Chapter 11  

People were adaptable and Greenside citizens were no different. Both the original and relocated population could only accept their new reality. The previously frenzied activity fell into a predictable routine. None were more bored than him. Kai had not made any new friends.

Exploring alone wasn’t fun and he still didn’t feel safe beyond the main streets.

Walking home exhausted, he went for a swim and bit off more than he could chew. He had to cook dinner—which consisted of a few boiled vegetables and fish. It was a sad meal, and while he had never been good at cooking, Keandra was worse.

Alana got home with Eleni half an hour later and the family sat together to eat dinner.

“Thank you for cooking, dear, it smells amazing,” Alana said with a smile.

Such a liar.

Kai inwardly rolled his eyes. He appreciated the sentiment, but the best he could reasonably aspire was a bland smell and taste.

“You’re improving,” Eleni’s lie didn’t sound as convincing.

“Yeah, maybe in a couple years your dishes won’t taste like sand,” Keandra remarked in a whisper loud enough for everyone to hear.

“You’re welcome to cook next time, Kea,” Kai said, glaring at her.

“Oh, I think I will.”

She never backed down.

“Are you also gonna pay for the healer after we get food poisoning?” He wasn’t going to let her win so easily.

Kea looked at her empty glass. “Next time you cook I’ll remember to bring a glass of seawater. It can only improve the taste.”

The back and forth went on for a while before Alana pacified the situation. Eleni ignored them, long used to their bickering.

“Kai, come walk with me,” Alana said after dinner.

Kai followed her outside. His mother wanted to talk with a bit of privacy their house’s thin walls didn’t allow. That did not bode well for him.

“I’m sorry I argued with Kea, even if she’s the one who started it,” Kai apologized halfheartedly.

Alana smiled, amused. “That is nice to hear, but not what I wanted to talk about.”

Greenside was only so big with not many attractions. They could either go toward the cultivated fields or the sea.

They chose the latter and stared at the blue expanse, sitting on the rocky shore.

“Kai, remember after you got Mana Sense, we decided to get you a teacher in the future. With everything that has been going on… things clearly didn’t go as expected. But I’m looking for someone.”

Kai had to take a moment to remember what she was talking about. After they had been forced to move, he had long made peace that it was never going to happen.

“Mom, it’s fine, I don’t need a teacher. I can wait a few more years.”

“Don’t worry about the money. I’ll find a way to make it happen.”

It was nice that his mom wanted to help, but with three mouths to feed they were barely scraping by.

“Mom, I really don’t need it. I can train fine by myself.”

“Honey, it would be a waste not to cultivate your talent. It’s not only about learning about mana skills, improving your skills will also give you the XP to enhance your race faster.

“I know you’ve already reached your first enhancement a while ago and are on your way to your second. Don’t you want to reach it quicker? Remember when you asked how to increase the number of skill slots? Well, the only way is to advance your race grade to Orange. Trust me, sweetie.”

Now, that explains a few things…

Kai took a moment to digest the new information.

Even if it was tempting, he was firm in his decision. “You don’t have to worry, Mom, I’ve already had my second enhancement, I can do it by myself.”

His mind was still thinking about all the implications of the new revelation. Maybe that was why he didn’t immediately notice his mother had gone silent. When he looked up, he realized his blunder.

“How could you not tell me you have already reached the peak of Red, Kai!” Alana stood up in a scolding pose.

Before Kai could stammer a response, she had started pacing back and forth in front of him.

“It’s my fault for not noticing, how could I not realize it? I should have acted sooner…”

Kai could almost see Alana’s brain going into overdrive as she found ways to take all the blame.

“I’ll look for someone first thing in the morning. No, I can’t settle for someone not worthy, I’ll find the best teacher on this whole island, it’s decided.”

“Mom—”

“Don’t worry, no sane mage would refuse such a talented apprentice.”

Kai tried to argue, and no matter what he said, Alana refused to listen. He was only able to make her promise she wouldn’t bankrupt their family. From the look on her face, he was sure she planned to take another job.

Damn, my stupid mouth.

It wasn’t like he didn’t want a teacher, but with what they could afford he didn’t expect much. Even if he was a genius—which was debatable—he didn’t believe someone would teach him for free. He long reasoned that if he showed his real progress, he might find someone willing to invest in him, but there would be strings attached.

On the plus side, he could freely boast in front of Kea and make her green with envy.

* * *

It was late summer when Kai was deeply tempted to shout his status aloud to shut Kea up. After her seventh birthday, she started tormenting him relentlessly with everything she could now do.

“Kai, why don’t we compare how much Life Experience we got today? Oh, right, you can’t! You have to wait a week. How could I forget?” Keandra posed a shocked expression, struggling to wipe the smile off her face.

“I’m so sorry”—she didn’t look apologetic one bit—“why don’t we check at the beginning of the week then?”

Kai took a deep breath and ignored her. It didn’t deter her in the slightest.

“Oh my, I forgot you can’t even change the time and it’s still stuck to the random day and time of the week you were born.”

She was more relentless than the waves crashing on shore. She learned he got a mana skill and this was her chance to get back at him for being better than her. His only regret was not having teased her more when she accidentally found out.

He ran out of the house before Kea started her monologue on notifications for the third time.

She never cared about any of the intricacies of the Guide before now and made fun of him for being a bookworm. Now she suddenly had to tell him the most insignificant thing she could do.

It was only a question of time before he was forced to go back home. She was still waiting there, a cat watching a mouse walk to his inevitable demise.

“Don’t worry, Kai, one day you’ll be as great as me. I mean, I’ll be even greater then, but you know, I can’t help it.” Kea patted him on the shoulder.

Kai wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction of a reaction. “Didn’t you have to go out to do your thing?”

“Your thing, you mean my celebration for reaching seven, that you are too young to go to. That super important ceremony in the life of any person?”

“Yes, that dumb tradition I’ll also do in a year and a half. When. Do. You. Leave?”

Kea grinned. “I was waiting for you to come back to go. Don’t. Miss. Me. Too. Much.” With a laugh, she was out and his ears could finally rest.

Once each season, all the children who recently reached seven and unlocked their First Seal participated in a ceremony that symbolized their first step toward adulthood.

From then on, kids were encouraged to think about the profession they wanted and work on it. The ceremony was about taking that responsibility and asking the spirits of the islands for guidance, or something along those lines.

Just a boring tradition that he wasn’t allowed to see.

Eleni had stayed at home to keep him company, which only made him feel more pathetic.

After a bit of coaxing, he agreed to let his older sister help him prepare lunch for when Alana and Kea came back. He might learn something to prove once and for all that his cooking abilities were superior to Kea’s. Following his older sister’s instructions, Kai got to work.

It didn’t turn out as good as he hoped, but the vegetables hadn’t been overcooked and the fish was crisp. He had no idea how their mother made it taste so much better, only using salt and herbs from their garden.

At least he was able to use the food to shield himself from Kea’s pestering. After she came back, she acted as if she somehow became an adult in a few hours.

Thanks to the spirits, his mother saved him when they were done. “Kai, help me fill the water containers.”

“Yes, Mom.”

Five years in this world and I still miss tap water.

It was very tedious having to go to the creek to fill buckets of water each day.

Once outside, Kai noticed his mother was more lively than usual. “Kai, I have great news. I found you a teacher!”

She was the picture of excitement. “Mom, did you sell our house?”

“Obviously no—”

“Did you take a loan?”

“I told you I would find someone we could affo—”

“Did you sell Kea?”

“Don’t be ridiculous, yo—”

“Yeah, no one would buy her. So, how did you find me a teacher?”

“Kai Tylenn.” Alana slowly spelled his name, and he closed his mouth, trapping countless words inside.

“Do you have so little faith in your mother?” She appeared hurt.

Kai lowered his gaze, he might have gone a bit overboard. “Sorry, Mom. What did you find?”

From how Alana was smiling again a moment later, Kai was reminded that Kea must have taken after someone.

“It’s not exactly a teacher…”

Kai raised an eyebrow for her to go on. Maybe his first reaction wasn’t entirely unjustified.

“I heard of a retired mage that is looking for someone to help around his house.”

“Do you want me to be a manservant and hope this weirdo, who lives in the middle of the jungle, will teach me something?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. First of all, it’s a distinguished female magus. She might hire me and we could bargain to be paid in lessons.”

“Mom, you can’t leave everything for my sake. Who’s gonna take care of Ele and Kea?”

“Eleni found a job and I have put enough aside for a while.”

It didn’t look like his mom would back down. Kai tried a different approach.

“Where exactly did you hear of this mage person exactly?”

Alana mumbled an answer.

“Say that again.”

“Tally told me she ended up on her property when she was trying to get to Sylspring during the famine and she said she was hosted by a mage for the whole winter.”

“Old Tally, the old crazy hag who sells fish in the market, insisting her completely ordinary fish—a bit subpar if you ask me—are rare magical specimens that fell on top of her house during a storm? That Old Tally?”

“Kai, who taught you to speak like that? You should pay more respect to the old members of our community.”

“You know she once dyed her fish with some strange algae for another of her crazy stories and gave food poisoning to half a dozen families?”

“Ah, that’s just an old misunderstanding.”

“It was a month ago, at most.”

Alana had a hard time keeping a straight face at that. “How I gave birth to such a silver-tongue monster I have no idea. You are my son, and we’ll go there to confirm the rumor.”

Over the years he understood people had a different standard for weirdness in this world. His mother thought he was precocious and learned new words by reading his father’s books.

Kai wondered if he should be worried they were developing such a strange relationship. After the accident, he stopped acting like a child and tried to fill the hole left by his father’s passing. Even after all these months, it was weird not hearing his voice around the house.

“Sure, Mom, we can go. It’ll make a nice story to tell.”

“Don’t be so pessimistic. I confirmed with the locals that someone lives between here and Sylspring. It wasn’t uncommon for outsiders to retire on the archipelago even before the relocation.”

“And she wants to hire a maid…?” His tone full of skepticism.

“If we wait to confirm the rumor, someone else might take advantage. We need to see for ourselves, and then we can negotiate a deal when we know more. You’re so talented, any mage would be crazy not to take you.”

Alana softened her tone. “I know it’s a stretch, but at most we do a little journey for nothing. It can be a great opportunity and we aren’t going to find much better here.”

He wasn’t too convinced. “Can’t we wait until I become seven?” That was usually the norm, and their situation would be more stable by then.

After a lot of back and forth, he was able to convince her to delay till spring, after his sixth birthday. It wasn’t ideal, but Alana was being more stubborn than him.

* * *

Time flew and things didn’t go exactly as he planned. A week after his sixth birthday, they were hiking through the Veeryd jungle.

The path was a barely visible line on the ground, often covered by overgrown weeds and shrubbery. If it didn’t follow the coastline with a few cuts through the forest, they would have already gotten lost several times.

They had taken advantage of a low tide for the first portion of the journey, then proceeded through this sham of a path. The sea breeze was stopped by the trees. Their clothes stuck to their skin with sweat after the first hour. This was the fourth day.

Somehow, the farther from Greenside they went, the better the humidity got. That place truly was hell on Earth.

There were less insects than one would expect at the edge of the jungle. It appeared humans had yet to spread mosquitoes and other invasive species to every corner of Elydes. Only the pests native to the Baquaire Archipelago were present, buzzing around annoyingly close to his face. It could be worse.

The ‘road’ went north along the eastern coast and used to link many small villages. Now the nearest settlement was Sylspring beyond the forest. Probably the reason why this path looked abandoned.

“Mom, are you sure someone is living here?”

“I’m sure. We must be close.”

Kai was more and more convinced this had all been a big mistake. He was miserable, his legs were dead tired and he was sticky from the sweat. He was just glad he didn’t stink like an adult, but the smell wasn’t pleasant.

Alana looked fatigued too, but compared to him it was as if she came out of a spa. She was even carrying all the supplies for the journey. He didn’t know much about her status or profession, but she must have a higher physical focus than he thought or at least possessed a useful skill.

When they didn’t find anything, he could probably use that to make her answer a few questions on the way back.

“Look!” Alana woke him up from his musings, pointing to an indistinguishable spot in the lush vegetation.

Only after going nearer, did he notice an opening in the trees with a path as poorly maintained as the one they were on. Without another choice, he reluctantly followed. A short way in the trees opened up to reveal a small bay with a long beach with actual sand, not the rocks and pebbles of Greenside. Kai couldn’t believe his eyes.

The whole place looked like a photo with color correction, but not so much to look fake or unappealing. The plants were greener, the flowers more colorful. Even the sand and water somehow looked better.

In the center of it all, a magnificent mansion stretched along the shoreline with multiple conjoined secondary buildings. Despite its imposing appearance, the white and warm earthy tones with blue accents made it perfectly fit into the landscape.

This place was exactly how he imagined the secret residence of a drug lord in the Amazon rainforest would be. It was probably one of the villas the governor took inspiration to start his project, just ten times better.

After a minute of silent awe, he was the first to regain his senses.

“Mom, I’m happy there’s someone here, but I doubt they’re going to hire me or you. I thought we would find a crazy old lady living in a hut, not someone who could buy the whole of Greenside twice over.” He had run many scenarios in his head but was still caught unprepared. They were way out of their depth.

Alana recomposed herself. “Come on, Kai, at most they are going to say no, it’s always positive getting to know our closest neighbor. If they’re that rich, she must be a very powerful mage, we’ll never find someone better.”

“Mom, I look terrible. What impression am I gonna make?” Meeting and speaking to strangers had never been his forte.

“Kai, we are going. Remember to be respectful.”

“I’m always resp—”

“Sure you are, honey. Also, remember not to stare too much like you usually do. And for the spirits’ sake, don’t use your sarcastic tone.”

Alana didn’t wait for him to reply. She grabbed his arm and marched toward the mansion.