We all agree to start moving tomorrow. Caleb glanced at Lucan.
"Lucan," I said, looking at him. "Do you want to join us? As you can see, I'm a Shadow. But we're not exactly the good guys, as you mentioned." I shot a glance at Caleb as I spoke.
"I will," Lucan replied quickly. "You guys are better than the Light Mages. This guy," he gestured at Caleb, "protects his companions at all costs. That's the kind of protection I'm looking for."
I fell silent. He's right. Maybe I was starting to understand Caleb a little better.
Caleb smiled faintly. "Good. We've got a driver for tomorrow." He stood to leave.
"I can do more," Lucan added, surprising us. "I'll craft gear for all of you."
Caleb turned back. Everyone's excitement was clearly showing.
"Really? What kind of gear can you make?" Tahlia's eyes sparkled as she clasped Lucan's hand.
"Well, you can request what you want," Lucan said while rubbing the back of his neck shyly.
"I want a thin blade that can summon tornadoes and storms! It'll work amazing with Kira's Shadow!" Tahlia exclaimed.
"I want a staff that channels my power without me having to move my hands," Garis said.
I chuckled. He really did wave his hands around too much during his attacks.
"I just want my arrows to be faster," Arlen said quietly.
Caleb remained silent still deep in thought.
"What about you?" Lucan asked me since Caleb was taking so long.
"No," I said, touching my necklace. "I'm good,"
"I want a blade that absorbs the life force of anything it strikes," Caleb finally said.
Everyone stared in awe at Caleb's choice.
"That's a tough one but I'll try," Lucan replied. "But I'll need about a week to prepare everything, and you'll have to gather the materials for the gear."
"I think it's a good idea to prepare ourselves before heading to the company," Tahlia said.
"I agree," Caleb added. "Let us know what you need and we'll collect it."
After a few hours, Lucan gave each of us a list of ten items needed to craft our gear. I decided to help by gathering two items for each person, so eight in total. The items were strange and random:
Ostrich Mutant Claw
Rafflesia Arnoldii Flower Essence
Crystallized Mutant Eye
Venomous Capybara Fang
And the list went on.
Hunting mutants was easy with Shadow Mirroring, most items on the list were gathered without much effort.
Collecting the Ostrich Mutant Claw brought a wave of nostalgia as it was the first mutant I encountered when I arrived in this dimension. I remembered how it caught me off guard during our first encounter, its speed and sharp talons were overwhelming at the time. Now with Shadow Mirroring they felt more like a warm up.
It was a bit tricky to obtain the crystallized eye as I had to figure out how to crystallize it first and capybara fang as I needed to carefully pry it loose. I managed to solve both problems in the end.
However, the Rafflesia Arnoldii flower was an entirely different issue.
The flower was enormous, it's nearly three meters in diameter and reeked like rotting flesh. I tried to attack it with my shadows, but it absorbed them as if they were flies. No matter what I tried, the flower remained unscathed.
Frustrated, I sat cross legged before it.
Should I actually jump into the flower?
"Hey, will you give me your essence, please?" I muttered randomly.
I tossed a mutant corpse toward it. The flower devoured the body instantly, its petals folding like jaws around the remains.
"You're scarier than any mutant in this place, you know?" I murmured.
"Kira!" Caleb's voice called out as he landed nearby.
"Caleb."
"What are you doing? That flower's stingy."
"I need its essence. It's for Garis's gear," I explained.
Without hesitation Caleb drew his blade. With one swift slash the flower split in two spraying its green sticky essence everywhere. I quickly catched the essence with my shadows then stored it.
I turned to Caleb dumbfounded.
"What?" he asked nonchalantly.
I sighed.
We returned to the tent, having successfully gathered all the items. It took us only two days to gather all the items.
While Lucan worked on crafting the gear, the rest of us focused on training. I found myself staring blankly at Caleb and Tahlia as they sparred in intense PVP matches.
"Shadow… and Chaos," I murmured, recalling the dream I'd had days ago.
"Kira," Garis's voice broke through my thoughts.
"Uncle Garis."
He sat next to me and watched Caleb and Tahlia.
"I think we're close to clearing this mission," he said optimistically.
"What do you think will happen when we do?" I asked.
"Hmmm…" He pondered for a moment. "Maybe we'll return to our original Earth and live in Arkanova. We haven't explored the city much. I'd love to see more of it."
I glanced at Caleb and Tahlia, then at Arlen, who was cleaning his bow in the corner.
If we return to our initial Earth…
"Well, who knows?" Garis continued, as he's sensing my thoughts. "Altiris is always full of surprises."
"It's done!" Lucan's voice interrupted instantly drawing everyone's attention.
We quickly gathered around him.
"This is for Tahlia," Lucan announced while materializing a thin blade from his storage.
Its silver edge glinted and it was so light that Tahlia lifted it effortlessly.
"Kira, could you?" she asked, holding the blade toward me.
I summoned my shadows and infusing them into her weapon. The blade absorbed the darkness and began to shimmer ominously. When Tahlia swung it, a powerful tornado erupted tearing through the air ahead of us.
"This is super cool!" she exclaimed. "Thanks, Lucan!"
Lucan rubbed the back of his neck again, his face flushing with shy pride.
Next, he unveiled Garis's staff. Its handle was crafted from twisted wood and a green gemstone gleamed at its top.
"You look like Gandalf," I mocked.
Ignoring me, Garis planted the staff on the ground summoning thick roots that sprouted instantly.
"What a lazy old man," Tahlia teased with a tsk.
Then Lucan revealed Arlen's bow and arrow. Garis immediately summoned a root as a target. The arrow shot forward so quickly it was almost invisible, and within moments the root began to rot and wither away.
"Crazy," I genuinely impressed.
"Yeah, that's a good one," Lucan nodded, clearly proud of his work.
Finally he presented Caleb's blade.
It has a blue hue, so massive that I couldn't understand how any human could wield it in battle. Yet Caleb lifted it effortlessly as if it weighed nothing at all.
"Caleb, don't test yours here," Tahlia warned, remembering the blade's ability to absorb the life force of anything it struck.
Caleb laughed. "Fair enough."
"We're ready to move forward now," he said. "Great work, Lucan."
Lucan nodded with his shy pride.
We spent the rest of the day packing and preparing our gear. Tahlia inspected her blade. Arlen tested his bow and adjusting the string. Garis hummed to himself as he polished his staff. Caleb stood silently by the entrance with his massive blade resting against the wall. Lucan was busy cleaning up a few spare parts he had brought along.
The night fell, the tent grew quieter as we're ready for the next journey.