She looked around at the people who reminded her of ancient times yet at the same time there was something modern mixed in that gave it a unique and fresh twist. They maintained their traditions with tribes, a government and a parliament that responded to the population. All the tribes had a voice in the Council and all leaders had a seat.

She turned her attention to Ace and asked, "Can you help train me?"

"I can't train you when you don't have any energy in you." he replied.

Mai couldn't help but grumble and pout. "You're all born with it so that's unfair."

Ace thought for a moment and suggested, "There's an area known as the closest place to the tower even though it's far away. I can take you there."

Mai's heart raced when she heard that, and her excitement was palpable.

She smiled. "Thank you so much Ace."

She had never felt so happy before. Had Mother Life really given her a chance by throwing her into his arms? She didn't believe in fate and thought it was cliché and cheesy, giving Ace a look as he watched some giant wasps the size of squirrels flying around a flower bed to their right. When they moved their wings, they buzzed like bumblebees which was strangely surreal for Mai to experience even though she had been living here for 3 weeks now.

They stood up but before they left Ace mentioned that he couldn't go alone as it was known to be a dangerous area. The last time he had found her was because he had been training alone so it was against the rules to bring companions and guards.

They walked to a large white temple where people trained and both genders were allowed. They didn't discriminate between genders as long as the women were strong, a principle Mai greatly supported even though she wasn't a feminist.

As they entered there was a spacious training area with various obstacles made from different materials. A golden ring hovered 5 meters above the ground with a woman flying through it curled up in a ball. Nearby a woman and a man engaged in a fencing match with golden swords on two square wooden platforms that moved floating 3 meters above the ground. It reminded Mai of a gangway, but these platforms didn't have anything to hold onto forcing the participants to use their arms to balance.

"What are they training for?" she asked.

"For the ceremony, there's a tournament that people of all ages can participate in." Ace replied.

They walked toward a large group consisting solely of men who were standing and striking enormous black stones with their bare fists. The stones didn't break but instead produced a resounding sound that echoed in Mai's ears causing her discomfort. She couldn't help but notice that she was the only one bothered by it and chose not to cover her ears. The men wore gold bracelets on their wrists which she believed helped stabilize their balance because they didn't use any tools to strengthen themselves. Mother Life was about using the gifts they had been given by the planet which were of natural origin.

As they approached the group stopped their training and came over to greet them. All the men stared at Mai with curious eyes making her feel awkward.

"Is she the stranger?" asked a young man with short black hair.

"She looks like us but it's strange she doesn't have horns on her forehead. She must be of a lower intelligence species." commented another man.

"I didn't come here for chit-chat. Where are Mel and Leon?" Ace asked with a cold tone.

A man with long blond hair tied in a ponytail pointed in a specific direction to their left. There was a small group sitting around a rectangular dark wooden table deep in discussion.

Mai and Ace walked over to them, and they stopped talking looking up at them. Ace looked at a man with long black hair tied in a ponytail who had bangs. He was tall and slender with fair skin, red eyes, and light horns on his forehead. He had somewhat feminine facial features, but it made him stand out from the group. He was a very handsome man with visible arm muscles, and he wore a black shirt that was partially unbuttoned at the top. A thin gold necklace was visible which had a small white stone that Mai noticed immediately. It appeared to have a cloud inside it reminding her of a moonstone.

"Mel. Where's Leon?" Ace asked looking at him.

"He had something important to attend to. What are you doing here?" Mel asked and glanced at Mai.

A woman with long blonde hair who wore a long white dress with a low neckline gave Mai a spiteful look and narrowed her eyes.

She made a snide comment. "You think you can become one of us but you're a nuisance. Your race is poison to our world."

Ace gave her a cold look and said, "Enough Lilja. We have her only to lead us to her leader."

Lilja bit her lip clenched her fists and feeling offended turned toward a brunette woman sitting to her left. She whispered something to her that made the woman giggle and cast a glance at Mai who furrowed her eyebrows.

"What's so funny Elva?" a young guy sitting above them asked.

"She stinks like crap." Elva replied giggling again.

Mai had already experienced bullying back in middle school, so this kind of behavior didn't faze her anymore. She found it even more amusing that it was adult women attempting to bully her. It was a reminder that societal issues transcended worlds even on a developed planet like this one.

Suddenly a handsome young man appeared with medium-length white wavy hair, striking blue eyes a tall and slender build and fair skin. He wore a white scarf around his neck and a yellow long-sleeved shirt along with wide gold bracelets on his wrists. He glanced at Mai and then at Ace.

"Ace, what are you doing here and with her?" he asked curiously.

"I'm going on a picnic with Mai but it's far away and I'm afraid of getting lost." Ace replied.

Leon furrowed his brows and glanced at Mel who nodded in confirmation.

He smiled and nodded. "Okay. Give us a few minutes to get ready."

Lilja and Elva cast an evil look at Mai and Lilja asked, "Why can't we come when it's just a picnic?"

"Stop Lilja." Mel said with a cold tone, giving her an admonishing look.

Lilja bit her lip, clearly feeling that it was unfair.

Mai could sense that Ace held a certain status or else the women would have done everything to join them on their trip. But why did he call it a picnic?

*Thank you for taking time to read this chapter! *