Athelei had learned a lot from seeing how the Cosmic Interface was assigning points to his different attributes. The fact that it called his Mystical Energy, [Mana] was something he took note of, as well as the label behind his Psychic stat.
'Unique... pertains to my consciousness, right? It makes sense since some other humans have had higher Psychic stats before, and I highly doubt they could devour the minds of others without going insane...
Also, my Will should be directly connected to my status as a Rank 1 Dictator. Was twenty the threshold to get to Rank 1, I wonder?'
Those were Athelei's thoughts as he gave his Status window a few re-reads. Aside from those, he saw that the levels of his Analysis Skills had been unlocked, now having a limit of 10.
The experience point counters had also disappeared, signifying the change in systems. He now had to fulfil different requirements, make special achievements, or further some kind of invisible progression pathway. It was a mystery why things were like that, but for the curious Athelei, it was a blessed one.
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{[ April 20, 102 A.A. ]}
{[ Sea Breeze Village, Sky Cross, Great City Avina ]}
Two kids were munching on some snacks that could only be bought in Sky Cross. In their hands were books of each other's creation. They were memorising and studying up on what the other had learned from their time apart.
A week had already gone by since Athelei and Lisa had arrived at the great seaside city of Avina.
Lisa was being taught topics regarding Battle Prowess more than the cultural and societal. Her body had been bruised and battered as she sparred with the older kids, but she always got back up after each defeat. The pain had become lessons of which were seared into her muscles.
She tried her best to note things down for Athelei to at least have a glimpse. It was difficult, but with Appraisal's boost to her vocabulary, things were easier to describe.
Apart from her personal notes, there were copies of a few Evolver techniques. One of such was called Bone Claws.
It was an agility-centred technique that allowed an Evolver to solidify their nails to mimic the strength of their bones. Above the beginner levels, they could even hasten the growth of their nails, allowing greater reach and deadlier strikes.
The other techniques required Athelei to reach Rank 1 Evolver before he could properly make use of them, thus he was more fond of Bone Claws.
'The fact that it focuses on a single aspect gives it a simplicity that allows non-Evolvers to benefit... though by technicality, I would already be a Rank 0 Evolver if I do achieve something with it.' Athelei inwardly chuckled as he placed a note in his mind to practice the technique.
On the other hand, Athelei had been learning with Aria, pampered in a hilltop mansion. In regards to how that occurred, Lisa was simply stunned when she heard Athelei's story of being kidnapped and instantly bought by Lady Karire.
'How could such a sequence of events have occurred?' Lisa had thought with her mouth agape, 'The Arthime family are one of the top nobles in Avina... Miss Karire should be Blessed too from what I heard. Now there are two living in the same household and city!'
A lot of stories flowed in and out of a school as large as Sky Cross. Rumours went around quickly and Lisa was fully exposed to the brunt of such a phenomenon. It was hard for not to have heard about the hilltop mansion, village, and orchard.
Back to the topic of knowledge, Lisa received notes and copies of books on noble topics. Athelei had also written down the things he had seen around the city, and places that he found interesting.
'Lessons I've seen long before are now showing up before me once more...' Lisa smiled wryly as a time half-forgotten flowed through the depths of her consciousness. Language, philosophy, and the like had been a wall of paragraphs she had already climbed.
"Every day, I gain more clarity... I need enough strength to come back home..." Lisa inadvertently muttered.
When she realised this, she straightened up in fright, 'Did Orien hear me?'
She glanced over to the other side of the table, where Athelei was squinting as his eyes were glued on martial texts. It allowed Lisa to stealthily sigh in relief.
Athelei, though, was not squinting because of the text he was reading. Why? Oh, well, he totally heard what came of Lisa's lips. Their room was silent. It was still and tranquil.
How could he not have?
But he simply feigned innocence as relevant thoughts resurfaced.
'A foreign tongue... a foreign prayer... a bearing and wisdom beyond that of a normal human child... and a strong sense of self...' Athelei looked at the incomplete puzzle in his mind.
'Who are you really, Lisa? If you're not a Denizen of Infinity the same as I, then what can explain such behaviours?'
Despite his questions though, Athelei felt it right not to ask just yet. He had secrets, and so did Lisa. He knew how dangerous sharing his own secrets would be, and he thought Lisa had a similar weight on her shoulders.
That, and playing with fate by learning of dangerous things was also something Athelei actually went through just recently. He still had shivers whenever he thought about how close he was to an end he did not set.
Hours went by as the pair spent their free afternoon together, studying and exchanging what they knew. At one point, Athelei brought up the topic of the war.
"I heard this from someone called Apple who visited Lady Karire," Athelei started, his voice minimised into a whisper despite the thick walls of Lisa's room. "The war has something to do with legends about demons living underground. What do you think of this?"
Lisa heard this, and was jolted awake, "You mean the rumoured subterranean kingdoms that many Adventurers had been flocking towards?"
"Yeah! That one."
"I think it makes sense." Lisa said, her eyes flashing with un-childlike wisdom, "The Exiled have been invading Illyas and wantonly sabotaging different cities, right? Illum is to Illyas' south-west, and it means that they're quite near to our country's south-western plains where the subterranean kingdoms lie."
She then tapped on the table with her finger. Her voice was akin to a person in power, with tones Athelei had once seen when he was with Irene as they attended a meeting with the Lord of Aren.
"The strategical map coincides with your assumption as well. Illum only has to pass through a short strip of the Wilderness and they're set to venture into Illyas' lands and then straight underground. The Exiled had destroyed Mist Pine, occupied Varis Village and even made an attempt on Colsi Village and Aren City. All of those settlements border the plains in one way or another."
Athelei pictured the map of Oxhor and was enlightened. Indeed, it was just as Lisa had said. The human settlements were bordering the plains and the mountains for some peculiar reason. It was only the sister villages Zi and Revillie that cut through the plains. Lisa displayed an interesting familiarity with the topic, making Athelei smile playfully as he prodded Lisa ever so slightly,
"I see it now..." Athelei rested his chin on his hand, "I think I should take some time to dabble in War Studies as well, just like you, Lisa. You seem to have a knack for it... so could you teach that to me the next time we meet?"
Lisa coughed when she heard those sentences, but she swiftly laughed it off, "I'm quite fond of War Studies, so I had taken a few peeks at some books when I had the time. Nothing much. The libraries in Sky Cross are humongous, Orien. I wish I could take you there."
Her laughs then turned slightly smug as the mirror image of Athelei's playful smile appeared on her face, "I bet you wouldn't leave until you take a bite out of every single book there."
Athelei stiffened for a moment as he was hit by a sense of deja vu. He recalled a time when he had once laughed at Lisa's peril under the looming threat that was Thallium Yan's stare. Such a course of action had quickly turned back to bite him, earning him a pair of sore cheeks.
Now, his playful smile was hit with a reverse card and sent back at him. It made him inwardly squint in curiosity.
Outside though, he chuckled, "Indeed, if I could have a look, I would make the most out of it for sure."
The kids then continued exchanging stories as their snacks were slowly depleted and thereafter, finished. The sun had already begun to set when Athelei left Sky Cross and stealthily made his way back to the hilltop mansion.
They had spoken a lot about what they had gone through in the past week. Athelei only included his day-time escapades though, keeping the identity of Nikiri Mist a secret. On top of that, he only told Lisa about his repeated lessons on etiquette being quite a tedious task, while his task as a phantom was also kept hidden.
It was difficult to tell her about the fact that he was going to be a body double for the Arthime family's daughter, Aria. Explicitly sharing such information was inappropriate as the plan would be in jeopardy if there was too much of a leak in information.
Thus, he also had to remind Lisa that his stay at the mansion should also be kept under wraps.
Despite all that, Athelei still wanted to share about a few of the things that happened to him as Nikiri Mist, so he used the words, [I heard about this from the Adventurers,] to tell some stories.
He told Lisa about the starwhales, the upcoming beast tide, and the Undead Remnants the Adventurers had been able to witness roaming just outside the city walls. A group of grey beasts had assaulted a small party of Adventurers just two days ago, leaving most of them heavily wounded and one on the brink of death.
Lisa, on the other hand, told Athelei about the point systems she had to suffer under, as well as special ranking matches that occurred every week. She had fought in her first fight just yesterday, and unfortunately for her, she lost, despite only barely.
Given that she was a Rank 0 Evolver, her everyday life really was just a lot of fighting, fighting and fighting. She trained in new moves as much as she could, and it was just as stale as Athelei's studies of etiquette.
Aside from the fact that there would be a school-wide tournament in the coming weeks, there was nothing else that was special. Lisa had a few friends, but as of yet, it was still a bit shallow. They had trained together a few times and sparred as well, but that was it.
"The peace is nice," Athelei had said when he heard Lisa's tales.
To which, the young girl nodded, "I hope it lasts longer..."
Ah, but will it though? Will peace truly reign for long?
Ask anybody on the street, whether it was a student in one of Avina's schools, a random Adventurer, a noble, or a regular commoner; all had the war sitting at the back of their minds. It was like a devil whispering in their ear; a constant anxiety.
The explosions set off by the Nightwalkers had already destroyed a fourth of Avina's harbour, giving them quite a shock. They could only imagine what would happen if an army of Nightwalkers appeared one night.
...What more when a beast tide was being expected as well?
Apple actually had an answer to both their worries. And by the look on his face, no one else would want to hear it.