Gnindic and Night Shadow started walking towards the mansion. While going there, Night Shadow started getting more knowledge about the middle ring.
In the middle ring, there are two main continents and innumerable floating islands. The two continents are Kargul, in which Night Shadow is currently, and Orarith. When combined, the two continents would almost be the same size as the middle ring in the air. The floating islands are used as practice/training places. The Aerilians, who wish to hone their skills or earn money by selling corpses, can go there. Similar to the fantasy worlds Night Shadow read in his previous life, there are guilds here that have missions for you to take.
Although in the middle ring the Aerilians are like high nobles of the Aerilian Race, the Aerilians here are not like nobles who fool around showing off their wealth. They take more pleasure in hunting, fighting, and of course, dueling. The ancestor of Kargul even went as far as building a dueling stadium here for the Aerilians to solve their matters.
There were also different tiers for evolution. They were(in increasing order) - Tier 0, Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3, Tier 4, Tier 5, Tier 6, and Tier 7.
By the time Night Shadow and Gnindic stopped talking, they reached Gnindic's mansion. The mansion was 2 stories high and at least 400 feet wide. The mansion was made of some white polished marble for walls with lines of gold with blue-tinted rectangular windows. The mansion was also surrounded by a garden of some plants, Night Shadow has never seen before, and the whole thing was fenced by a 10 meters tall fence that had pointed tips.
Night Shadow looked at the mansion with shock. The grandiose presented by the mansion was too much. Even on earth, if you were to sell this mansion, the worth of this mansion would probably be equal to/more than a country. Gnindic looked at Night Shadow with pride. Night Shadow smiled and rolled his eyes.
Night Shadow has a motto - If someone treats Night Shadow with kindness, he will repay them with kindness too. But if anyone tries to mess with him, Night Shadow will not let them go so politely.
Gnindic suddenly disturbed Night Shadow's thought by saying, "Let's go, Sir Night Shadow. It's almost time to eat. Would you like to join us?"
Night Shadow looked at Gnindic and smiled, "Just call me Night Shadow, and yes, if you don't mind, I would like to try the food dishes in the middle ring. But, who is "us"?"
The next moment, he found his answer.
"Oh my! Aren't you a bit early today, dear?", a female voice called out from inside the gate.
Night Shadow looked towards the voice and saw a female Aerilian coming towards them. How did he know it was a female? Well, by the voice. The Aerilian waved her hands and the gates of the mansion opened. She walked and stopped 2 meters away from Night Shadow.
With an "elegant" bow, she said, "Welcome, Sir Night Shadow. My name is Ophelia, wife of Gnindic"
Ophelia was bigger and thinner than Gnindic. She had two arms, three black eyes, brown hair that reached her shoulder, pale yellow skin, and a pair of short blue-colored butterfly-like wings.
Night Shadow also gave a small and short bow and said, "Hello, my name is Night Shadow. Just Night Shadow, if you will. It feels uncomfortable adding a sir to my name"
Ophelia smiled and led the duo towards the mansion. While going towards the mansion, Night Shadow was amazed by the exotic flora and fauna in the garden. The variety of creatures, insects, and plants made the garden look like a miniature forest. The three of them took 2 minutes before reaching the entrance of the mansion. Ophelia opened the door and Night Shadow was amazed by the interior.
The floor was dark brown in color and made from planks. The hallway was long and a huge carpet was on the floor. At the end of the hallway was a staircase leading to the 2nd floor. There was one door on each side of the hallway and a line of 20 Aerilians was present at each side of the door. As soon as the door opened, they stretched their wings forward making the presentation quite stylish.
Night Shadow looked at the line with a weird expression. For some reason, Night Shadow expected trumpets to be played when they entered but never expected something like this. The three of them continued forward with Ophelia at the lead, then Gnindic, and then Night Shadow. The dining room was on the right side of the door, so the three of them went inside.
Upon reaching the dining room, Night Shadow saw a 20 x 2 meters table with fifty chairs on either side of the table and 2 chairs on either end of the table. The table was black in dark brown and sturdy. The chairs were blue in color, were huge in size, and were different from the chairs Night Shadow had seen in his previous life. Night Shadow knew that these chairs were made especially for Aerilians.
Ophelia clapped her hands and said, "Children, it's time to eat"
Suddenly, the ground shook as Aerilians of different sizes, colors, and genders came down and sat while talking to each other. Night Shadow was shocked by 2 things. First, by the number of children they had. Second, the sizes of the "children". They looked completely like adults and in no way, children. As the "children" sat down, only three seats were remaining. Gnindic clapped his hands and the children fell silent and looked at Gnindic.
Gnindic cleared his throat and said, "Children, I would like you to meet a person today, Night Shadow. He will be our honorary guest for today, so better behave properly, alright?"
While talking to his children, Gnindic spoke coldly and had a completely different attitude from his childish behavior. Night Shadow felt awkward so he only bowed slightly towards when...
"Hey!Hey! Which race are you from?!"
"Hey shut up! Me first! Hello guest, where did you get your clothes from? I am..."
"Hey! I am the first one to ask!"
Suddenly, mayhem started again. Gnindic lowered his head in embarrassment. Night Shadow also looked at the "children" with amusement. Although they looked like adults, they acted like children.
"Oh, my dear children. Ask your questions later or when he is free. If you don't follow instructions, you will know what will happen", Ophelia said.
Although Ophelia said it slowly, each word was filled with killing intent that even made Night Shadow shiver. Suddenly, the atmosphere became deadly silent and each and every "child" stopped talking. Ophelia sweetly smiled at the duo and went towards one of the remaining seats. Gnindic, Night Shadow, and Ophelia took their seats before the talking started again. Night Shadow saw some curious looks heading his way but decided to ignore it. Right now, he had some questions.
Night Shadow asked, "Hey, Gnindic. Mind if I ask you questions?"
"Ask away, Night Shadow"
"Um...what is the average number of children that are produced per family?"
"Around 200"
Night Shadow's froze in hysteria. He could not imagine 200 children being produce but since when has his view of the universe the same as before. Night Shadow could only give a sigh before continuing to ask questions.
"What happens to an Aerilian who crosses the 7th tier of evolution?"
Suddenly, the talking at the table stopped and each "child" looked at either Night Shadow or Gnindic. Gnindic opened and closed his mouth continuously for a few seconds before sighing in defeat.
Gnindic came closer to Night Shadow and whispered in an uncertain tone, "Night Shadow, please... don't tell this to anyone...and keep it a secret between us, okay?"
Night Shadow seriously nodded and Gnindic hesitated again before continuing...
"I am not entirely sure...but the Aerilian who crossed the Tier 7 barrier would ascend and be called the "Ascended One"
Upon hearing this, Night Shadow's curiosity increased.
"What do you mean by "ascend"?", Night Shadow asked without hiding his growing curiosity.
"Unfortunately, I really don't know anything more about it", said Gnindic in a sad tone.
Night Shadow only sighed and looked at Gnindic. Night Shadow couldn't blame Gnindic about it and waited for the food.
Within a few minutes, the doors opened, and in came the servants with the food. Although Night Shadow couldn't smell them, he knew that it would smell amazing. Magically, plates appeared in front of everyone and the food dishes were placed on the table. Night Shadow couldn't recognize any of the food items there but he didn't make a fuss about it.
A mouth-like hole appeared on Night Shadow's mask as he took some pieces of food from the nearest tray and starting eating them. The food pieces he took were cube-shaped and blueish green in color. Night Shadow did not hesitate to try and ate it.
The moment Night Shadow ate them, he felt as if the flavors in his mouth would explode anytime. The food item was mildly spicy, with a bit of bitterness in some places. But the best part was that it was greasy and chewy. There was also a light blue-colored liquid for Night Shadow. While eating the food, he took a sip of that drink and the flavor of the food skyrocketed. The liquid was quite sweet but with the combination of the spiciness of the food with it, it was seriously mind-blowing.
Night Shadow could not hold back and started eating fast. It had been a long time seen Night Shadow ate food and he was not going to pass the opportunity. Night Shadow sensed Gnindic smile at him but did not care. Right now, his objective was to enjoy the food as much as he could.
Half an hour later, all the food trays on the table were over and all the "children" with Ophelia left the room, leaving Night Shadow, Gnindic, and the servants. For Night Shadow, this was the best day. Night Shadow tried every food and most of the food he tried was amazing. Some were simply divine while the others were not, let's say, his favorite.
Night Shadow still felt the lingering taste of the food on his "tongue" but now, he had to get serious. Night Shadow deactivated "taste" and asked Gnindic...
"Hey Gnindic, can I start finding the teleportation device?"
Abruptly, Gnindic came out of the stupor and looked towards Night Shadow. He nodded and told Night Shadow to follow him before Night Shadow leaves for finding the device. They both exited the dining room and started heading towards the 2nd floor.
When they reached the 2nd floor, Night Shadow saw a marvelous scene. The corridor was at least a kilometer long. On the right side were brown-colored doors that led to the bedroom and on the left were the windows. The floor was also covered by a smooth and soft red carpet with weird drawings in golden color. At the end of the corridor was a silver-colored door. On that door, in black, was written "Gnindic".
Night Shadow and Gnindic started moving towards the door when he saw something flash by. Night Shadow twisted his head to see what it was but it had already left. Night Shadow felt something wrong but did not stop or ask Gnindic. Suddenly, Night Shadow got a question.
"Gnindic, what caused the massive destruction of your race before the Cybertronians came and saved you guys?"
Gnindic did not stop walking but the demeanor around him changed. It changed from excitement to sadness. Gnindic looked at Night Shadow without answering and continued moving forward. Night Shadow realized his mistake and apologized before catching up with Gnindic. When Gnindic looked at the Night Shadow, Night Shadow got to know that Gnindic did not know anything and was sad to talk about it. But Night Shadow saw that Gnindic was faking that but continued to play with Gnindic.
While Night Shadow observed Gnindic for anything suspicious, they reached the door. Gnindic put his hands on the door for a few seconds before removing them. Night Shadow heard a click as the door opened and both of them entered. It was dark at first but then light appeared and Night Shadow saw the room. It was more or less like he expected.
The room was 30 meters in length, breadth, and height. The room's floor was planked and brown in color. There was a tall shelf filled with different kinds of books, in front of Night Shadow. There was a window to Night Shadow's left and in front of the window was a desk. In the middle of the room was a small table which was carrying a 3d modal of the solar system. Gnindic went towards his desk and started searching for the map. Night Shadow was looking at the shelf when he got an idea.
Night Shadow turned towards Gnindic and asked, "Can I read all the books about magic?"
Gnindic stopped looking for the map and said, "Sure!"
Gnindic moved his hands in such a way that the palm of his hand was facing the shelf. Gnindic murmured some words in a quick manner and Night Shadow saw a translucent lock on the shelf open.
Click~
The lock opened and some books levitated towards Night Shadow. Night Shadow said his thanks and started taking photos of the books. He wanted to store the photos now and read them later.
10-15 minutes passed and Night Shadow had finished taking photos of all the pages of the books and at the same time, Gnindic also seemed to have found the map. The books flew from Night Shadow's hands and went back to their respective places on the shelves.
Night Shadow walked over to the desk and saw Gnindic opening the map. The map seemed to be made of skin and was light yellow in color. The drawings on it were brown in color and seemed weird. Night Shadow could not understand the drawings when Gnindic called out...
"Now!"
Suddenly, the shadows in the rooms started moving and came towards Night Shadow.