Chapter 6: Change

Chapter 6: Change

Chapter 6

After accompanying everyone to their home safely, Kai did the same and ran to hug his mom, hoping for a moment she could magically solve everything.

He explained what happened and felt somehow validated that his parents showed the same anger he felt. Keandra was the most vocal about it. If Alana didnt stop her, she would have gone herself to beat them up according to her.

The burning heat of his anger gave way to a different kind of warmth.

In the end, there was nothing they could do. He doubted he could press charges for assault against a minor. As far as he knew the law didnt protect him from much except murder.

After he made sure he was all right, Rellan left to see the ruins, his usual calm demeanor barely hiding his fury. They were his lifes work and after they stood for 8000 years they were being destroyed in a day by some moron.

Alana stayed with him and did her best to comfort him. She wanted to bring him to see a healer, the right side of his face was seriously swollen. It would have been funny if it didn't hurt like hell.

There were no true healers in Whiteshore, but there was an herbalist shop that sold healing balms and natural remedies. The owners, Mr. and Mrs. LuVels parentsalso took care of more serious wounds and possessed skills that helped with the natural healing process.

The good news was their remedies worked, the less good news was that Mr. Lu was nothing like his son and loved talking, especially gossiping. The next day everyone knew what happened.

No one was happy of course, the islanders venerated their ancestors. The Vastaire ruins were not part of their beliefs, but they had always been treated akin to sacred places.

Soon the news reached all the islands, it turned out Yatol wasnt the only place where the Vastaire buildings were mined for stone. The same had happened on Yawei and Kanlun, respectively the second and fifth of the seven major islands.

The governor in Higharbor had sold them to some business from the mainland that planned to build luxury villas.

After people threatened to riot, the governor promised there would be no further mining. According to the official response, it was all a misunderstanding. The governor had no idea of their significance and was looking to promote tourism on the islands.

"Does he think we are all stupid? If it was a misunderstanding, he would not have done it so swiftly and in secret. Rellan paced back and forth, giving way to one of his regular rantings while the rest of the family finished eating.

He only cares about lining his own pockets and stopped when he got what he wanted to contain the outrage.

Rellan had sued for an official reclaim, but the court in Higharbor had dismissed it. The governor had all the rights to use the land for the benefit of the community. The benefit of the community being whatever they decided it was.

After the Baquaire Archipelago had been annexed, all the land not owned by a private citizen became the property of the state. The Vastaire ruins now belonged to the Republic to do with them as they saw fit.

Alana put her hand on his shoulder, Dear, why dont you go outside to get some air, we can finish cleaning up. Ill reach you as soon as were done.

Rellan nodded his head distractedly and walked outside.

A moment later Alana turned to look at her three children, looking serious.

Always remember that, while the Merian Republic likes to pretend they treat all their citizens fairly, their laws only apply if the two parties involved are considered equal. People from new lands aren't given much value, doubly so in a poor territory like ours.

Then, as if nothing happened, Alana said, Comen now, these plates are not going to clean themselves.

* * *

Dad, do they see no value in the last remnants of an 8000-year-old civilization? You came here representing a university, didnt you? Kai asked.

Rellan was helping him train Mana Sense. Progress was slow, but his dad was patient and complimented his every little improvement. Kai was trying to expand his range, while at the same time learning how not to get overwhelmed by the 360-view. His father told him it was possible to use Mana Sense like his eyes: seeing everything but only focusing on one thing and leaving the rest in the background of his mind.

After his question, Rellan remained silent for a moment. I did come here with a research mandate from the Altaria Academia Maxima, but it wasnt a prestigious assignment. The Republic has a great interest in ancient civilizations, but since this is a place with some of the lowest density of mana on Elydes, any race that decided to settle here is not considered worth studying.

The Vastaire ruins have already been plundered of all valuables and even their writings can only tell us so much. I suspect there are still some undiscovered ruins out there, but I cant afford to fund a specialized team to look for them. Maybe if I was a better researcher Rellan seemed to deflate, his shoulders sagging in defeat.

Dad, you have already done a great job. You transcribed all the inscriptions, so nothing was lost. What could be better than preserving their culture?

Thank you, Kai, I only wish I could have done more. When I took this assignment, I knew I would not receive any help from the Academia unless I made some revolutionary discovery. I was young and brash, I thought I could prove them all wrong and become a renowned scholar. His gaze looked lost, reminiscing about the past.

After it became clear my dreams would not come true and that I had been overconfident, I didnt know what to do with my life.

Kai wasnt sure what to say. It was unsettling to have your parents being so vulnerable. Then, like a storm giving way to the sun, the shadows disappeared from Rellans face.nôvel binz was the first platform to present this chapter.

It was right then, when I was considering going back to the Academia to continue my career, that I met a very smart woman. I asked her for advice and she told me to imagine myself in fifty years and look back at my life. Which was the choice that would make me happy?

Rellan lovingly ruffled his hair. I married that woman and now I have a wonderful family that makes me happy every day.

* * *

Like in a bad dream, ostentatious villas sprung up all over the island like mushrooms after a rainy day.

People were used to a few estates built over the years by private citizens that wanted to have a place to enjoy the tropical climate or retire. No one had anything against that, they were few and the owners spent large sums of money in the surrounding villages and towns.

Yes, the more personally challenging something is, the greater the reward. As for the third? Kai looked at both of them. Ana must have gotten bored and returned to her drawings, because they kept frantically throwing glances behind his back.

After a few more seconds of fun, Kai realized he was acting like one of those teachers that stared at you for a minute when it was clear you didnt know the answer.

Im becoming a monster.

The third thing to keep in mind is the result of your actions. If you do something exceptional, no matter the circumstances, youll get rewarded for it. For example, if you save a town, even if it was an accident, your actions had an undeniable impact and youll get rewarded.

Kai turned and tapped Anas shoulder to get her attention, this was the important part.

This is the most ambiguous method and Im not sure I understand it completely. The Guide seems to calculate some sort of objective standard. If what you do is above that, even if it was easy and you have done it a thousand times before, youll get bonus XP.

If you are a genius painter, you'll still get rewarded more when you complete a piece, no matter if it was effortless for you.

Its also interesting to notice that this rule seems at odds with the other two. The easiest way to guarantee above average results is doing something youre good at, which usually means something neither new nor challenging.

Noticing the twins were already whispering with each other, Ana looked lost and even Vel appeared confused, Kai ended his lesson.

I guess I went too speculative, theyre still children. I wish I had someone to bounce ideas with.

The only people he could freely speak with were children that couldnt understand half of what he was saying. How ironic.

His four poor students looked spent, who was he to let such an opportunity go to waste?

The last to get to the beach is a mollusk, Kai shouted, already running.

As if he had thrown them a bucket of icy water, the four woke from their stupor and stumbled after him. Kai could hear protests of unfairness being yelled, he gleefully ignored them.

* * *

A few hours later Kai was laying on the white sand enjoying the sun. The little devils had avenged his slight by trying to drown him, which then resulted in an all-out brawl in the water. Kai was dead tired; itd been a while since he drank so much seawater.

He was the youngest of the group and even months made the difference when you were so young, let alone years.

Closing his eyes Kai summoned his status to review his progress.

Name: Kai TylennRace: HumanProfession: None

Body stats

Strength: 2>3Dexterity: 3>4Constitution: 5>6Mind: 7>8Spirit: 8>9Perception: 6

Skills (6/7):

Meditation (lv28>38) Acting (lv9>18)Swimming (lv1>29)Running (lv1>11)Teaching (lv1>6)Mana Sense (lv1>10)Race: HumanGrade: Red Next advancement 18,833/20,000 XP

Steady growth in all his attributes except perception, but he expected that. After the very first years of life, your senses were pretty much set. It was possible he would get one more point if he had overlooked something, but he didnt expect much till he advanced his race, which wasnt that far off.

His skills menu showed the hard work he had been putting into learning new ones and leveling them.

Meditation was getting harder and harder to improve, he was happy with the result, even if not as much as with Swimming. He got a boost thanks to his previous experience, but he was also working hard for it.

He was attending swimming lessons with the other kids of the village and with his friends they often ended up playing in the sea. The skill included all ways to better move in the water, not only the swimming styles he learned on Earth. Getting good at play-fighting in the water and trying not to get drowned counted too.

Running was also improving at a fast pace. Not surprising since it was the skill he used the most. Looking after four brats tended to do that. The only reason it wasnt higher was that he had learned it recently.

Acting and Teaching were harder to train, but he also had fewer opportunities to use them.

But the hardest skill to train by far was Mana Sense. It was the skill he spent the most effort on, training with his dad. He activated it each day till he got a headache, but he only gained 10 levels. At least they were worth three times the XP, that was something.

His biggest worry was the fact he had almost filled his seven skill slots. They had seemed many at first, now he couldnt comprehend how he ever thought that.

There were countless other skills he wanted to learn and he didnt want to abandon any of the ones he had. He had learned how to read and write from his father and now they were working towards the skills for both actions. Without even counting all the other physical skills he wanted to get. He was sure he was so close to getting Climbing.

His parents told him that after the First Seal at seven years old, the customization option included the ability to discard old skills and refuse new ones. Until then he would automatically learn whatever he got offered.

Usually, it wasnt a problem, kids rarely filled their slots before seven, but that wasnt his case. He had around three years to wait, an eternity. And that was only to be able to choose what skills to have, he still wouldn't be able to have more than seven.

If he had not been meditating regularly, he would already be panicking.

He had also asked his parents if there was a way to increase his skill slots, but they were adamant that they would talk about it when he was older. From their reaction, he was sure there was a way, but it must not be something easy.

I'm certainly not going to find a solution laying on the beach. Even if the sun is so nice and warm

Gathering his will, Kai was able to uproot his butt and get going home. Maybe he could guilt trip his parents into answering by threatening a few tears. A child had to use the weapons he had available.

Walking the familiar dirt path Kai was almost home when he felt something was wrong. It took him a moment to realize he didnt see or hear any people around. At this hour the village was usually full of activity.

Increasing his pace, Kai finally heard some voices, but it wasnt the familiar cheery bustle.