Fei Lei surveyed the area to discover that he was in a large empty grassy plain.
Flying up high, Fei Lei noticed that was more than a hundred miles away from Galleria, he then looked to the sky and used the sun's position to estimate that had been buried under the ground for almost 14 hours, that is, if he wasn't gone longer than a day.
Fei Lei started to fly up higher and shot off towards the city, "I can fly now! I can really FLY! HAHAHA!" Fei Lei shouted and laughed.
He continued to travel faster than ever before, with him moving at around 200MPH, it only took him roughly 45 minutes to reach the trade city's borders.
Fei Lei hopped down a few miles away from the city and started to walk back inside.
Deciding to find the group and let them know them was okay, Fei Lei headed over to the hotel they were staying at, to see that it had become overcrowded with hundreds of tenets.
Many of the people in the crowd looked like wealthy Mages, Merchants, and Nobels.
All of the rooms had been booked, even the rooms that Fei Lei and his party were staying in previously had been rented out to someone else.
When he asked why, the receptionist said, "They were bid out of their rooms."
Fei Lei growled at the lady, but turned around and searched the crowd, in hopes that they might come back here to look for him.
Fei Lei searched around for a while, but, after hours of waiting, he didn't see his friends anywhere in the crowd of people.
Fei Lei rubbed his hands through his hair in frustration, he couldn't just go out randomly shouting their names through the streets like he was looking for a lost dog.
In his current condition and wrecked wardrobe, he was liable to be arrested for suspicious behavior.
Fei Lei sighed, he was beginning to get a little irritated by the fact he didn't have a cell phone that he could use in order to call them. and let them know where he was.
"If only there were some way I could contact them..." Suddenly, Fei Lei slapped his own forehead before he grumbled out, "Ugh, I am such an idiot! I forgot all about the Guild Card!"
Fei Lei pulled the Guild Identification Card out of his spatial ring and activated the radar function.
Seeing the green dots light up over the location of the Guild Hall, Fei Lei grinned and said, "This is useful, too bad it only works in city limits."
Fei Lei took off and ended up at the Guild Hall after a few minutes of running.
When he entered inside guild house, Fei Lei looked around the room and followed the card over to the lounge.
There he saw Yan Mei with a downcast and dower expression, Hina was beside her and looked no better.
They both had books in front of them, but it was obvious that neither of them was in any mood to read.
Fei Lei walked up behind them and looked over their shoulders as he asked, "What'cha you reading?"
Hina and Yan Mei both turned around with a look of surprise on their face as they shouted, "Fei Lei!"
Yan Mei knocked over her chair and lunged into Fei Lei's chest while wrapping her arms around his neck.
Fei Lei fell on the ground with Yan Mei on top of him and listened to her sob into his torn Gi as she questioned him relentlessly, "What happened to you? Where were you? We thought you were dead! Are you okay? You're not hurt, are you? Why are your clothes so torn up?"
Fei Lei scratched his face, not knowing where to begin, he just sighed and patted her back.
Hina looked jealous as she held herself back and said, "I'm glad your safe."
As Yan Mei let out all her emotions, Fei Lei noticed he was receiving many jealous stares from the other adventures.
"Excuse us for a moment," Fei Lei said as he began to carry Yan Mei to the roof without her even noticing.
His Telekinesis had kept her from discerning that they had traveled to the top of the guild, and was removed from prying eyes.
Even when he reached the roof, Yan Mei continued to cry, making Fei Lei feel guilty about making her worry so much.
While Fei Lei was at a loss of what to do when he suddenly had an idea, then, with a playful smile, he lifted her chin up with his the side of his finger and kissed her deeply.
Yan Mei's eyes widened, and her face turned red in surprise. She started to close her eyes again, and the beating of her heart started to calm down momentarily.
As Yan Mei embraced Fei Lei's kiss, all of her worries had started to seem pointless as she lost the feeling in her legs.
Yan Mei placed her arms around his back and squeezed his neck closer when she started to kiss back.
Fei Lei twirled his tongue around hers while he squeezed his hands tightly onto Yan Mei's back, pressing her well-endowed breasts into his abdomen. The sensation of sharing a kiss with the person she had deep feelings for, made Yan Mei feel ecstatic that he was still alive.
Fei Lei pulled his head back to see her with glazed over eyes and panting a bit. He then moved back in and kissed her softly on the lips a few times, savoring the taste.
"Feeling better?" Fei Lei asked holding the sides of her cheeks with his hands.
Yan Mei, suddenly realizing what Fei Lei had done to get out of trouble, turned cherry-red, and started stuttering, "Y.y.y.y. you!? I was worried about you and this is what you do to get me to stop?! What's wrong with you?"
Fei Lei grinned as he held his hand softly on her cheek and said, "Did you not like it?"
Yan Mei's cheeks puffed up as caressed her face, she then gave in and buried her face into his chest again, "Bully!"
Fei Lei smiled and said, "What happened after I disappeared?"
"We went looking for you! After the incident, we scoured the city, Hina called out to your Teacher for help, and even Eriks's got the Guild involved with your search!" Yan Mei explained as she cuddled closer to Fei Lei.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to worry anyone," Fei Lei said as he ran his hand across her hair and kissed her again.
Yan Mei wrapped her arms around his back and nuzzled her head against his chest as she said, "It's okay. I'm just glad you're alive."
"So where is everyone else at right now?" Fei Lei asked.
"Eriks and the rest of the Sky Wardens are still out searching, June is at another hotel waiting for a ride back to her Kingdom, and Terry is staying in the same place, she sent out a message to her school for them to come and pick her up," Yan Mei answered.
Fei Lei smirked, placed his hand across her back, and ran his other hand through her hair as he said, "So, we have some time to ourselves then, huh?"
Yan Mei blushed and looked him in the eye before smiling, her face was entirely red as she nodded her head in confirmation before saying, "Hina's downstairs, we shouldn't keep her waiting."
Fei Lei smiled as he began kissing her again, "Waiting 5 more minutes isn't going to change anything."
Yan Mei closed her eyes, and while the two made out under the twilight evening sky, she realized, after all the time she had spent with him over these past months, and all the experiences they shared, Yan Mei couldn't live without him anymore.
As she got to really know Fei Lei, Yan Mei ended up falling for him, head over heels, in fact. His brains, brawn, and way of thinking, all charmed her.
She couldn't shy away from it any longer, Yan Mei knew that she was in love with Fei Lei.
Fei Lei felt the same way about her.
When Yan Mei was around he felt like he could laugh and smile. There was light in his life now, he didn't want to let it go, and he wouldn't.
The two continued to make out for quite some time, and after their passionate kisses came to a slow, Fei Lei was sat alongside the roof of the guild looking out over the city.
Yan Mei was sitting on his lap and leaning her breast into his chest while her arms were wrapped firmly around his waist.
She laid her head near his neck and enjoyed the scenery of the city and the sun setting in the foreground. As they cuddled Fei Lei slowly explained what he experienced after the dungeon collapsed.
Fei Lei then showed her something that made her jaw drop, as he held out his hand and revealed his level two Level-1 Sigils.
The recently obtained Force Sigil that was still in a grey gaseous form, the other was a purple steel looking sigil, that appeared even stronger than a normal solid sigil.
"How? Did you already visit a spell tower?" Yan Mei questioned.
"I was really close to the Magic Layline, and while I was down there, I found something in the cave that was similar to the magic circle that you'd find at a Spell tower," Fei Lei lied through his teeth.
It wasn't that he didn't trust her, it was just that he had to keep Mythos a secret at all cost. If he told her and god forbid if someone manages to torture or drug the information out of her, the entire world might try and kill him for the Divine Creation Treasure dwelling in his soul.
Fei Lei wanted to make sure he was strong enough to protect everyone he cared for before revealing Mythos.
"Really? There were caves full of weird monsters?" Yan Mei questioned as her eyes sparkled, she never imagined such a large and winding labyrinth of cave systems, existed under the Dungeons.
Fei Lei nodded his head and continued with his lie, omitting many things as he said, "Along with that object that allowed me to rank up, I found 7 Mantras down in that cave, each very powerful, and amongst them was a Non-Elemental Mantra."
"Wait, a Non-Elemental Mantra, this is great news, Fei Lei! You won't need Mana Cores to rank up! Sure it will take a while because its a Mantra, but you can finally rank up now!" Yan Mei shouted as she hugged him tightly.
"So what were the Mantras?" Yan Mei asked with a look of severe curiosity.
Fei Lei laughed and explained the nature of the 7 Mantras, after hearing the names, Yan Mei could help but ask with pleading eyes, "Can I hear the Fire God Scripture!?"
Fei Lei smiled and said with a teasing voice, "I could, but you'd have to agree to be my wife."
"Yes!" Yan Mei agreed without a shred of doubt or hesitation.
Fei Lei almost fell off the edge of the roof as he said, "You! Do you know what you're saying?"
Yan Mei kissed him, and as she pulled herself back from their embrace she said, "Mama says when you find your first love, you have to hold onto it with everything you have, or else you miss out on a lifetime of happiness."
"So, you love me?" Fei Lei said grinning.
Yan Mei's face turned red as she leaned closer to him and kissed him before saying, "Mn! I do."
She then looked Fei Lei in the eye and said, "Do you feel the same way?"
Fei Lei smiled and kissed her back, "I do…I really do. I know that I want to spend the rest of my life with you by my side."
Yan Mei smiled enjoying the feeling of their proximity as they accidentally forgot about Hina.
Fei Lei rubbed Yan Mei's back with his thumb and asked, "So what happened at the hotel and our rooms?"
Yan Mei laughed, "They're merchants that came to try and purchase the Dungeon Core, along with any other materials that we might have gathered while we were down there. Too bad they don't know that they kicked the adventures they were looking for out of their rooms and that my hubby absorbed the Dungeon Core."
Yan Mei then paused before she asked, "Speaking of which, how did you manage to do that?"
Fei Lei laughed, and as he decided to sneak in a few kisses he heard a familiar voice behind them say, "That looks nice."
Yan Mei jumped up with an embarrassed red-face and said, "Hina!"
Fei Lei stood up next to her and followed up by saying, "Hey, sorry about worrying you!"
Hina quickly pulled him into a hug, "I thought I'd have to tell our Teacher I lost you for good."
Fei Lei was surprised as he saw tears gathering at the corner of her eyes, he felt even more guilty now, Fei Lei then stared up at the sky and sighed as he patted her on the back.
Yan Mei's cheeks puffed up with a jealous expression as she pushed them apart, she then placed herself in front of Fei Lei and hugged his waist as she turned her head back and growled at Hina, "He's my husband!"
Hina laughed as she moved closer to her and whispered in her ear, "Then I'm going to aim to be his second wife."
Yan Mei hissed before she suddenly shouted, "Never!"
Fei Lei's face was blushed ear to ear.
Hina did a good job hiding her voice, but that was useless against someone with Fei Lei's hearing.
"So how did Teacher take the news?" Fei Lei asked, trying to change the subject.
Hina smiled, "He was over the moon that his disciple managed to solve an age-old mystery, and he told me not to worry. He then told me to calm down because you are made of tougher stuff than that, and that you won't die easily. You wouldn't be a worthy pupil if you died from something like this."
Hina then rolled her eyes and placed her hand on her hip as she said, "Honesty, saying that you have to survive a dungeon collapsing on you to be a worthy pupil, I almost punched him in the face."
Fei Lei grinned before he replied, "Nah, he was worried. I know it. Jokes aside, I am glad that I could help him. I'm also curious as to what our dear Teacher can accomplish now that he can Rank Up!"
Hina then smiled and said, "So, you guys forgot all about me and decided to make out on the roof, leaving me to stew in all my worry and wonder? "
Fei Lei laughed while Yan Mei hid her embarrassed expression behind Fei Lei's back.
"And to think, I went out of my way to inform everyone that you were okay!" Hina cried, however, unlike before, they were clearly crocodile tears.
Giving Hina a thankful smile, Fei Lei then asked, "So...how is everyone?"
"Terry and June said they're glad your safe and that they are going back home tomorrow. Eriks, Momo, Hachi, and Udo said they were going to stick around for a few days longer in order to look for Tyrant Beast to hunt. They gave me their contact information so we can get a hold of them through the Guild. Now, enough about them, tell me what happened to you," Hina answered while with a serious expression.
After catching up with Hina and running her through the same story Fei Lei told Yan Mei, the three of them decided to call it a day and found a new place to stay at.
They ended up at a middle-class hotel and decided to rent a few rooms, however, due to the massive influx of merchants and crafters, there were only two rooms left.
When Fei Lei paid for the rooms, Hina hung her arm around Fei Lei's neck and said, "Well, I guess Fei Lei and I will share a room! Come on, Fei Lei, let's get some rest, or should I say, let's get restless."
In response to Hina's harassment, Yan Mei grabbed her arm and started dragging her towards their room while saying, "Oh, no, you don't! You're staying in the same room with me!"
Fei Lei chuckled as she said this because of the glint in Hina's eyes and her itchy fingers moving towards Yan Mei's breasts, showing that either way, she would have achieved her goals.
Fei Lei went to his room and sat on his bed. Closing his eyes lids, he entered into the strange space inside his soul and stared at the area where the bookshelves were still soaring into the sky.
Fei Lei sighed as he wished he could compact all this information into a single book, and no sooner than he thought that, the entire shelf suddenly collapsed into a single podium.
On top of wooden-podium, was a single leather-bound book, Fei Lei surprised by this and began to curiously open up the pages.
He noticed that as long as he didn't try to read the words he wouldn't be pulled into the memory. Another thing he noticed was that no matter how many times he turned the pages, the new pages seemed to never end. Fei Lei looked to the other side to see that the book still looked like only a single page had been turned.
He began to flip the pages back and laughed as he slowly discovered that there was still another page there to flip back, Fei Lei then continued to do this until he closed the book."
"How odd, in fact, this whole space is strange. I know my body is still in the physical plane, but this place definitely has its own plane of existence. The feelings that are being picked up by my sense of touch should be proof of this," Fei Lei thought before he turned his attention back to the book and began to study his previous incarnation's memories.
He spent almost all night going through his memories, mostly about the A.I's capabilities. After a long study session, Fei Lei pinched the bridge of his nose as he felt a sharp pain in his head, it was as if he hadn't slept at all, even though his body was in an unresponsive state.
Combined with his little adventure to the cavern near the layline, and everything that happened before, Fei Lei had been up for almost 36-Hours.
The weariness was starting to cause him physical pain via the mega-migraine he was experiencing. Thankfully his Quick Recovery Spell also allowed him to recover from such fatigue as well, after casting it, Fei Lei's eyes rolled into the back of his head as he collapsed and fell asleep.
While Fei Lei slept, the girls were busy talking to each other in the same bed, "So, what's your story, how did you meet Tetra?" Yan Mei said, curious about the Mage Slayer's disciple.
Hina sighed, "You ever hear of the relic called the Mermaid Tear?"
Yan Mei nodded her head, "No, sorry, I haven't."
Hina chuckled as she said, "Don't be, its origin pretty far from here, in fact, my story takes place all the way out by the shores of the eastern coast."
"I've always wanted to see the ocean. I bet it's beautiful," Yan Mei mentioned with dreams of playing on a beach floating in her mind.
"It is, I'll take you guys to see it someday," Hina said with a genuine smile on her face.
"So, the Mermaid's Tear had something to do with you meeting Tetra?" Yan Mei asked, taking the conversation back on track.
"Yes. You see, my family was in charge of protecting a very powerful relic, it was said that those who possess the Mermaid's Tear would be guaranteed a safe from all disasters during their voyage at sea," Hina explained.
"Such an impressive treasure! Could it possibly allow one to sail past the great divide?" Yan Mei questioned.
Hina smiled and replied by saying, "I thought you said that you've never been out to the ocean."
Yan Mei blushed and said, "I still had tutors growing up, one of my teachers said the ocean drops off at a certain point for hundreds of miles and it surrounds the ocean waters around our whole continent. The great divide is the reason we've never been able to explore Edan in its entirety."
"You had a good teacher. Well anyways, the legend was that, as long as someone has the Mermaids Tear and carries it out to sea, then no matter how harsh the Mother Ocean's currents are, regardless of weather patterns around it, or the monsters may lay within it, the posser of the Mermaid's Tear be safe from all transgressions."
Yan Mei's interest for all things magic was sparked, when what Hina said next crushed that excitement.
Hina took a deep breath and spoke with a deep-pain in her voice, "My family was slaughtered by some random nobles who heard of the fable!"
Yan Mei was shocked as Hina explained what she experienced as a child, "After seeing them kill my parents and big brother, I screamed out alerting the nobles to my location to the place where my brother hid me. Forced to run, they knew I had the Relic on me and gave chase. I fled away from them as fast as I could, and I ran for so long that my feet began to bleed. Unfortunately, they were mages and they played with me, slowly cornered me at the edge of a cliff, like trapping a mouse. Instead of being a complete victim, I stood at the edge of the cliffside and quickly threw the Tear into the ocean just to spite them and was about to jump myself..."
Yan Mei started to cry while Hina continued her harrowing story, "Those bastards lost their temper and kept me from committing suicide. Honestly, I thought I was going to defiled then killed after they had their fun, but my Teacher happened by the scene and ended up saving me. He also killed the nobles like the pigs that they were! Ever since then, I've tried to stay by Teacher's side"
Yan Mei's tears fell down her cheeks as she hugged Hina and cried out, "I'm so sorry! I wish I could something to ease your pain!"
Hina responded by warmly smiling and saying, "Does this mean you accept me? Because I don't mind sharing Fei Lei you, if you felt the same way, maybe we could explore a little tonight."
"No! And quit taking advantage of me!" Yan Mei said with a flat tone trying to clear the tears in her eyes.
Hina pouted as she placed her claws down and away from Yan Mei's breasts.