After an unexpected battle for both Chris and the Vodheim community, Chris asks the people where his companions went, probably with some healer and they answer that a few "blocks" away there is a building with a triangular roof, there they surely went.

 

Whatever a block is, Chris heads to the roof of a nearby building to see the triangular roof building. Entering the right place Chris reunites with his classmates and asks how the young man who kicked is doing.

 

—The young man is fine, the injuries were a bit serious, but not fatal and I treated him quite soon. You saved his life, even if he was very foolish. —the words resonate as a woman very different from the others enters the room, long, blond and wavy hair, tall, with a one-piece dress and hair held by a black ribbon.

 

The funny thing is that she always keeps her eyes closed and talks from the door she walked through as she heads towards them. The woman stops next to the young man and slaps him on each cheek, although it is not much use, he does not wake up, but her spasms a little of the pain, a sign of recovering.

 

After her only sermon to the unconscious, in more than one way, she introducesherself:

—My name is Lillian, healer of Vodheim. —said with total humility and her words are so calm that Chris feels uncomfortable.

 

As soon as she pronounced her name, Guilian gets up from his seat with a surprised expression and immediately Tsubaki asks him what his problem is. He comments that Lillian is the name of the leader of the nation of Vodheim and one of the Six Lords.

 

With a face of misunderstanding on their faces, Chris and Tsubaki ask him what he is talking about, who those are and what relevance they have. Guilian only sighs and proceeds to explain to them.

 

—There are six nations of adepts in the world, one on each continent, sheltered in natural fortresses so that only the adepts can enter. Each of them is led by an adept of incredible power, together they are called the Six Lords and lead the most powerful military force in the world. —Guilian explains what he has learned from rumors after years of living adrift.

 

It is something they had never considered on the way to Vodheim and from the stories they heard from the adepts who guided them to that place, if a simple inexperienced adept has enough power to defeat and even easily kill a group of people without powers, a nation of hundreds of thousands of  adepts is enough to change the climate and cause a natural disaster, not to mention the number of people who would perish from an attack of that scale.

 

As if reading their thoughts, Lillian replies that it only depends on the person who runs the nation, in all her time as Lord she has emphasized not attacking any nation or human settlement but establishing trade routes and international relations with the other adept nations of theworld. For more than 400 years, each Lord has written a part, from isolation from the rest of the world to a fondness for conquest.

 

—Personally, I just want a quiet life, drink tea and cure the sick, that’s why the army is only in charge of defending the mountains and the inhabitants are not forced to train and be militarized like 5 years ago. —Lillian says very seriously —Taking the power of a nation is demanding, but with demilitarization it is no longer so much tiresome. The arrival of adepts from abroad gives us a lot of information about the lands near and far and trade is more prosperous than ever. It was a good idea that Karen proposed to us three years ago.

 

Hearing that name Chris swallows his own saliva and turns pale. After all that Guilian and Tsubaki have experienced and the struggle they had a few minutes ago, the two are surprised by the unexpected reaction. Immediately Chris asks Lillian where she knows her from. She returns the same question, adding that by his reaction Chris must know her in another sense.

 

—She is a childhood friend with whom I grew up and trained. Well, until four years ago as we took separate paths. —Chris replies with some discomfort and his words show a face that Tsubaki knew halfway but that Guilian knows perfectly: the expression of a hurt man ... in the heart.

 

Immediately Chris insists to Lillian to give him an answer to his question, Lillian analyzes Chris' answer for a few seconds and agrees to speak.

 

—Karen is a friend, but we are in the same circle, because she is also one of the Six Lords, the leader of the nation of Cundraria, on the continent to the west. I met her three years ago when she came passing through with her companions and we met while healing one of her own. She told me about an idea she had of establishing international relations between the Six Lords to unify the adepts of the whole world and open us to the human world.

 

Chris is somewhat confused at first but regains his composure and only immerses himself in his thoughts.

—«Well, I guess she's got on with her life. But why do you do this? I hope you have a good reason. » —Chris tries to understand the events that happened while he was isolated while training.

 

This revelation only leaves Chris thinking about his old friend, he is so immersed in reflection that Guilian and Tsubaki begin to worry about the expression on his face. Even the atmosphere became very tense.

—«Was it so easy to forget about me, Karen? Now you rub shoulders with the Six Lords and after what you experienced; I don't think I can believe the words of a colleague of yours. Even if your reasons are good, we both know you have a darkness that you can never get rid of, just like me. »

—Do you really think she will still be the girl you met? Her nickname is Shinigami, which in a certain culture means Goddess of Death, as she is said to harvest the souls of her opponents. —Guilian's words leave Chris with an empty look for a moment, he thinks for a few seconds. That kind of rumor starts to raise Chris' suspicions and make him more thoughtful.

—Well, eventually I will meet her again and we can treat each other cordially because of our past, there is no reason to look for a fight with her, even if it is me. —that’s the only thing Chris gets to say after a few moments of silence, although the last thing he said leaves his companions somewhat confused, while Lillian is uneasy as well as serious.

 

Without realizing it, Chris sees that Lillian is already sitting and serving a rare drink to Tsubaki and Guilian, a vodheim native tea made with plants unique to its mountains and the water with medicinal properties that flows throughout the city. Chris just sits with them at the same table and after a few moments asks Tsubaki where the dark-haired girl he commissioned the young man to is.

 

Tsubaki puts on an expression of discomfort and tells him that, in fact, that girl ran towards the building they are in, but once they entered, they could not find her, and Lillian told them not to look for her. Chris asks her the reason for this, and she responds cordially.

 

—She's an old friend and has her... Peculiarities. Come to think of it, from what I was told and heard, you forced her to do something, even if it was with good intentions. Most likely she ran here for me and not to save the young man. Don't grudge her, please. —Lillian's answer is unusual, but it is enough to show the three foreigners that she defends her friends, which speaks very well of her.

 

Chris is intrigued by such an answer and decides not to inquire about it anymore, he reclines on the back of his seat and takes a momentary look at the end of the stairs and notices a small black silhouette hiding as if it were watching him until recently. It was clear that it was that dark-haired girl, but he desisted from doing anything.

 

After a brief chat with Lillian about his confrontation with Caellach, Chris begins to talk to his companions about what they are going to do, on the one hand, there is Chris with the challenge of King's Mountain and on the other Tsubaki wants to investigate about the power of the wind, then Guilian mentions something interesting, Lillian told them that in a neighboring kingdom a unique competition of its kind will be held, a Tournament of Adepts. That kingdom in recent years has been promoting the image of adepts by accepting them into its military forces, whether for combat or for medical services, and the tournament is an excellent opportunity to earn a high position in its inner circle or simply because of renown.

 

It is the first tournament of its kind not only for that kingdom, but worldwide, as the kingdom in question belongs to the Union of Kingdoms, an association of kingdoms exclusively of humans without powers with the aim of equating the nations of adepts. Among its members there are some nations that do allow the adepts to be in their lands if they do not use their powers under any circumstances or join their military forces.

 

They do not hesitate to decide, as the tournament arrives Chris and his teammates will train to polish their skills and participate. Chris will learn quite a few new perspectives from his opponents, Tsubaki will be able to gain renown and have more clues about her amulet and Guilian will be able to fight and have fun. The only drawback is that the tournament starts in two months and the fastest route to reach the kingdom of Heinburn where it will take place is passing through a volcanic region and a desert of black sands that will take about two weeks.

 

Lillian warns them that they shouldn't stay so long in Vodheim if they plan to get to Heinburn:

—I recommend you go out through the north tunnel and avoid the Maxim volcano and the desert; the two sites are very dangerous and would be an unnecessary risk. —the leader knows many secrets of the area, so she advises them.

—If we take time to train, it will be our route, but if we finish soon, we will surely take your advice. Thank you. —Chris replies with some cordiality.

—«Why is there some tension between the two of them? » —asks N Tsubaki and Guilian as the conversation begins to stall.

 

The silhouette peeks out once again, Chris notices and decides to cut off the conversation, although he apologizes to Lillian for possibly disturbing her.

—«Is this the guy you told me about, Karen? I think you are the blind one, that sword almost hurts me with its presence alone. » —Lillian thinks as her guests retreat, leaving her drop cold sweat and letting out a sigh when she is left alone in the room.

 

Once they leave the building, they decide to go their separate ways, Guilian and Tsubaki will train their combat styles and Chris will train on his own. In a nation of adepts there must be styles that could be of use to them, so they will be a little more than a month at most doing as they please. They check into an inn near Lillian's house and to their surprise Chris pays with a fist-sized piece of gold and Guilian and Tsubaki are surprised.

 

—«Where did you get something like that? » —The two think simultaneously as their eyes shine with the golden light.

 

Chris only tells them that his teacher gave him a bag full of gold from the cave in which they lived. Unknowingly, Chris already had a good amount of money for his travel expenses and the bag, practically a sack, is indeed heavy enough that Chris is the only one who can carry it during the trip. They devour a great dinner before bed and plan their working day.

 

The next day, the three foreign adepts leave the inn just dawning to look for aspects to polish for each of them. From the gazes of passers-by, Chris decides to go on his own and leaves Guilian and Tsubaki alone to take their own paths.

 

The two stares at each other for a few moments in an awkward silence and begin to walk aimlessly. Eventually they return to the square where Chris confronted Caellach and contemplate the daily routine of the town. Guilian notices a good number of workers going in the same direction and he decides to ask about it.

 

—We are going to the quarry; we must continue removing land to continue the renovation and expansion of the city. If you have time to ask, come with us, boy. —answers the foreman as he forces the hands of fire to work.

 

Tsubaki can't help but make fun of what happened, and her laughter turns into a windstorm that shakes people. Everyone complains about her, and the children mock her lack of control, Tsubaki sends them to silence with a scream that almost blows them up and the teacher who guides them to their morning classes asks her if she wants to receive guidance.

 

Meanwhile, Chris heads to a forest outside the city, and walks around town on his way to the woods and notices some activity in people, they begin to avoid it. He thinks it's because he confronted Caellach and stopped his plans while everyone only showed helplessness in the face of such a situation.

 

His decision was correct, training isolated by the shock of his arrival is his best option to avoid conflicts. Meanwhile, Guilian in the quarry spends his time destroying rocks with his fire fists and receives guidance from the workers there and Tsubaki receives from the novice teacher books on wind and combat styles, many of them require a high degree of skill and control because she must shape something that has no form and is intangible, things have only begun.

 

Chris just by walking around the city already gave an idea to how they built buildings, the earth has been compressed and shaped so that they come together like a puzzle, that way each piece is fastened to the others and vice versa, obtaining resistance against tremors. The union makes the strength, and that they apply it in that way indicates that truly they have been refining this type of technique for a long time. Without further hesitation, Chris begins to try to imitate the bricks of buildings with common earth.

 

After half a day of failed attempts, Chris begins to feel something strange, being isolated from everyone it is easy to feel when they are watching you, so he begins to walk through the forest, to the deepest part, created some false traces with the earth and covered himself between the branches of a tree. It did not take a minute for the person responsible for his concern to appear, or, rather, the girl responsible.

 

Hiding behind tree trunks, loitering, the dark-haired girl was clearly looking for him, so she decides to give her what she wants. When she is looking in another direction, Chris comes down from the tree and stands behind her.

 

—Can I help you with anything? —says Chris directly to her ear and she turns very fast, jumping from the surprise that easily causes a heart attack.

 

Chris laughs slightly at the funny reaction and apologizes for the mischief he did to her. Once calm, the girl, stuttering, tells him that she wants to know where he got his power from. Chris only replies that he got it with a lot of effort:

 

—You want me to teach you to be strong? —Chris' question is straightforward, but completely honest. She remains silent but nods her head.

 

After returning to the outskirts of the forest they realize that it is getting dark, so they decide to camp where Chris trained. After a simple roast meat on the campfire of an animal that Chris hunted, he begins to tell a story to the girl.

 

—My teacher was a peculiar man; he was a hermit who lived in a mountain cave and used to live alone for a long time. Just by seeing him you can tell that he is strong, and I do not mean brute force. The first time I saw him he attacked me, and because he survived, he decided to train me. Not as an adept, but as a warrior. Every day I brandished a simple wooden stick and many times I fought him and received many blows. He would hit me whenever he saw some weakness in my postures and movements, he would even hit my abdomen for "not breathing properly", and now my breathing has a constant rhythm and I hardly exhaust myself. He made me hunt my own food to survive, sometimes attacking and chasing me in order to keep me awake and alert. I can truly say that I came close to dying many times. What I am going for is that, under his teaching, I lived a long time in fear, mainly to him, but it was precisely that that taught me to feel alive, not to be a predator with a thirst for blood, but to value the life that I have and that I can have.

 

Listening to that brief but interesting story, the girl is left with her gaze lost, trying to imagine all the lessons that Chris lived and how he can talk about it as if nothing had happened. The girl, upon regaining a little attention, realizes that Chris has a look of nostalgia, that nostalgia that is expressed with affection.

 

Contemplating the flames of the campfire, Chris begins to immerse himself in his memories:

 

Four years ago, in a mountainous area in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by lush forests, Chris falls from the sky next to Hama. She tells him that an old friend will take care of him, but Chris doesn't care at all.

 

—Come on, you have nothing to do or where to go, it will be good for you to get away from the temple with all the memories you must have there. —Hama tries to cheer Chris on, although he's not as effective.

—I don't have much choice, do I? —Chris replies very discouraged —Anyway, I don't know where exactly I am.

—But you must admit that traveling through the skies is so fast and efficient. —Hama mentions optimistically—It's something that no one in the world could experience firsthand.

—Sure, whatever. —Chris replies as he sighs.

 

Advancing through the forest, they reach the base of the mountain and Hama says goodbye, she has matters to attend to and that her friend is easy to find. Before Chris can say anything, Hama flies:

—Don’t sweat it, my friend is the only person in this whole area, there is no chance to mistake. —Hama shouts carefreely as she disappears into the vastness of the sky.

 

Alone and in the middle of nowhere, abandoned by everyone for one reason or another, Chris faces a new challenge from life itself.

 

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