Chapter 1
51.
The story continues as Kita, Hana, Yuna, and Lulu along with Pily leave the land of Kemitopia. Staying true to her promise, Princess Grace arranged a private ship where the group would begin their voyage. They don't have to do onboard duties, this time they are the VIPs protected by Royal Guards. The ship is more advanced compared to the previous ship that they rode. The Shipping Vessel from the Maple Tribe uses masts that catch the wind, while the ships from Kemitopia are powered by coal. As the ship leaves the dock, the maids, Duke Nasmuis, and Princess Grace wave from the shore. A bittersweet goodbye for everyone. It's time for them to head to their next destination.
Zenshin is actually quite far. If it's 3-6 days from Riverania to Kemitopia, the duration of traveling towards Zenshin will take 5-8 days. That time span is applicable for both countries, regardless of whether it's from Riverania or Kemitopia. The main reason for this lengthy travel is the ocean currents towards the land are unpredictable. Due to the over-optimization of the land, the environment around Zenshin is definitely wild and unforgiving.
Luckily the ships from Kemitopia can weather the storm. Ships that come from Riverania can hardly do so. Usually, the Kemis from Zenshin are the ones who travel to Riverania, whenever they need raw supplies. The land can no longer grow plants naturally, staple ingredients there are mostly genetically engineered.
As they voyage through the ocean, the group is currently living in luxury. This is actually the first time that they experienced such a service. But due to their past experiences, they know that deals like these usually end differently. If it's too good to be true, then there must be a catch to it.
Kita, Hana, Yuna, and Lulu are currently lying on a beach bench in the ship dock open area. Relaxing under the warm vibrance of the star, submerging in the salty air.
"Why are we sleeping here instead of in our rooms?" Lulu questioned.
"Because it's relaxing here, the scenery is beautiful," Hana answered.
"It's also a good change of pace," Yuna added.
"Quite boring but I'll take it," Kita commented.
"Chuu~ Just enjoy the moment while it lasts!" Pily said.
The cruise is led by Captain Lans, an old Tortoiseman who's been a ship captain for decades. The first 2 days of their voyage were as peaceful as they could be, but it did not last for long. The atmosphere started to change on the 3rd day of their cruise. The wind is way more violent, the smooth salty breeze turned into dreadful air. It's dry, steamy, and hot, the air itself is a byproduct of heated metal. The Kemis stayed inside the ship because of the atmosphere.
On their 4th day of travel, the currents changed. Suddenly, the tides are pushing the ship away from its destination. It looks like a sinkhole is nearby, creating a problem for the Kemis.
"What is happening?" Yuna asked Captain Lans.
"Apparently a strong force is pulling the ship towards it. The ocean here is quite unpredictable." The captain answered while holding firmly onto the helm.
"But why is it happening?" Hana curiously asked.
"Well, Zenshin is a highly advanced country. In fact, that place feels like a different dimension." Captain Lans replied.
"What do nyu mean?" Kita questioned.
"That place already separated itself from nature. Everything in that land is Kemi-made. They call it synthetic since they replicate those from the original source." Captain Lans said.
"Sounds cool!" Lulu commented.
"It is indeed cool but in my opinion, they are too advanced for their own good." Captain Lans responded.
"Again, what do nyu mean?" Kita reiterated her question.
"They are indeed successful but you can look around and observe where they fail. With the heat outside and the unpredictable current, the environment is reacting widely to their actions." The captain explained.
As the conversation continues, the situation gets worse because a whirlpool appears next to the sinkhole. "Alert, emergency code 1, power up the engine," the captain announced to the radio. To combat the force that was pulling the ship, the crew headed to the lower deck to add more coal to the burner. Fueling up the engine will give them more force but it will surely consume a lot of coal.
"This is bad, we could have passed that sinkhole if that whirlpool did not suddenly appear…" The captain said.
"Wha… What should we do?" Kita worriedly asked.
"I guess brace ourselves for the impact…" The captain answered.
Moments later, a large impact hit the left side of the ship. Everyone lost their balance as the unknown event was still pushing the ship. The captain immediately stood up and held on to the helm.
"WHAT WAS THAT?" Hana shouted.
With curiosity about what was happening on the other side, Kita carefully walked towards it. When she reached the window, Kita was shocked about what she was currently witnessing.
"Ahm guys… Nyu might want to see this…" Kita said.
Hana, Yuna, and Lulu slowly walked toward Kita. As they also peeked through the window, all of them lost their minds.
"It's the King of the Sea…" Hana said.
"It's pushing the ship away from the sinkhole…" Yuna added.
"King of the Sea? Well, I can't question what's happening right now because it's helping us big time. We are slowly moving away from the pull." The captain replied.
"But why is it helping us?" Kita questioned.
"Chuuuu~ It's because of Lulu!" Pily answered.
"Me?" Lulu responded.
"Hai, I'm currently talking with him mentally. Though he is not telling me why he is helping Lulu." Pily said.
"Aaaaaaand that's the resumption of our daily mysterious adventure," Hana commented.
"I know right, it's exciting!" Kita replied.
"I can no longer blame Kit on this one. It looks like these scenarios keep on following us!" Yuna said as they all laughed.
"I can't believe that they all can still laugh at times like this. Unbelievable…" Captain Lans muttered.
Eventually, the ship escaped from the ensuing doom. The King of the Sea left as soon as the ship could cruise on its own. They are all in relief for now but this is just the start of a long, bumpy, and unsure voyage.
52.
Three more days passed by and their journey never went smoothly during those times. There were tons of sudden problems which kept on rising but the Kemis are somehow barely escaping. The captain of the ship is entirely baffled at this point. From his years of experience, this is actually the first time that luck is only the reason why they are still alive. In fact, that is the theme throughout their whole journey toward the next land.
Finally, after 7 days, the ship reached Zenshin. The land is made out of steel and concrete. Instead of houses, the buildings were multiple stories high and roads were filled with different vehicles ranging from 2 wheels to 4. As the group heads down from the ship, the noise from the dock is something that they never heard before. Instead of the usual crowd noise plus the birds' chirping, the dock instructions are programmed and automated. Truly, the group reached what feels like a different dimension.
"WOHOHOHOAAH!" Kita reacted as they walked through the dock.
"This place is mind-blowing…" Yuna commented.
There was a speaker from the place announcing "Welcome to Zenshin. The future of the Kemis. For more info, please proceed to the tourist guide room."
"Where's the Kemi that is speaking?" Lulu immediately questioned when they heard the automated announcement.
"It sounded like it came from everywhere… Plus it does not sound like it came from a Kemi… I'm confused…" Hana answered.
"There's some noise over there! Follow me!" Kita said as she ran towards the road.
"Kita wait!" Hana said as they all trailed from behind.
As Kita makes her way to the road, a speeding motorcycle is on its way. Luckily the driver has insanely good reflexes. She turned to Kita's left side to dodge, intentionally slid her motorcycle, and then jumped from it. Making her roll in the road as her vehicle crashes into a light post. Good thing her gears prevent further injuries.
"Are nyu alright?" Lulu worriedly asked Kita. They did not fully see what happened because everything was too fast.
"Ah... Hai… Wait the Kemi!" Kita replied as she immediately checked the driver.
"Anooo… Are nyu alright? Are nyu still alive?" Kita asked the driver who was lying on the road.
Moments later, the driver slowly moved. As she removed her helmet, a long hair cat girl aches from her fall. Her hair is black from the top while blue at the latter. Her eyes are red and definitely have a strong character, her name is Raven, known as the Racing Queen. The group doesn't have the slightest idea about who are they facing right now, but that may change soon.
"What on UniPaws are nyu doing?" Raven asked, definitely pissed off from what happened.
"I… I am so sorry. I didn't mean it!" Kita apologized while stuttering.
"Please forgive us, we can pay golden coins for the damage." Yuna negotiates.
"Golden coins? I see, nyu are from a different land." Raven said.
"How did nyu know that?" Hana asked.
"We don't use Golden coins. The currency here is all digital. Anyway, nyu should go back to the dock and look for the tourist guide room. It's a room where they will teach nyu everything that nyu should know about this place" Raven answered as she stood up and walked towards her motorcycle.
"Wait, are nyu surely alright?" Lulu worriedly asked.
"Falls like that are nothing new to me," Raven replied as she once again rode her vehicle.
"She is so cool…" Kita commented.
"I know right…" Yuna responded.
"I think we should do what she said. We don't want to cause more accidents, right Kita?" Hana suggested.
The first experience of the group in the land is quite problematic. Unlike the Kemitopia, they cannot just randomly roam around the streets. The Kemis from the previous land will answer their queries, but that is not the case here in Zenshin. Everything is automated and they must acquire primary knowledge about the place.
To do so, the group went back to the dock and proceeded to the room called "Tourist Guide". The visitors are required to watch the introduction of the place, especially for the first timers.
As they all entered the dark room, the group sat down on a soft chair. The placement of the chairs is indeed unique. Each row is slightly higher than the ones in front, creating escalated columns. In this way, everyone can equally watch the screen even though there's a height difference among the audience.
When the Kemis settled, the screen on the front lit up. The video for the tourists begins.
"Greetings. We warmly welcome everyone here in Zenshin. Please finish the video to have a better understanding of our place. Queries will be answered at the currency office, thank you." An automated voice said. The video starts and it's a long topic that the group should pay attention to.
Technology and the love for science are the utmost priority. The place itself is mostly created from different sorts of metal. Even with advanced tech, some regions of the continent have different technologies, mainly because of material differences and other software development. There are 3 regions in Zenshin namely; the Northern region where exploration is the name of the game, the Central region where energy harvest is the primary goal, and the Southern region where technologies are being used for entertainment. Each region has its Head Developer that governs the area.
In the latter part of the video, the group was instructed to head to the currency office. It is a place where tourists can exchange the items that they have for a digital currency called NYA-Coin. For example, travelers have golden coins, and once they surrender those, they will receive an amount equivalent to NYA-Coins. They can still acquire NYA-Coins, if they surrender other materials like minerals, items, or even fresh fruits, anything that has value is convertible. First-time visitors will also receive a wristwatch with a customizable premade account. It will serve as a wallet for their NYA-Coins, and tons of other features are installed as well. The Kemis can now decide whether to keep the wristwatch or buy a better one in Zenshin, the accounts are transferable after all.
NYA stands for; Not Your Average, meaning "Not Your Average - Coin", an incredible invention programmed by an unknown Kemi. This phenomenal creation is now the currency of the whole land, switching from the traditional currency to a much more efficient one.
53.
The explanations were all technical and it looked like Yuna was the only one who made it through until the end, the others fell asleep. To be fair Kita was actively listening up until the Southern region, where they currently are, and as far as the Motor Racing that caught Kita's attention. Hana finished the explanation about the different regions, though she barely understood anything about the currency part. Lulu, on the other hand, was sleeping right from the get-go.
After the video presentation, the group walked out of the tourist guide room. Even though the information is bombarding, it definitely makes things easier for them. Thanks to the budget that Princess Grace gave to the group, they don't have to start from scratch. But even though they have enough golden coins to be exchanged for NYA-Coins, they still must use those NYA-Coins efficiently.
Eventually, the group successfully acquired their NYA-Coins. They were offered to have wristwatches individually but Kita, Hana, and Lulu declined. Kita worries that she could break the watch easily. Hana does not consider it efficient because of her water-manipulating talent. While Lulu is not a fan of complicated things. Therefore Yuna is the one who received the wristwatch, making her hold their overall finances. Yuna already anticipated that this would happen since she was the only one who finished the whole video earlier.
The group decided to walk around and look further into the dock, just to make sure that they knew everything before leaving the area. As they walked through the area, Kita saw a digital poster on the wall. A Catgirl riding a motorcycle with the caption, "Dare to challenge the Racing Queen?" In that instant, she called everyone's attention.
"LOOK IT'S HER!" Kita said while pointing at the digital poster.
"Nyu are right, that's the Kemi that nyu almost sent to the afterlife." Hana sarcastically responded.
"Woah, Racing Queen? I guess that's why she was used to falling." Yuna replied.
"Is she immortal?" Lulu asked.
"Well, I hope so. Especially when Kita is around." Hana answered.
"Yuna, let's challenge her to a race!" Kita suggested.
"I doubt that my skateboard could compete with that motorcycle. Nyu saw how fast that was earlier." Yuna replied.
"Then let's meet her, maybe she can teach us how to ride those things. And maybe she has more motorcycles that we can ride!" Kita said.
"I also doubt that there's someone who will randomly teach some strangers and let them borrow their stuff," Yuna argued.
"Ahm… I know someone with skateboards who does exactly what nyu just said." Hana responded.
"Hana's responses are on point. I thought her talent was water-manipulating, not roasting others." Lulu commented.
Hana chuckled and kiddingly said. "Don't worry Lulu, I only do this to them. They will eventually create a headache so might as well do some small revenge."
"I must learn your ways, master!" Lulu responded.
"Chuu~ Why not let the Runecrystal decide for it once again?" Pily suggested.
"That's a great idea!" Kita said.
"Last time Kit was the one who won during our bet. I would like to win this time." Yuna added.
"If I win, then we will look for the Racing Queen. If nyu win, then nyu can decide what we will do." Kita suggested.
"I'm in, but this time I want to be the one who will trigger the Runecrystal. If it does not glow then nyu win." Yuna replied.
"Fine by me! So what should we do?" Kita responded.
"Hmmm…" Yuna carefully thinks as she looks around. "There's a poster there about creating Digital art. Let's go there, if I trigger my Runecrystal while we are at the Digital art tutorial, then I win!" She said.
"I told nyu they are going to do something. My only mistake was I said eventually instead of immediately." Hana told Lulu.
"But it's fun! Digital art sounds cool!" Lulu responded.
"Hai, nonetheless it was indeed fun," Hana replied.
"I guess everyone is on board as well. Let's go to the Digital art tutorial!" Kita energetically said.
"Hai~" everyone else reacted.
Just like that, the group decided they'd head to the location. The wristwatch has a feature wherein they can scan a QR code on the poster, and it will instantly show a virtual map that will help them reach their destination. Yuna's discipline in learning new things truly helps the group in navigating the foreign land.
As they walk through the pedestrian lane, the group is currently awestruck by the immense futuristic display of the land. Captain Lans was right, Zenshin is like a different dimension compared to other lands. There are lots of questions about why this city is so advanced compared to the others. A myth lingers around that this city is connected to the lost civilization, giving them a leg up in terms of technology. No one can prove that as of now, nor debunk it as well. Their origin remains a mystery.
After numerous steps, the group reached the convention. It's inside a 10-floor story high building, and they must ride an elevator to reach the 7th floor. The group went in and instinctively prayed to the stars as the elevator closed. As it went up, Kita realized something.
"I knew what this is, we have this on Tree Tribe! They pull a rope making the platform go up!" Kita said.
"We did not visit any Tree Tribe?" Yuna questioned.
"Oh…" Kita reacted as she realized that she was not supposed to say that.
"She sneaks out every night. Back when we were sleeping at your place." Hana told the truth.
"Wait, Nyu knew!?" Kita replied, surprised by Hana's response.
"All I knew was nyu were sneaking out, but this is the first time that I know the reason why," Hana answered.
"But why did nyu not ask anything?" Kita asked.
"Well, I thought nyu were sneaking out just to use Yuna's skateboard," Hana answered.
"Kita is a bad kitty," Lulu commented.
"At this point, I'm not even surprised. She also sneaked out when Princess Grace told us to stay inside and wait for her. But we caught her that time." Yuna said.
Kita chuckles while scratching her head, she can no longer defend herself.
As they reached the 7th floor, the elevator opened. It's time for them to witness what Digital art may be and of course, to check who wins on their current bet.
End of Chapter 1