A puff of smoke left the woman’s lips as she drew the wooden pipe away. Between her fingers, the pipe waved across the row of colourful plants. The woman’s dark brown eyes were rather calm, despite the lack of customers during the last two days.

Even though her shop was set up on the northern main road, not many people stopped by for a purchase or even a look at her potted wares. Most of the time, people would gather around outside and admire the beautiful flowers.

Not that she minded. With the large sum of coins she received from her clients, she was well set to keep the store open for the next thousand years – with or without customers.

A brief smile formed on her face as she poured water from a watering can onto her shelved plants. They quietly thanked her, particularly the harmless carnivores that seemed to stare back with their invisible eyes.

The well-maintained interior of her shop was quiet, no matter how loud the main road was. In the last two days, things have been pretty hectic in the Capital. Apparently, there was an upcoming war with Di-Lock from what she’s heard from her old acquaintances.

Like Anoma the Guild Master, and unfortunately Wattle.

In fact, the mysterious scammer had arrived only yesterday with a boxed gift as an apology for ripping her off. Naturally, the urge to kill the man drowned her senses, but she eventually accepted the gift – although, not without letting loose of a punch square into his face.

And of course, a demand for some cobalt the monstrous group requested a few days ago. She didn’t forget about it, and since Wattle was here, she ‘politely’ asked him for some.

But Wattle was also a merchant at heart – there wasn’t a chance that he was going to do it for free. Eventually, Acacia settled to pay for it in full. The memory left an awful aftertaste in her mouth. With a slight grimace, she set aside the watering can and scratched the underside of the Jeymawer’s mouth.

“Good?” She said with a rough voice.

The head-sized plant opened its mouth as if reacting to her. It seemed to smile. At least that’s how she saw it. Its many lined teeth looked threatening at first glance, but when she squeezed it – her fingers easily sank.

This Jeymawer was a rather strange breed of the original plant. They were incredibly rigid and were notorious for killing adventurers if they grew big enough. The victims however, were usually ill-equipped adventurers who ventured too deeply into the western forests.

And the stories reached an all time peak a month ago, on the night the Otherworlders first arrived. Ever since then, the Guild reclassified the forests from C-ranked only, to B and even exlusively for A-ranked adventurers.

Acacia fiddled with the plant some more, the warm sun peeking through the massive glass pane by the storefront. She pondered on the flawed ranking system the Guild used to gauge the strengths of Adventures.

The rankings were like a placebo to adventurers. It felt as if there was a large gap of power between each rank, when there truly wasn’t. It played on their desire to grow stronger with a more obvious and linear sense of progression.

Above all – the rankings were merely a ‘status’ of power.

The woman inhaled from the pipe and huffed it into the mouth of the Jeymawer. It shivered to the calming scent as its head wandered aimlessly around the room.

“Lovely. At least you’ll get your nutrients with this.” She tapped the plant with a small grin.

Taking the watering can in hand and giving it a rough shake, she estimated how much water was left. A heavy splash was all she needed to let loose of a small hum.

As the squishy Jeymawer silently pointed its head at her, she approached another shelf of plants and fed them with a rain of the delicious, crystal-clear beverage. And not to mention – a good puff of the nutrient-filled smoke.

* * *

At the Guild – a certain woman donned in the lustrous green armour slammed a fist into the giant wooden desk. The many towers of paperwork shivered and bounced under her might as she bared her teeth in frustration.

“What’s wrong, Guild Master?” A female worker asked as she gently placed a cup of tea in front of the irritated Anoma.

The woman picked up a sheet of paper and held it out to the worker. She made a surprised face as she adjusted her glasses and took a small step back.

“These worms are requesting for ranked exams! I specifically told everyone to deny it for the time being, and just let the adventurers use the training grounds how they like! We don’t have any damn time to meddle or approve these!” She roared, scrunching the paper into a ball. “Fucking fire!”

The chant of spite immediately caused the paper ball to ignite and disappear into fleeting embers. The woman, who stood wearing a sharp maid-like attire only smiled at Anoma. With all the years she’s spent working with her, this was a normal occurrence.

“May I dispose of the other documents?” She asked, a finger gently held out.

“Be my guest. Just watch out for the yellow papers.” Anoma put her entire weight onto the spine of the chair and sighed. “These guys are way too eager for the war. All the resources were gathered within a day of posting that damn request.”

The maid didn’t break from her smile as a serpent of flames left from her sole finger and incinerated the stacks of papers. For a moment, the desk glowed in a glorious bonfire before being reduced to nothing but charred remains. Then, with the whip-like serpent disappearing, she withdrew her finger and stared at Anoma with kind eyes.

“But it’s nice to see them in high spirits, is it not? A week’s worth of work was done in merely a day, and they still want more.” She said as the blackened dust softly fell from the edges of the desk.

The table was clear once again, and the sight of it gave Anoma some comfort. Relived from the burden of approving the ranked exams many adventurers wanted to undergo, she wondered if there was more simple solution to make up for it.

“They’re willing to help for whatever price we put up.” Anoma began, her eyes slightly narrowed. “But really – no price is too much when they’re going to fight for us in this war. I just wish they’d man up and demand more from us.”

Her complaints made the woman softly giggle.

“It’s precicely because it’s you they’d have to talk to.”

Anoma scratched her head. She didn’t deny it in any shape or form.

“And partly you, Li. No one’s crazy enough to talk back to the daughter of Mildly Taniawort. Hell, even your brother gets the same treatment.” She managed to split the blame with a small grin.

‘Li’ was the nickname given to her by Anoma when they first started working together two decades ago. It was around the time Mildly was at her peak of her legendary fame, with her influence and legacy reaching to foreign countries.

She was an adventurer at heart, and a monumental pillar in the history of the Guild. Li, whose full name was Calin Taniawort, was highly respected amongst the adventurers, and even partly Anoma herself.

However, it wasn’t solely because of her status.

Li cleared her throat. “Perhaps we could increase the rank of those who participate in the war. It’d act as another reward and keep us focused on other important tasks.”

Her suggestion sparked a light on Anoma’s face.

“Hm. That’s a pretty good idea. I’ll draft it now and leave this little thing for later.”

She slid a mysterious sheet of paper beneath the yellow pile, causing the red-haired Lie to curiously gaze at her. It filled her with intrigue, but she didn’t want to stick around and bother the busy woman. After all, she only came through the giant doors to give Anoma some refreshments.

“I’ll be taking my leave then. Best of luck, Guild Master.”

“… you’re just like how Kalis is to Talia.” She murmured, watching the woman make her way towards the set of wooden doors.

But before she could finally leave, Anoma asked her something.

“Say – have you spoken to the Exrenity yet?”

“Unfortunately, no.” With an abrupt stop, she slowly turned to face her. “Although I’d love to meet with the one the Gods chose. If not even my mother could become the Exrenity, then this person must be beyond powerful.”

Anoma didn’t know whether to laugh or slam the desk again. She wanted to say, “Wait till you finally meet them.” Or “Not to burst your bubble or anything, but our Exrenity can only use a crossbow.”

Sure, she knew it was distasteful, but as reality stood – Exrite was a mess of an Exrenity. And whether she liked it or not, her daunting task was to bend them into shape.

And by the Gods she was more than prepared for it.

“Later then.” Anoma watched the woman leave.

The moment the doors shut behind her, she swiftly took out the hidden paper and tapped on the table. She slouched over, a hand holding her head up as she wondered whether Exrite could handle the things she’d throw at her.

“Straight into the deep end. I’m not here to babysit anyone.” She affirmed her sentiments and softly sighed. “Really… what the fuck were the Gods thinking?”

Her hope was low, but not quite non-existent. Exrite had potential, and it was all just a matter of drawing it out – as violently and mercilessly as possible.

* * *

Much like the Guild, the Institute of Magic found itself cluttered by the massive influx of adventurers and students. But unlike the Guild; this was all positives across the board. Cardinal whistled to himself as he ventured through the grandeur Institute grounds with a weak smile.

Chest raised, and hands held firmly behind his back, he watched many pour their souls into their magic training. From the old to young and the inexperienced to the experienced – everyone was here.

Their carefree yet hearty faces and eyes comforted the old man. Even the carefree regulars were trying their hardest to improve themselves in this dire time.

War changes everything.

The old man reminisced for a moment as he moved away from the confinements of the spherical training grounds. Through pristine hallways lined with delicate pale pillars, he eventually found himself in a luscious courtyard.

There, beneath a grand oak tree spanning several tens of meters into the sky, were the dwarf and Otherworlder duo. Eldor leaned against the thick bark, listening to the words that fled Stan the astronomer.

A calming breeze swept the secluded area. Various breeds of butterflies and multi-winged insects fluttered about, mimicking waves of the wind with vibrant colours.

The gentle scrunches of his slow steps alerted the reddish-brown beared dwarf of his presence.

“Oi! Listen to Stan lad! He’s sayin’ some bloody interestin’ things about the stars!” The dwarf adjusted his metallic goggles, which sat at the top of his head.

“Mr. Wise!” Stan waved at the approaching old man, who weakly raised a hand in acknowledgement. “How are you?”

“In good health, professor Prostranstvo. I can assume you’re both the same?”

“Perfectly fine. We’re just hanging around here for some fresh air.” Stan took a formal stance in front of the wise old man as Eldor wryly frowned.

“Bloody fine. Just wish someone would chop this tree down. Twigs the size of logs occasionally come down ‘ere. You aren’t tryin’ to kill someone, are ya’?” Eldor threw a thumb back at the tree, his joking voice getting a small chuckle out Stan. “Anywho, yer’ out here to escape as well?”

“No. I just came here to say good job.” Cardinal spoke with closed eyes as he composedly walked past them. “Take some time to rest. We’re already far ahead of schedule, thanks to your work.” The old man briefly turned to give them a thankful smile before continuing his slow journey away.

“Aye! Yer’ not going to stay back an’ listen to Stan’s story!?” Eldor quickly spoke, but Cardinal just laughed in response.

“I’m a fairly busy old man. Perhaps another time when things start to settle. Best of luck, old friend and professor.”

Staring at the shrinking back old man, Stan straightened his white gown and took a seat onto the soft grass.

“Old fella doesn’t have time to spare aye?” Eldor heavily dropped onto the floor in front of Stan with folded arms. “But he has time for good alcohol in the middle of the evenin’. Now about those black holes Stand lad – sounds like a whole bunch of nonsense to be perfectly honest with you.”

The astronomer chuckled at the response. Their conversations would often go back and forward as a result of Eldor’s scepticism to his bizarre knowledge. Even if the Otherworlders were responsible for many of the amazing things in Six Point – their concepts and train of thought were so foreign and mindboggling, that people instinctively refused to believe any of it was true most of the time.

It was like the ramblings of an insane person.

But dwarves were one of the more readably accepting races. After all, they were master craftsmen. There was no machine too big to create, or too little to make fun of. Otherworlders were their most highly sought clients, and most would follow their plans even if only a fraction of it made sense.

That was how the airship originally stared – a wild concept that was largely ridiculed, until it was actually created by the help of the dwarves. It was one of their pinnacle moments in history and would ultimately spark innovation across Eastern Six Point.

But that was thousands of years ago.

Returning to the topic of a billion-year old phenomenon, Stan took a deep breath to prepare himself for a lengthy ramble.

Above all – Stan Prostranstvo the astronomer was a professor at heart. Teaching new things to people wasn’t something out of his scope of practice.

And he wholeheartedly enjoyed it.