Mikhail haphazardly tossed the spear he was using into a barrel, causing a racket as it smacked into the other polearms sticking out of it. Spearhead down, of course, just like the rest.
"Huzzah," he said in a tired tone.
Tybalt looked at him with a helpless smile.
"Right… Where do you live anyways?"
"A great place, nice scenery to it and everything," Mikhail said while rolling his eyes. "Nice and spacious yard to house ratio."
"You got a tent, huh?" Tybalt said with a snort.
"Yeah… Wait, how did you know?"
Mikhail threw his arm over his new crutch, and the two began leaving the training area towards the tribe's main clearing.
"All outsiders get a tent when they arrive. The most recent outsider to join the Tribe was some guy named… Uh… Arlo? Yeah, Arlo. He was some adult that defected from the Demon Clan about three years ago."
Mikhail hummed inquisitively.
"So, how long did it take for him to get a house?"
Tybalt looked at him strangely. "Get a house? Nobody gets a house, you dummy. We make them!"
"Ah… Really? How does one go about building a house, then?"
They entered the clearing as their conversation continued.
"You have to get something called an Architect's Apprentice Ticket from Grand Elder Maya. This both gives you the opportunity to learn how to build a house if you don't know yet, and the right to actually build it."
"...Interesting. But if someone already knows how to make a house, why is it still called the Architect's Apprentice Ticket?"
Tybalt furrowed his brows. "Well… Maybe it is called something different in those cases. I wouldn't know though."
Having exhausted the length of that conversation, the two traveled through the clearing and then through the North Path in relative silence, making off-hand comments here and there about what was going on around them.
Eventually, the two exited a random alleyway, leading out to the empty expanse of savannah where Mikhail's tent was.
"Home sweet home…" Mikhail said with a listless smile.
Tybalt looked to the young looking man and then up to the tent, and then back and forth before saying, "Jeez… What's with the tiny tent? That Arlo guy had a whole storage tent for his home!"
"He probably had more resources to work with than I did… Because believe me, I checked how to see if anyone would make a trade, and I do not have anything anyone is interested in right now…"
Tybalt furrowed his brows.
"Hm…"
The two then walked over to the tent in the distance.
"Say… What happened to the rest of your pals?" Mikhail asked.
"They haven't finished refining their skin yet… Should be another week or two, though!"
"Nice… Alright, I think I can cross the next couple of steps on my own… I'll see you around, Tybalt."
Tybalt gave a thumbs up and then dashed away, waving as he departed. Mikhail waved back as well, but once Tybalt turned around, he did too. He was god awfully tired after that training…
Everything became a blur as Mikhail opened and then closed his tent's entrance, and soon, he passed out…
『The Next Day』
Mikhail shot off his mat and looked around for a second, almost positive that it was all a dream again before pinching himself really hard.
He then got into his usual routine, washing off the filth of the day prior before throwing on a new set of clothes.
Seeing that it was just before dawn judging by the amount of light coming in through the tent's walls, Mikhail figured it would be a good time to go and talk to Grand Elder Maya again.
And he was correct!
Just like the previous day, Mikhail sat in front of Grand Elder Maya, who seemed to be glued to the mat on the ground, looking as if she hadn't moved a single inch.
"So… What might I be learning about today?"
"A general overview of the Metamorphosis Realm."
Mikhail furrowed his brows. "I've already been taught the general overview by Yagnar."
Grand Elder Maya sipped on her tea before answering.
"You know of the centers of power and the different classifications of power?"
Mikhail nodded.
"Good, very good! Then, let us make better use of our time and move on to an in-depth explanation… Which center of power would you like to learn more about? The order I teach you doesn't really matter, so we'll start with the one you're the most interested in."
Mikhail didn't even need to think about his answer.
"The Elemental Routes."
Grand Elder Maya hummed inquisitively. "Not the Cerebral Core?"
Mikhail furrowed his brows. "No?"
"Well, alright then."
Suddenly, a hologram appeared before Mikhail. It was a three dimensional, featureless human that was made out of crystal clear water.
"Before we begin, I imagine Yagnar only said that it was a game of chance as to which element you unlock?"
"Yeah, he did say something along those lines."
"Well, allow me to clear that up."
A gray light shone from within the featureless human hologram, at its head. And then, Mikhail watched as a large veiny looking structure began growing downwards from that spot, before spreading throughout the body.
Mikhail took notice of the fact that two openings appeared within the body, seemingly not connecting to anything, while eight big openings led to the outside of the body. There was one for each hand, each foot, and each major joint.
And that wasn't even counting the many smaller branches all over the body.
"So, this gray route that just formed is the Wind Route."
"And uh, how does that happen exactly? I feel like you just skipped over the clearing up you mentioned just a second ago…"
Maya glared at him, but ultimately rolled her eyes before answering.
"You see, the elements are not inert and malleable forces like that lazy Yagnar would believe. In fact, they are alive… And they are always watching. The Wind Element, for example, loves to connect with relaxed and carefree people."