"It's difficult to say when you don't even know what you want. How about, I owe you a favor. You can call it in whenever you want for whatever you want."
Mikhail hummed in response. A favor, huh? And anything he might want, at that?
"Deal. I'll hold you up to that when the time comes."
He turned to nod to one of the adults passing by, chuckling as he watched the guy's juvenile Anzu stumble over a rock. The two had conversed a lot since that guy lived close by to Mikhail's tent. However, while he was watching the Anzu, Mikhail failed to see how Azalea's face flickered again for a brief instant.
"Well, I'll be heading back to the Inscription Hall. You can find me there when you're done helping Spencer."
Mikhail nodded and continued onwards without her, reaching the end of the North Path and stopping. If he traveled in a straight line from here, he'd end up at a place called Onyx Falls. It was a special training area of sorts.
He only knew of it because it had come up in a few sparse conversations, but he had no reason to go there himself. Sightseeing? Training? He was too busy training his martial center of power, and the place only really helped with refining one's skin.
And he had basically been given perfectly refined skin. The thought of pushing past his limits occurred, but his muscles had priority.
Which made him quite the lucky lad, since Atticus just so happened to be his District Clan's Head. If not for that, he wouldn't have had the opportunity to refine his muscles today before training.
Having that thought, Mikhail pushed the whim to go see Onyx Falls out of his mind. He had other things to do right now.
Thus, he shifted his body so he was facing directly East, and then began walking forward into the savannah.
The path was no longer paved out.
However, the path was beaten. So although the carriage behind him rattled a bit as he walked, it would prove to be a smooth journey.
This was the shortest and most direct path to the Shagar Jungle from the end of the North Path.
Every step was painful, but Mikhail pressed onwards as if this was normal. It was almost as if the searing pain wasn't registering properly.
And on his hour-long journey, he saw many interesting things.
For one, he saw a large worm break through the ground.
It had been inspecting the surroundings somehow, and when it saw him, it immediately retreated back into the ground. The large worm was a little bigger than he was already, and Mikhail was positive that most of its body was still underground.
And there were many burrowing beasts like that in this area.
One such beast he had seen came up to the top of his thigh in height.
It was reptilian, with its body covered in pale-yellow and brown scales, save for a continuous row of black spikes that went from the back of its head to the tip of its tail. It stood on two large legs, and its arms were about half the size of its legs.
One of the larger specimens had tried to come and bite him, but he only needed to kick it with a bit of force to make it turn tail and run.
However, one particular encounter had made him extremely nervous. He had come across a hulking behemoth that towered over him. It was another reptile that stood on two feet. However, at first glance, it had no arms. Additionally, it had triangular horns above of its eyes.
Its underbelly consisted of pale-yellow scales, but its body was covered in a mix of black and gray scales. The black scales were dominant, and the gray scales formed familiar, swirling patterns.
The large beast inspected Mikhail, circling him as he remained still.
It almost seemed curious. Though, he couldn't pinpoint if it was due to hunger or some other reason. Regardless, it eventually continued on its way, ignoring Mikhail and allowing him to continue without incident.
And now, he was just before the border between the savannah and the jungle.
The ground beneath him had gone from being pale-yellow to a rich, and very dark brown. The wagon was shaking like a maraca as he walked at this point, but it caused him no difficulties.
It was mildly annoying at its worst.
And then, he was in the Shagar Jungle once again. Towering trees, a rich ambiance filled to the brim with life.
Heaps of beasts all around him, most of them harmless since he was at the edge of the forest, the nearest danger zone being a little more than thirty minutes away to the south.
The Smoldering Swamp.
This might sound too close for comfort, but the dangerous beasts of that area had no reason to leave that area. It was a danger zone specifically because those dangerous beasts liked congregating in that environment.
And they wouldn't leave if they didn't need to.
As such, Mikhail had no qualms with making the journey out here. Plus, his destination would be fifteen minutes in the complete opposite direction.
That was more than an hour of travel at that point from the truly dangerous spots of the danger zone.
On his way, he saw a few roosts with sleeping Owls, and even a bat or two hanging from a branch solitarily. The environment was almost tranquil in these areas.
But one encounter threw him off and made the tranquil travel turn into a nerve-wracking walk.
He spotted a shadowy figure among the thick foliage surrounding him at one point. Mikhail did not know whether or not it was following him, or if he had just happened to cross paths with it.
He only knew that this was a rare event.
As such, Mikhail scanned the Shade Elemental with extreme interest.
The being was almost entirely composed of the Shade Elemment, and as such, where it began and ended was a little difficult to discern. Were the thin trails of Shade leaving its apparent body and flowing into the air a part of it?
What about the shadow of the tree it was standing in? Was that also part of the being?
Since he did not know, Mikhail attributed its vaguely humanoid form as its entire form.
It stood on two vaguely humanoid legs, and its arms ended in ghostly claws. Its head was a wispy oval, and just as he turned his eyes to its face…
Two silver flames erupted, appearing on its head like ethereal eyes. And then the shadowy figure began to change.
"What the…"
He watched on in bewilderment as the shadowy figure took on the shape of his own silhouette, with long flowing hair and a muscular frame. And then, an androgynous voice as soft as the wind flowed into his ears.
"You… You are different…"
The silver flames grew dim, and after the shadowy doppelganger helplessly shook its head, it morphed into the shadow below it, disappearing.