A full month had now gone by since their first day of training.
The sun was setting with an orange tint beyond the trees. Nico was kneeling on a grassy plain with streaks of orange light settling on his ethereal and ghostly body- with a giant gray symbol shining above him like a corona.
"Congratulations on reaching Iron rank." Mathis said, standing behind him as she gave his ethereal body a tap. After a while, the symbol above Nico dissipated into thin air, his body now back to normal as he opened his eyes.
"Thanks." Nico said as he stood up, conjuring then tapping his green mote to see his character screen.
-
Name: Nicholas Atkins
Race: Human
Rank: Iron
Affinity: Green (Nature)
Strength: F+
Mind: F+
Spirit: F+
Skills: Living Armor (F+), Well of Life (F)
-
"This will be the first step to the journey ahead." Mathis said. There are a total of seven ranks: Iron- being the lowest, then Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Emerald, then finally Diamond- the highest rank any living person has been known to achieve. With his rank now Iron, this marks a new beginning for his life in this world.
"I can't believe it's already been a month." Nico muttered to himself.
It was the final day. Tomorrow they'll be vacated from the giant tree to live on their own- but for now, Nico was grinning, seeing all his hard work paying off.
"Congrats." Kai approached Nico and Mathis, wrapping an arm around him. "You shoulders seem broader than when we first met."
"And you look... different, in a good way." Nico said, surprisingly astonished. "Does ranking up do that to you?"
"It does." Jason said, arriving second. He got even more muscular, with toned muscles and chiseled arms like that of a bodybuilder's. "Ranking up means to grow closer to perfection."
"I'm going to become Keanu Reeves?"
"Not necessarily. Instead you'll grow closer to the most perfect version of yourself; the highest potential you can be."
Nico gave Jason a half disappointed look.
"Don't sweat it, Nico." Saira said as she gave Nico's shoulder a hard punch, earning his glare. "See? A month ago I would've sent you tumbling over."
"Look at you guys, mocking me." Kristine fumed.
"You should've participated in sparring more often." Jason said, shaking his head. "It's not our fault you can't rank up yet."
"Where's Andrei?" Nico intervened, looking over the crowd.
"He's been recruited by another group." Kai said. "You remember that British dude, Alex? That explosion guy who kicked our ass every time during sparring? Andrei's with his group."
"Those bigshots?" Kristine said.
"Yeah. Apparently they found Andrei's illusion and stealth skill handy, so they picked him up."
"I doubt that's the only reason." Saira said as she pointed at Andrei over the crowd who was busy chatting idly with the girls from his newfound group.
"So it's us five then." Nico said.
"Us five against the world." Jason said as he patted Nico's back- sending him tumbling.
. . .
"Nico, why's your affinity green?" Saira said as they took a stroll up in the fairy city. Bright yellow lights splashed the night air in warm lights, with crowds of fairies passing by all around.
"This?" Nico conjured his green mote then set it afloat on his hand. "I don't know. But if I had to guess, then maybe it's because I like sceneries like this?"
Nico gestured all around him. "I mean, look at this place."
"It is very pretty." Saira agreed, glancing all over the city. "But what about that black color back then? Why was that?"
"Oh yeah, I forgot about that." Nico said as they continued to stroll side by side on the wooden paths and bridges. "That might've been because of what I felt at that time. My mind was split between wanting to go back and staying here. I'm no Jason though, so that's all a guess. Hell, that black color might've been the evil side of me for all I know."
Saira then conjured her black mote. "Then the reason I got this color was that I've been a naughty girl."
"Don't say it like that." Nico nudged her shoulder as a smile crept on Saira's face.
"You knew about me and Andrei right?"
"We kind of noticed." Nico said. "But he told me he had a girl back home. Was he joking?"
Saira giggled. "Nope, that's on me. After Kristine gave me a talking to, I finally came to my senses and broke it off with Andrei before things became really irreversible."
"You're seriously an asshole for playing that game." Nico bumped his shoulder with hers. "But Andrei's also an asshole for not stopping you. Did you talk to him after?"
"I did."
"That's nice, but your affinity's still black though."
"Yeah." Saira said, staring at the black mote circling her like a hummingbird. "Nothing we can do about it though, the color is permanent once it's manifested. I've grown fond of it though- like a medal to show off how much I've grown."
"I get that." Nico said with his eyes following the green mote flying around him. "Without your black affinity I never would've met Marsh."
"Nico." Saira's voice then became stiff as she stopped in her tracks, standing out from the passing crowd. "Do you want to go back?"
"To Earth?"
"Yeah."
Nico paused, meeting Saira's eyes.
"Nah."
"You don't?"
"Not really." Nico gave her a smile and a dry punch. "I feel like I've really changed with the one month I've been here. I plan to leave everything else behind me back home, and live a new version of me here. It's selfish, I know, but that's what I want."
"You know, I might just want to join you on that." Saira said as she started and continued on her walk.
"On not going back?" Nico followed, pacing himself to her side.
"Yeah. I had many, many problems I've caused myself back home. I've always tried my hardest to change that but my past would always come to bite me back. Hard. It's different here though. I can become a brand me in a new world without anyone ruining that."
Saira wrapped her arm around Nico's.
"You know, I'm starting to feel like we're the same person."
"That's… kinda scary."
. . .
A final dinner was hosted in the dining hall, with the music beating and the crowd cheering as they drank and sang the night away. The grandest of food was prepared as a parting gift from Mathis. Many of the people were saying their goodbyes to the fairy queen and their fairies, knowing that when tomorrow comes everything changes.
The crowd was getting drunk to their heart's content. Hours passed as the partying never ceased to stop. Laughter and joy were mixed with drunken noises, with people dancing to the beat of the flutes and bells and drums while others passed out- sprawled all over the dining table with beers in hand.
Nico was busy parting ways with Hena, while Kai was drunkenly flirting with Mathis. Saira was with Andrei to set their relationship straight, while Jason and Kristine were holding a contest to see which of them could hold their alcohol the longest.
After the long night had finally passed, they went into their rooms for a final night's sleep inside the giant tree.
"I'm gonna miss you cloudbed." Nico said as he plopped himself all over it like a child.