his handwriting. I could have done a better job, but as long as I can understand it…

He got up and walked to the window, closing it and covering it with the curtains before flopping onto the bed, immediately falling asleep as soon as he shut his eyes.