Chapter 23  

The preparations for his journey home turned out to be much more extensive than Kai thought. Two days flew like a breeze.

Elijah gave him a routine of exercises he had to practice each day. Including—besides running and swimming—a series of weapon stances to repeat fifty times and exercises to increase his flexibility and balance.

That was not all. A town full of people was the perfect place to train Keen Eye. Till now he mainly used it to analyze plants with Dora, helping him recognize patterns and tiny details he would have otherwise missed.

“If you cheat, I’ll know.” Elijah sternly warned him.

Kai wasn’t sure if the butler would be able to tell. Elijah seemed omniscient inside the estate, but Greenside was almost four days of march away.

Okay, let’s compromise. I promise not to skip more than once or twice per week.

“Yessir! I promise not to skip a single day.” Kai solemnly said. Elijah should be proud of him, he was training Acting too.

The pale man looked at him with evident suspicion but didn’t add anything else.

All of that was from only one of his teachers. Initially, Dora only told him to enjoy his time with his family.

Then she gave him a book full of mana exercises. You never knew when you'd get bored. He couldn't also leave without a portable alchemy kit she lent him. A small spatially expanded chest that contained all the basic tools any apprentice alchemist should have.

“You never know when inspiration hits or you find some interesting herbs or mushrooms by the side of the road.”

An apothecary and alchemy recipe book were thus required too. Something casual, with recipes handpicked by Dora that only required the most common ingredients in the Archipelago.

Two empty booklets to record his observations finished the set. Purely as a precaution. In case he found himself with free time at hand.

His backpack kept getting bulkier and heavier. If he hadn't gotten stronger and a few inches taller in the last year, that might have been an issue. He was so lucky he could bring everything with him.

At the dawn of the second day, after a hefty breakfast, he was ready to depart.

Dora was there to tell him goodbye.

“Remember to relax and have fun. And stay safe, don’t leave the main path, and don’t talk with strangers.” She reminded him for the hundredth time and gave him a quick hug.

“Don’t worry aunty Dora, I’ll be careful. I have Awareness for that.”

She had been going on about this for a whole day. It made sense, he was not yet seven. People grew up faster in this world, but seven was still young.

The weird part was that they didn’t treat him like that the rest of the time.

He said his last farewell, Elijah was nowhere in sight. He had not expected any different. No time was long enough without that prick.

Without further ado, Kai set off on the jungle path. A large bag on his back, a practice sword hanging on the side and a wooden staff in hand.

~ ~ ~

Dora watched the child walk away, disappearing into the tree line.

He was such a weird kid, always with a thoughtful look on his face. When she gave him a problem to solve, she almost thought he was some old mage who managed to reincarnate.

Other times he did the funniest things, telling jokes to himself and acting silly like any other child. He also asked questions no one with any magical education could think to ask. He didn’t have the faintest idea of how the world worked.

If he was a reincarnated mage, he must not have been a very good one, because something definitely went wrong.

She also considered him to be a Chosen of the Moons, but he only showed half the signs a blessed child would have.

The most likely explanation was some weird phenomenon caused by the mana currents and the Hyperial Realm, nothing too rare. If you started to question all the little oddities you met, you would end up going crazy.

The child disappeared from her other senses too. She would worry about his safety on the road, but she had already noticed Elijah sneak after him.

She rolled her eyes and turned back to her garden.

~ ~ ~

Kai was bored. He had been worried the way back would be tiring or dangerous, but it was plain boring.

There was nothing to do, only walking for hours and hours through the Veeryd jungle. With Keen Eye, the poor excuse of a path was hard to miss. The plants were not very interesting either. Despite what Dora said, he found no great treasure by the side of the road.

Should I try running?

He remembered the journey appeared incredibly difficult the first time. Now, with his improved stats and training, even carrying an unwieldy backpack didn’t make much difference.

If he ran, he might cut the journey to two days, but he would also sweat with no shower in sight.

He chose to maintain a brisk pace for today and try running tomorrow.

With the decision made, he was left with several hours of semi-free time.

A few mana exercises can’t do any harm. Spirits, what I’ve become!

The day slowly moved forward. He only stopped to pee twice, he even ate while walking.

At dusk, he made camp for the night on a sandy beach by the sea. The sound of the waves was soothing, and he wanted to be as far away as possible from the rustles of the jungle.

There should not be any dangerous animals at the border of the forest, but he heard of venomous snakes and insects hiding farther in. There were even rumors of ferocious jaguars and other beasts in the heart of Veeryd.

What if some of them decided to stroll outside their usual areas? He wanted to be as far as possible, especially at night.

Tightening the blanket around him, Kai focused on the sounds of the sea and drifted off to sleep.

He counted on being woken by the light of dawn, but not everything went to plan.

A spray of cold seawater hit him in the face. His eyes shot wide open as he assessed the situation. There was the barest hint of light on the horizon, the sky was still dominated by four pale moons.

He had not moved, but the sea did.

I’m an idiot, I did not check the tides.

The high tide was rising. Kai wasted no time and moved his belongings before they could get soaked.

At least I didn’t get attacked by some beast.

He had an early breakfast and got ready to run. Dora had prepared way more food than he needed. He ditched half his water but couldn't bring himself to waste the food she prepared for him. It would slow him down, but with the extra hour, he could still make it home today. He only needed keep a steady pace.

It turned out he wasn’t very good at pacing himself. He was used to Elijah’s training, where he had to give all he had in about an hour or two. A day was much longer than that.

After six hours, he was heaving and had to take a brief pause. He drank a few sips of water and continued, trying to judge how hard he could push his body.

He considered drinking an energizing tonic, but he only had three and no ingredients to brew more. Plus, it would leave him more tired when it wore off.

Gritting his teeth, Kai continued running. Elijah would shed tears of pride if he saw him now.

Let’s be honest, I’d be lucky to get a nod.

The last time he walked the jungle path was a year ago. He didn't remember much and had no idea how far from Greenside he was.

He simply put faith in his abilities that he would make it in time.

I’m gonna make it before dusk. I’m gonna make it before dusk. I’m gonna make it before dusk. I’m gonna make it before dusk.

I’m 100% not going to be stranded dead tired and without water by the jungle.

Kai prayed to the spirits to help him. He had been a tiny bit optimistic about how much water he needed. He thought he had been more than prudent. Who knew you needed way more water when you were sweating buckets.

As the sun began to set and the jungle grew more sinister by the second, there was no sign of Greenside.

Please, spirits, don’t do me like this.

He was barely able to put one foot in front of the other by now. His leg muscles had stopped hurting a while ago, and now felt numb.

Without thinking twice, he downed an energizing tonic. The effect was immediate, his tired muscles felt revitalized. He corrected his wonky running posture and continued with renewed vigor.

While it felt like he could run for another day, it was the effect of the potion talking. If he pushed too hard, he might end up seriously hurting himself. His exhausted state would be a deadly combination with the tonic side effects. But now he only cared about getting out of this jungle, no matter the cost.

Keep a decent pace, it must not be far.

Not five minutes later the dense trees opened up to reveal the cultivated fields surrounding Greenside.

A handful of people in the distance were walking back toward their house after a hard day of work. In the distance, the lights of the settlement highlighted the wooden buildings of the town.

He had drunk the tonic for nothing, but he was too relieved to care. He slowed to a walk and tried to enjoy the last stretch, letting himself get taken away by the nostalgic and melancholy feelings.

Nothing spoke of Greenside like the constant humidity that quietly tried to strangle you. It was early spring, and there was still plenty of time for it to get worse, but it was already noticeably higher than at Virya’s estate.

From the edge of the fields to the town was quite a walk, but it gave him time to gather his thoughts. A note of anxiety was building up in his gut again.

I’m sure my family is doing great.

“In the name of the ancestors, what are you doing walking on my field at this hour? If you damage any of my crops, you’re going to pay me back!” The yells of an angry farmer made him jolt from his thoughts.

Kai apologized profusely, sprinting away to the nearest path. He might have stepped on a couple growing sprouts, but it wasn't his fault. With the expansion of the farmland, the path from the jungle now ended in the middle of the fields.

The angry farmer yelled a few more ‘upset’ words after him. “When I was young, children knew respect. Nowadays youngsters are little better than delinquents!”

Kai lowered his head in shame and hurriedly got as far away as possible.

Entering the town proper, he tried to reorient himself. The old part of town looked better than he remembered. Even at this late hour, there were people on the streets, and they seemed to be enjoying themselves. Loud laughs and cheers came from a nearby tavern.

The town had recovered well from its darkest time. Even the buildings were well taken care of, except for a few graffiti here and there. But that could also be seen as a sign of the town recovering.

It wasn't until he got to the new part of town that things looked more familiar. The horde of identical little boxes had not gotten any less ugly. On the contrary, time had taken its toll on the cheap houses and many looked like they were standing up through prayers and wishes.

Not all looked that bad. Some sported meticulous repairs, others had been demolished in favor of new little wooden houses like those in old town.

New town wasn’t as prosperous, but people didn’t look starved or unhappy. Not too unhappy anyway.

He almost got lost amidst the identical buildings, but the repairs necessary to keep the boxes from collapsing made them different enough to distinguish them. Instead of a dystopian feel, they gave off the utilitaristic vibe of a post-apocalyptic world. That probably meant slums in a medieval setting.

The farther from the old town he got, the worse the buildings and people looked. The only thing that could hint they were part of the same town were the graffiti on the walls, which were identical to those he saw in the old town. Even if here they were more numerous.

A hand with two concentric circles crossed by a line on the palm was especially prevalent. He thought it would be sacrilegious to use the sacred symbol of the spirits like that. Judging by how many there were, he was wrong.

Kai had wandered a bit aimlessly to look at the changes. However, the way people looked at him in this neighborhood was starting to make him unsettled. Awareness told him there were too many pairs of eyes on him.

He realized his full backpack was the most likely reason. Cold sweat ran down his back. He was in deep trouble.

Thinking fast, he put his Acting skill to use. He acted like he was exactly where he intended to be. He excitedly waved to a middle-aged man who didn’t look at him with greedy eyes.

The man turned around to make sure Kai was waving at him and looking confused, but it didn’t matter. What mattered was that the gazes on his back diminished and the man was on the way out of this shady part of town.

“Hi, uncle! I was looking exactly for you.” Kai greeted the confused man.

Instead of stopping in front of him, he changed direction at the last moment and dashed away without looking back.

He felt someone with not pure intentions was still looking at him, but the sensation disappeared when he jumped into another alley.

To make sure, Kai didn’t stop till he was back in old town. He let out a breath of relief.

How I am always so stupid and smart at the same time is a mystery to me.

No more stalling. He looked for the most direct way to his house. It was in a decent part of the new district and the people in the area didn’t look too shady.

The walk was shorter than he expected. The only thing he could see was the door in front of him. The building looked a bit different than he remembered, but there was no doubt this was his ugly house.

After a little hesitation, he knocked twice. The windows had been covered, but he could see flickering light filtering through. There was no immediate reaction, but he could hear noises and whispered words coming from inside.

“Who is it?” A stern voice asked.

“Ehm… Mom, it’s me.”

“Kai?” The cold tone was gone.

“Did you have another son while I was away?”

More noise came from the inside, a moment later the door was thrown open and Alana pulled him in a bone-crushing hug. He could see his sisters standing inside the house, each with a bat of some kind in hand, looking ready to use them. Upon seeing him, they also came to join in a group hug.

A good half a minute later his mother let him go and started bombarding him with questions, “Why are you here? Why do you look like you spent a week in the woods? Did something happen at the estate? What are you doing standing there? Come inside. Wait, don't walk with those muddy shoes inside.”

Kai smiled exasperated.

The weight in his heart disappeared. They were all fine.