The tall and lean boy entered the same study room. In the last years, the dust has been cleaned and no more books were lying on the floor. They were all stacked neatly on the new desk that was brought into the room.
His olive toned skin was slightly shinning in the sun reflected by the window panels of the building. His eyes were shaded by his black hair. Although his haircut seemed childish, his gaze resembled the one of a mercenary's. The greenness of his eyes could charm anyone that dared to look right into them.
He sat down at the table, waiting for Fraya to enter the room. In all these years that he has been studying with her, not once has he arrived before her.
The door cracked open once again to let the same old lady in. She looked at Levi with big eyes, almost not believing what was presented before her.
"Well, well, well. Someone's eager for today's lesson."
"You promised me yesterday that we're gonna learn more about this place."
"And we most definitely will." said Fraya, while grabbing an old, brown map from behind the shelves.
Not only did the map seemed old, it was ancient. The lines were drawn in coal and the passing of time could be clearly seen on them. Some of the lines were missing, leaving behind only the valley of what was once a steady drawn line.
She hangs the map on a nail that was sticking out of the wall. Pointing her finger to it, she began presenting the world to Levi.
"See this?" asked Fraya, placing her finger on the southern most landmass. "This is where we live."
On the map, over the continent that Fraya was describing, a word was written in big, bold letters, ornated at the ends. It read "Fale".
"Fale?" asked Levi. "Is this the name of our continent?"
"Indeed, dear. Your family has lived on this continent for the entire history we know." She paused. "But it was only recently when your father managed to acquire a noble title and more land right around here."
Fraya was now pointing to the south-east part of the continent, specifically towards the middle of it.
"Now, dear, this continent knows almost no war. The people that lived here were peaceful. The resources for kirin progression are scares, which is why the maximum level anyone has ever gotten to is relatively low."
"Why do the kirins stay here if they can't achieve a greater status?"
"Well, dear, there are plenty of reasons. Some gave up the fight to be with their families, some found a great place to work for the nobles, but most of them try their luck in the dungeons. And to this day, they haven't visited them all, not even a quarter of them."
"What do you mean by dungeons?"
"They are old ruins that were left by the ancient kirins. The rumors are that they were more powerful than now, and they had more knowledge. Many believe that we can find great artifacts left by them in those ruins, but it is too risky for what it offers, since they are filled to the brim with evil spirits and booby traps."
'So, this continent is not so boring after all.'
She moved her gaze to the eastern part of the map and stroke it with her hand.
"This, my dear, is Xibu, the Eastern Continent. This continent is inhabited by beings that are half humans and half animals. They are considered high quality slaves. Now, dear, some may say that they are racists, but they simply don't enjoy the presence of strangers on their land, nor do they allow it. This is the reason why we don't know more about them or their continent."
'Heh... I might visit this land of furries.'
Fraya moved her hand again across the whole map, jumping over the landmass in the middle and arriving to an archipelago.
"Now, dear, the most colorful of the continents, Lio'maka, the Western Continent."
"Why colorful? Do they have many flowers there?"
"Oh no, dear." smiled Fraya. "It's the most colorful of the continents because there are a lot of tribes that inhabit the islands of this archipelago. They are constantly at war with each other. Personally, I don't even think they care about the rest of us."
'Why do I feel like they aren't at all important?'
Fraya took a step back in order to take in the greatness of the map. She was now staring blankly at the biggest continent of them all.
"The Central Continent." stated Fraya, solemnly. "This, dear, is the most advanced continent and the home of the most powerful kirins in this world."
Levi's eyes showed more interest than ever when he heard this.
"The continent is ruled by many organizations which share the resources between them, based on their power. The power of these kind of organizations is tied to the number of kirins which achieved higher levels."
'It seems like I have to be strong to visit this continent.'
Fraya joined Levi to the table and sat next to him.
"Look at it, dear. Look at the whole map and take it in."
"Is it so important?"
"As a possible future kirin, the progress doesn��t revolve around one place. You must know how this world presents itself to you."
Levi looked at the map once again. He admired the steady lines that outlined the continents, the details that presented their names and little drawings that shed light on the structures, cities and natural landmarks that were found on each one. Forests were represented by groupings of trees, villages and tribes had some small houses drawn onto the place they were located, and cities were represented by tall towers that were grouped together by stone brick walls.
"Is this all for today?" asked Levi, eager to leave.
"Well, yes, dear. This was all that I wanted to show you today."
"Thank you, Fraya."
Levi stood up and left the room, greeting Fraya with a goodbye.
He walked through the garden, with his mind cleared of any thoughts. A voice shouted from behind him.
"Are you ready, big guy?"
Levi turned around to see his uncle charging towards him. With a swift move, he tried to get out of his way. This was nothing but a futile move. Bruce anticipated this and adjusted his trajectory to match with the new position of Levi.
He took Levi over his shoulders and performed the clumsiest interpretation of an airplane with him.
"Let me down, Bruce." cried Levi, trying to sound manly.
"You have great reflexes for a kid. Too bad I have more experience than you do. Better luck next time." said Bruce, while placing Levi back down on the ground. "Since I'm only back for a few months, your paps told me to train you."
"If dad thinks that this is suited for me, I don't have any objections."
"Today, we'll only strengthen your stamina and try the basics of sword fighting. Maybe if we have time, I'll show you how to shoot an arrow."
'Finally, I'll be able to hold a bow in my hands. I miss that feeling so much.'