Sunday Summer Quarter 2016 Week 2
I entered the Crossroads and saw Xi. Ruiqi chatted with her as the absolute defender took notes.
“Glad I’m not the first one,” I greeted them.
“Tomo, it’s been awhile. How have you been?” Ruiqi asked.
“Hello,” Xi greeted, putting away her notepad.
Ruiqi walked over to the counter. Damn, this was awkward. I didn’t know Ruiqi or Xi that well. Should I try talking or sit here in silence until Kyoi arrived?
“I just needed to confirm our destination. Tomo, you must be tired after going through so many weapon retrievals,” Ruiqi said.
“It’s not too bad. Nice to have a consistent schedule,” I responded.
“That’s good. I haven’t read any of the recent progress reports so it’s nice to get an update from you. Hopefully, we can do the same today.” Ruiqi gave me a pleasant smile.
“You’ve been training with Kyoi, right?” I asked.
“Fun. Training with her brings back good memories. I regret taking away my sister’s powers but she was far too injured to do anything,” Ruiqi answered.
Fun definitely wasn’t my first choice to describe any training with Kyoi. But, they had good chemistry, I coud tell after watching a couple of old battle videos.
“Glad to see everyone is here!” Kyoi arrived.
“I checked the location and it’s still valid,” Ruiqi informed her.
“Xi, you’ll support us from the back with Tomo. Kaze and I will take the front,” Kyoi decided.
“Sounds good to me.” I trusted her decision making.
Mineral Prefecture
“Are you familiar with this dimension?” I asked as we arrived at a flower meadow.
A gentle breeze rocked the flowers and they swayed back and forth. It was a tranquil atmosphere and very relaxing. I made sure not to step on any flowers as we exited the meadow.
“Haven’t been here before,” Ruiqi replied.
There was a well-traveled road ahead of us with no obstructions. No signs of any other people.
“We will have to be careful in case the residents see us as a threat. Restrain yourself, Feng,” Ruiqi warned.
“When have I not?” Kyoi responded with a smile.
“Hey Xi, how’s the training going?” I struck up a conversation with her.
“I’ve learned a lot,” Xi replied.
“Long sucked at defending when he first started,” Ruiqi chimed in.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“He took too many attacks. I blame Feng. He’s lucky I was there to teach him a few things,” Ruiqi replied, glancing over at Kyoi.
“I take exception to that, Kaze. I’m pretty sure that the little tricks you taught him weren’t as important as the knowledge I passed onto him,” Kyoi argued with a light-hearted tone.
At the end of the road, we arrived at a…. cliff? Ruiqi watched the ocean waves crash against the base. She called Kyoi over and the sword master swiped her hand in the air. Sparkles of light flew in the air and converged into a bridge.
“Magic exists here. Let’s test out the stability,” Kyoi remarked, taking a step onto the bridge. “Seems stable, let’s go.”
Everyone crossed without any problems. However, a large boulder blocked our way. Ruiqi touched the rock and shook her head.
“Break the rock with your grimoire,” Kyoi directed.
“Can’t you do it?” I stared at her.
“I’m feeling lazy today,” Kyoi answered with a grin.
The rock vanished and revealed a large gate. There was another beautiful flower meadow once we walked in. These ones were duller in color. A gentle breeze blew past us, ruffling the plants.
“The inhabitants sure love nature,” Kyoi commented.
“Can’t you tell, Feng?” Ruiqi plucked a flower.
“These do give off a high magical reading. Yuki, do some analysis for us.” Kyoi handed me the flower.
I flipped to a blank page and pressed the flower down into it. The plant was now framed with a short description and a composition breakdown.
“It’s a stimulant. Almost like a steroid for magic users,” Kyoi informed me.
“What else can you use it for?” I questioned.
“Magic bullets. Grind it up into powder, mix it with ammunition, and anyone can fire off a shot equivalent to elemental magic,” Kyoi explained.
I felt a shift in magic. The flowers wilted and released golden orbs of light. The golden orbs of light formed into a mannequin. It fired a beam from its forehead at us, but Xi constructed a barrier, protecting us from the attack.
“An enemy?” I grasped Mirror’s Rend in my right hand.
“It had to happen sooner or later. Xi, raise a deflection shield over there and here,” Kyoi barked, dodging another beam.
Kyoi and Ruiqi split up, one attacking from the front and the other from the back. The third beam struck the deflection shield and bounced the attack back at the mannequin. It absorbed its own attack and prepared to fire another beam.
“We’ll have to go on the offensive!” Kyoi dodged a string of light the enemy whipped at her.
Xi made more barriers, protecting herself from enemy projectiles. Kyoi swung her sword down, a reddish-orange flame engulfing the blade. The enemy pushed her blade back and repelled the hero. It shot out multiple beams of light, preventing her from getting any closer.
It was now Ruiqi’s turn. Grey tornadoes surged towards the enemy and the beams could not repel the strong wind. The mannequin was sucked into a tornado and scattered into individual orbs of light. Kyoi unleashed a steam of fire and set them ablaze. A few of the orbs escaped her flames and flew at me. I slashed with my sword and charged up Mirror’s Rend. A gaping hole appeared in the flower field once all the orbs of light vanished.
“We going down?” I peered down and saw nothing but darkness.
“Seems like it,” Ruiqi replied.
Kyoi dropped a wilted flower down the hole. She shrugged her shoulder and jumped down. I couldn’t help but admire her courage. Xi glanced at the hole with hesitation but followed Kyoi’s lead.
“Those two… our turn now.” Ruiqi sighed and jumped as well.
Please don’t let there be a hard surface! A shimmering light surrounded me once I entered. Ah, transportation magic. Everything around me distorted and I landed on my butt at the edge of a pond.
“Nice of you to finally show up,” Kyoi greeted and held her hand out.
I accepted her assistance and checked for any injuries. Nope, still good. Ruiqi scooped up the pond water with her left hand. She let it flow out and glanced upwards at the sky.
“Now what?” I glanced around the area.
“There’s something underneath the pond,” Ruiqi revealed.
“Can we access it?” Kyoi stared at her reflection in the water.
“Drain the water and we’ll find out,” Ruiqi answered.
She caused a miniature tsunami that sent all of the water crashing into the tall grass around us. Xi shielded us with a barrier. A single flower protruded up from the empty pond.
“Do we pick it?” I stared at the plant.
“Let’s try this!” Kyoi extended her pointer finger out and a small flame appeared.
The flower straightened up after the woman’s flame circled around its stem and particles of light steamed out. A beam of light exited from the plant’s head and pierced the sunny sky.
“Feng, just one hit,” Ruiqi directed.
A large snake burst out from the ground. Kyoi, an orange aura surrounding her body, plunged her sword into the creature. Red fiery lines appeared throughout the reptile’s body. Loud, consecutive pops occurred as the snake exploded. When the heavy smoke subsided, a charred log was present instead of the reptile’s body.
“Why didn’t you do that earlier?” I questioned.
“I didn’t feel like it,” Kyoi answered.
Ruiqi sliced up the log with her wind magic and examined the interior.
“Find anything useful?” Kyoi asked.
“There’s something here!” Ruiqi exclaimed.
The woman held a golden seed in her hand. Ruiqi dug a hole in the ground with her powers and dropped the seed into it before filling it back up.
“Tomo, can you water this spot?” she requested.
After dumping water onto the dirt, a bamboo tree sprouted from the ground. It continued growing, all the way up into the sky. I clambered up the tree, curious to see what was up top.
“Taking the initiative, I see. Good for you.” Kyoi followed my lead.
“Hope we don’t get ambushed,” I said.
“You’re getting so much experience! Isn’t that the best?” Kyoi countered.
“We can stand on this cloud!” I reached the top.
Ruiqi raised her hand in the air and generated a strong current. From there, the cloud moved on its own, taking us to a new location. It eventually dissipated, dropping us into a field of vegetables? I saw corn, blueberries, melons, and fruit trees.
“It’s something new every time,” Ruiqi commented, plucking an apple from a nearby tree.
I spotted a shed nearby. Ruiqi followed me while Kyoi and Xi stayed behind to investigate the field. A rusty lock hung from the door handles.
“A little wind magic will let us in.” Ruiqi broke the lock in half with a single tap.
She opened the shed door and a musty smell hit us. The bright sunlight streaming in through the broken windows illuminated the interior. Various farming tools hung on hooks and there was a work table in the back. This was a surprise. I really expected weapons and armor. Ruiqi inspected a hoe and sickle with an excited expression. Was this really just a plain storage shed full of farming equipment?
“Okay, I understand.” Ruiqi placed several tools into a handwoven gathering basket.
“Guess it’s better than fighting.” I assisted the woman. “How well can you garden?”
“I’m still learning but I take care of everything in my garden at home,” she revealed.
When we returned, Xi jotted down notes. How was Kyoi leading Xi astray? Maybe I was being too harsh. I just had a biased viewpoint because of her antics.
“Find anything useful?” Kyoi offered me an orange slice.
“Gardening tools. It’s time for a makeover,” Ruiqi replied.
“That’s your area of expertise. Give us some orders already!” Kyoi requested.
“You’re a pretty good gardener yourself, Feng!” Ruiqi distributed tools to everyone.
“I’m sure Yuki would rather take orders from you.” Kyoi grinned.
Ruiqi directed me to saw off branches and clear weeds. After completing those tasks, I was assigned to water plants in my assigned area. Xi inspected the seedlings and built trellises for the beans and tomatoes. Kyoi mainly helped Ruiqi out.
“These are ripe already.” Ruiqi pointed at the hanging fruit.
“Long might enjoy this,” Kyoi remarked, standing next to me all of a sudden.
“Almost gave me a freakin’ heart attack, Kyoi. Why would Zhuyu like this?” I questioned.
“He plays those farming games like Harvest Crescent. And he’s helped out his parents in the garden too. Not an expert but reliable for grunt work,” Kyoi explained.
“Maybe it’s because you tease him so much all the time?” I responded.
“You do have some fire in you, Yuki. If you’re feeling bored, I recommend playing a Harvest Crescent game. It’s repetitive but fulfilling,” Kyoi recommended.
I didn’t expect Kyoi or Zhuyu to play those types of games. He seemed like the type to… well, I wasn’t exactly sure what types of games he enjoyed. The man liked those visual novels, basically reading a digital book with static pictures. Ruiqi was just at total mystery. I didn’t even want to speculate on what games she liked.
“Help me pick the apples, Tomo,” Ruiqi requested.
“What’s that pile over there for?” I pointed at the fruit she set aside.
“Those are rotting or badly bruised. We can use it for compost,” Ruiqi answered.
I inspected the field and surrounding areas, impressed by our progress. The pleasant sound of wind chimes suddenly rang out. An orb of light, with a tiny pair of sparkling wings, floated down onto Ruiqi’s open palm.
“One step closer,” Ruiqi said as she was bathed in a gentle light.
“Thanks for inviting me, Kyoi. This was nice after going through some tough battles,” I said as we returned the tools back to the shed.
“Any time, Yuki. I’m sure Kaze appreciated the opportunity to work with you, right?” Kyoi yanked the wind user towards me.
“Of course. Let me know if you want to help out again!” Kaze agreed.
