Ebony's Fable

A week later.

Ning Xin wore a Frost Elven-styled dress. It was far more conservative and fit her surprisingly well now that she had black hair and she had the height for it. Except for some assets that were having a hard time. All elves were slender after all.

It was a winter-furred dress without a hood. The waist was wrapped in leather and the rest was a thin satin-like fabric with fur at the rims. He didn’t think they would match but the thin fabric was likely because these dresses weren’t made for warmth. They were made for Frost Elves that wanted to stay cool. It was full body length and helped the swordswoman get used to the breezy feeling of not wearing pants.

The colour scheme was white, blue and brown.

Neither of them had put on their robes ever since entering the village. Even during Conditioning. She didn’t even put her bodysuit on. They should begin to phase the equipment back on now that they regained complete control over their new frame but there was no rush. A robe, bodysuit or mantle truly couldn’t affect their movements in any noticeable fashion.

Ebony began to get the desire to get a serious battle going now that he had all his skills and control in check.

He didn’t need the ability to read minds or a strong intuition to tell that someone else was getting the battle itch. Her sparring partner, Korben, had left after all. The Kings weren’t keen on bullying them.

However, neither of them brought up the topic of leaving to find some opponents.

He was reading a book about philosophy. He sort of wished he was back on Earth just so he could get his hands on those books. He might have great mental stats but he couldn’t remember something he never read. The book he was reading right now felt more like some Frost Elf’s diary that was rewritten into a bibliography from ages ago.

For some reason, his interest in a game of chess rose quite a bit. When he wasn’t reading, or spending his time with his eyes closed in meditation he found that there were not many activities for him to pass the time.

They could watch memory lights which contained the films and movies of this world but Ning Xin wanted to save them up for trips. That made sense as it got boring and quiet in their trailer when they were on the move.

‘What did I use to do to pass the time? I just meditated the time away if I wasn’t training didn’t I.’ Ebony moved the pawn on his board. Clovis liked the game quite a bit too.

However, his only opponents were the old crafters like the Death Tailor and her merry group of elders. They called his chess board simple.

The version of chess they knew had a few different types of pieces with different movesets and the board wasn’t an eight by eight square. It was twelve by twelve. However, it was surprising that none of them knew what the real game board looked like or what the other pieces were. They just knew that their ancestors played something similar and got a glimpse of the board when they were young.

Ebony learnt that all the King Classed crafters in Arcta had left Elcra before. Most of them had a family clan living in their ancestral home and evolving to King grants them a visit. Most would be advised to come back to Elcra or some other world with a Frost Elven village. However, there were still many who would choose not to come back.

The environment back at their ancestral home did not sound welcoming. Kings who weren’t combatants and didn’t have the right skill set or Physique would just be in constant pain. The elders here were all confident of reaching the ranks of an Emperor one day and safely living in their ancestral home.

However, they called themselves average folks other than the Death Tailor who had a relatively unique skill set for a Frost Elf. Their ambitions were just to live to a ripe old age of 3800 as an average Emperor, perhaps up to 4000 if they were lucky. They weren't anywhere close to that age but their lifespans as Kings wasn’t that long either.

Opportunity came with danger. If they had remained at their ancestral home and survived they would’ve long been Emperors right now.

From what Ebony could tell Kings ranked individuals didn’t have a high status amongst the Elves. Other than the environment, it seemed like the Frost Elf race was under constant threat of something. However, right here, every single one of them was pretty much the best the continent of Elva could offer.

As terrible of a chess player as he believed himself to be, his powers of calculation were in every sense of the word, inhuman. As long as he told himself to put some thought into his moves, victory against most villagers was guaranteed.

“Scarlet, Ebony. Come out.”

He placed the knight down before looking out towards the call.‘Vent’s voice. Sounds serious.’

“The Matriarch is aware of who those people are. Apologies but we need you two out of the village.” Vent was a rare, lean but muscular elf. His voice was hoarse, likely thanks to an old injury as he had a scar on his neck.

Ebony didn’t sense any hostility, the elf was just stating something that was bound to happen.

“Scarlet’s in the shower, can it wait till she’s down?” They were just back from morning conditioning.

Vent nodded, “Koawe will be leaving with us. I’ll escort you to Tidal. Stay within or close to the city. Try not to leave the city walls. Those people won’t go near Tidal.”

“Who are they.”

Vent put his fingers under his chin in contemplation.

“Debtors. Outside of Elcra, mana slaves are commonly termed as batteries. You are…rare enough to be considered a myth. There are creatures and other races that generate more mana than us elves. Many plants and vegetation are above us in this aspect but none can rival a mana being. You are more human than mana, so it shouldn’t matter but most batteries remain as a Master or at best, a Grandmaster. Yet, you’re advancing like no tomorrow. They know that, so they let you be. You evolving proved their point. However, I heard their skills don’t work well on you, hence they will try even harder to take you right now while they still have the ability to.”

“What about plants and vegetation? Can’t they run a mana farm, an actual farm.”

“Growth conditions are practically impossible. If they manage to find or buy a few seeds of those types, they would grow it up to Uncommon or Rare quality on Elva at best unless these debtors are a generation of specialised planters. Cycle and most importantly harvest. Plants don’t generate mana all day round and they mostly follow a growth cycle. Harvesting mana from plants is far more difficult and inefficient.”

Ebony thought about how the Amur Maple Trees were the same. They were heavily dependent on ambient mana conditions. The mana they produced was also very specific. The properties weren’t exactly mana that could fit inside a mana ore or be used by someone else.

“They can hide from your senses, surely they can enter Tidal as they wish.”

“The Empire is under Oplot’s protection. They wouldn’t dare.”

“The Emperor in name, is he that impressive.”

“He is but people fear who’s behind him more so. Hence, despite being a good planet for growth as an Ancient Worldcore we aren’t invaded and overtaken. For debtors like them, they wouldn’t even show their tails in the Capital city no matter what happens. Some visitors in Tidal may recognize them.”

“I see.” Ebony liked talking or rather, listening to high-level people talk. There was just a flood of information to gain.

He rarely got the chance to interact with Vent but it seemed like the man was less stern and reticent than he assumed.

In any case, Ning Xin seemed to have heard Vent’s voice while he explained things over a chess game and came down prepared to leave.

“Come on, why haven’t you packed up?” Fully geared, she tilted her head at his unprepared self.

“Hold on, let me talk to Roya.” He stood and prepared himself.

It felt surprisingly hard to say a few words of farewell. However, Roya didn’t get all feisty or moody. It had been over a week and she calmed down enough.

“Take care of each other. When you come back, we can build your house together.”

Ebony’s natural smile came up again. He considered the slight raising of his lips a smile and recognised his facial expressions. Ning Xin gave Roya a hug and so did he. It felt like she gave them her blessings in some manner.

Packing up didn’t even take a minute since he had always been ready to leave at any moment. All he had to do was take his bag and myriad bracelet. Changing into his gear and choosing clothes took a longer time.

Clovis gave him a goodbye Tet and helped Kiva practise her greetings while he was at it. Halvis raised his head from his garden and waved them off.

“Oh well. It looks like even if we tried not to rush, we would be rushed either way.” Ebony joked.

Both of them tried their best not to give a date to end their vacation. But even when they didn’t dive back into the hubbub of training, training opportunities were coming to them.

“Koawe, you’re better now.” He tetted the curse mage who walked normally and had a better complexion.

“Old Hag’s either dead or managed to remove my curse somehow.”

Ebony took that as a confirmation that once a curse mage’s curse was lifted, the debilitating effects on the caster were removed immediately. The curse mage had been bedridden just yesterday but he was walking fine right now.

‘The war with the Trolls sure is taking a long time. Wait, they usually take 5 to 10 years so I guess it's going faster than usual. If it’s taking so long I guess the main battle in the First Tide didn’t become a supremacy duel.’

Arti was coming along but she wasn’t their ride. Vent’s pet Orcas were their ride.

The Chilblain Orcas could manipulate their body size proportionally unlike Trolls who just added mostly muscle and bone mass. What’s interesting was that it didn’t take them any mana. It appeared like their species’ ability.

They inflated themselves with air to expand and he didn’t know what their actual size was.

“Hey!” The Orca that Ning Xin climbed on flipped on its back and shook its tail after she fell.

“What’s wrong?” Vent patted his partner.

The Orcas weren’t tamed monsters, they were just following Vent on their own free will. He wasn’t able to get the Orca to cooperate. Ning Xin would have to ride on Arti who was more than happy to take her but Vent disagreed. Arti was too slow for his liking.

“Here, your favourite seal jerky.” Vent pulled out a dark red dried meat to coddle the Orca but it harrumphed and pushed the hunter's hand away with its smooth beak. It had already deflated into the size of a wolf.

“Are they gluttonous?” Ning Xin asked.

“Very, I didn’t think they would deny their favourite snack. Their dislike of your aura is stronger than I imagined.” Vent explained without any sort of discrimination.

“Give me ten minutes. There should be some seal meat in the fridge.” She ran back into the Thoya’s.

“You’re back!” Kiva shouted from within.

Near the ten-minute mark, the Orcas were swimming outside the door in distress. They knew not to destroy anything in the village.

It was a buttery seal steak with some of Hoarfrost Glade’s wild vegetables and herbs from the Lasil’s.

They saw her and swam back to Vent’s side, using the hunter as a shield.

She was making use of their gluttony. As a fellow foodie herself, she had already pre-sliced the steak and used the fork to poke a fat, juicy slice. Ever so slowly, she inched the steak towards her mouth.

The Orcas already reacted and rubbed themselves against Vent’s shoulders and calves. The one that denied Ning Xin a ride seemed to react the most violently and bit onto Vent’s sleeves.

Pzz!

A burst of juices echoed in their perceptive ears.

“Mmm!”

To the Orcas, she was chewing obnoxiously loud.

The disobedient Orca swam to her before Ebony noticed a dangerous change in Vent’s aura. It passed in a fraction of a second but he caught it. Ning Xin was too focused on her steak to notice, perhaps she was out of range.

He wasn’t the only one who sensed it, the gluttonous Orca slowed down right in front of the goading chef. It seemed like Vent threatened it to be gentle without saying a word.

It made pitiful cries while swimming around the steak. Ning Xin circled with it and protected her steak while eating it slice after slice.

“Let me ride you and you can have it.”

The Orca hesitated.

Another slice entered her belly.

“More for me.”

The Orca swam around her faster but didn’t touch her, reminded of Vent’s warning.

Another slice disappeared, leaving half a steak.

It gave in and leapt for the plate.

The plate just added crunch to the steak. Its joyful cries echoed through the village.

It was a short delay that none of them were bothered by. The Orca was slightly reluctant but it gave them a ride. To appease it further, he sat with her. They seemed to love his aura after all. They expanded to the size of a small truck within a moment.

They got Christy’s help to lower the illusion without exposing the village.

“Leisure speed.” Vent ordered.

Koawe bid his family and partner, Arti goodbye before the Orcas took flight.

The Orcas had smooth skin, they almost slipped off its back but he froze his butt and caught Ning Xin from sliding off. It tested their patience by turning loops in the air. The centrifugal force it was producing was enough to force them to hold on to dear life.

‘I have to use enhancement magic just to hang on to our ride. How pathetic.’ Ebony called upon his mana and surrounded their naughty ride with liquid mana.

It gained excitement for a split second before settling down and chasing Koawe and Vent.

“Xin, you can shift forward now.” He told the person in the front seat of the Orca Express.

“This is fine. It’s easier for you to hold me if this girl gets riled up again.” She remained in the same position with her back planted on him.

“You’re a bit close.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“Nothing.” Safety was more important so he agreed to her suggestion without any further thoughts.

Their decision proved to be right.

The Orca they rode was still the rowdiest one. While Koawe and Vent’s ride were swimming in the air in a path as straight as they could, their ride was swimming left to right and up to down. As wave-like as it could,

The bumpy ride lasted all the way till a massive blot on the land flew into sight.

They took slightly longer than if Kong Jing were to transport them. But they usually took breaks when the space mage transported them so it was still a faster journey.

Despite having a stronger body than Koawe, they had back and leg aches by the time they alighted. The Orca who carried them rubbed against him before nudging Ning Xin once as if to acknowledge that she wasn’t so bad. It was just its personality.

“Good girl.” Ning Xin patted it. She received the Orca’s affection as it accepted the touch and rubbed itself against her hand.

“Hmm? I thought you wouldn’t like her.”

“What are you saying? She’s such a good girl.” The Orca deflated and got under her arm.

“Huh? What happened? The power of food?” He truly didn’t understand the sharp shift in both of their relations.

“Here’s some of my personal snacks. This one’s sweet. This one’s sour and this one’s gonna be your favourite.”

She unlatched a pouch of candies, dried fruits and her creation from under her mantle. She created something similar to the Souper Bread that was a rock-hard chuck until it absorbed soup or water. It was a meat and biscuit variant, sort of like a mix of biscuits and jerky that rehydrates in saliva. It couldn’t be kept long if it wasn’t in a good preservation box but the Orca would probably finish the small pouch in a day.

It stole the pouch and flew back to its group of three.

‘Is it a child of the other two? Can’t tell, but it does act less mature.’ He could see slight differences from animal to animal but the Orcas could change their size and features which made it hard to tell.

“I won’t be entering. I’ll wait for you out here Koawe. You kids remember to stay within the walls, or don’t get too far away.” Vent caressed the Orcas with pats but only gave snacks to the two good rides.

Their ride wasn’t even jealous as it manipulated ice to pull out a candy. She straightened and swam upwards in joy.

“Are the dungeons fine?” He questioned. He heard the Quest Hall and underground training fields here were the best but a dungeon would put him more at ease.

“Should be fine, but try not to enter or stay there long. We don’t know how desperate they are or how juicy you are to them.” Vent hurried them to enter the huge gates. There were so many gates they just took the closest west gate.