[3 minutes ago]
Once they began talking about their past, I zoned out, focusing only on the new sights of Butter Town. As soon as they started reminiscing about their childhoods and how they grew up, I knew I'd be stuck as a third wheel. It was always like that when they reminisced.
So instead, I used the time to commit a few new discoveries to memory. The Melodia grass that played notes when stepped on. The sunvine curtains that shifted in response to light. But those were just a few of the ones I'd encountered today.
There was way more like the Lumin lanterns that absorb daylight during the day and light up at night - effectively working as streetlights. Or the Hydrun leaves that naturally repel small amounts of water - perfect for umbrellas or waterproof materials.
There's also Kent ore - a material unique to the Butter region. It's a cream coloured metal ore which is extremely common in mines in the outer Butter region. While Kent ore is useful by itself, it's real value shows when it is used to make an alloy with Aerostone ore, which is commonly found in the Jam region.
Aerokent is an alloy which can resist low levels of magic e.g a weak fireball or water bomb spell. It's perfect for testing spell efficacy, damage, potency and for self protection when training with someone else. The Kent ore provides the magic resistance while the Aerostone provides a lighter weight and reinforces its physical resistance - a perfect combination.
How could I forget ponte vines, which could purify dirty water and make it potable. Just place the ponte vine in the cup for five or so minutes like a teabag. Then remove it once five minutes had passed and the water would be perfectly safe to drink.
It's essential to bring a few on any expedition of sorts when there wasn't going to be clean water directly accessible from a tap or a well nearby.
As if that wasn't enough, there's also the Mereon fruit, which changes color and taste based on how it's cooked! Boiling could make it sweet and pink, roasting could transform it into a salty yellow, and frying could turn it into a crunchy, savory brown.
Though my favourite of these had to be 'Feeling Lilies'. They're pretty flowers which change colour based on the emotions in the voices of the people nearby. Though that seemed quite far fetched to me and it seemed much more likely it was changing colour based on the frequency or pitch of people's voice, rather than their 'emotions', it was still my favourite.
How it would turn a violent red from a loud shout or how it'd switch to a serene blue from a quiet whisper. It was definitely one of the funner one's to mess around with. And all of those were just the tip of the iceberg, things I'd come across during my very first stroll through Butter Town. I was sure there were even more weird and wacky things waiting to be discovered. There had to be.
I didn't zone out very often, but it definitely happened from time to time. When suddenly thrust into a fantasy world I needed those little moments of reflection to organise my thoughts. To genuinely think about what life is like for these real people. They aren't just NPCs. They work, study, play, build, eat, run, shout, bleed, cry, laugh and smile just the way everyone did back on Earth.
They're real life living people with their own way of life—a way I could only hope to understand by truly immersing myself. As a stranger to this world, it was important for me to respect their cultures and practices. With this mindset, I could blend in, learn from them, and eventually incorporate their ways of life into my own. The more I could learn, the better.
Around this time, I started thinking about how wonderful it would be to be an adventurer. To be able to explore everything the world had to offer. I couldn't help but wonder how many unique plants, animals, architectures, traditions, beliefs, cultures, and lifestyles the people of this world had.
Maybe there were lands where disputes were settled by sword duels, or cultures that communicated through trees, listening to the ancient language of the forest. Perhaps some tribes, survived by hunting and gathering, while others sought to master magic, a society wherein only the most talented were valued.
Glyffe once said the known mapped areas of the world made up less than one percent of the actual size. That's three continents and a half! Three! And a half! The dwarven continent, the elven continent, the human continent and the great forest separating them all.
I wanted to see it all. Not just our isolated three continents - but the world beyond. The entire world beyond.
I wasn't much of an inventor on Earth but I was open to changing that. With all these new discoveries I couldn't help but start theory crafting about the sort of weird contraptions I could make and experiment with.
And it was in the midst of this theory crafting when I got a sharp wake up call.
"Boy, are you lost?" A warm yet soft and smooth voice from above echoed in my ears - her voice carrying a strange charm.
She was tall with short blonde hair and wore an elegant purple cloak and a pointy hat. She had on black tights and a lilac dress-like attire which accentuated her voluptuous figure.
We were alone, both Glyffe and Silvia were gone with no more crowd in sight. It was almost as if she'd warped us to another dimension.
A witch.
She hunched over, trying to reach my eye level as she talked. Her hands wrapped around her knees as she bent down to face me.
Her eyes - a daunting red inferno - gazed into the depths of my soul.
She was definitely a witch.
"Uh...I—" my words caught in my throat, stunned by the sudden shift from being with Glyffe and Silvia to suddenly finding myself in the crosshairs of a witch.
"Oh boy. Just relax, such an overreaction! It's not like I'm a witch or anything hahaha."
That confirmed it. She was definitely a witch. Only a witch would say that.
I looked around - considering my options. How come the crowd from before disappeared? Where did everyone go? The more I thought about it the more it freaked me out. And why are her eyes -the witch's eyes - red?
"I should get going now... my mum told me not to talk to strangers." Actually - I hadn't been told not to talk to strangers in this world yet, but I'm sure Silvia wouldn't blame me for lying.
"What was that mam?" I put on a confused face like I was trying to hear something far off in the distance. "Sorry I think my mam is calling me. Bye witch!" I turned to a random direction and tried to walk away.
"Pfft! Kid you're funny! You're quite the actor as well - have you heard of the Cloud Theatre in the Kion empire or the Karavik's Great Theatre? I think you should audition, you'd certainly be a popular child actor. But unfortunately, they're both a little far from here." She giggled amusedly at my theatrics - instantly seeing through my act. Well of course she did - it was eerily silent and unnaturally empty in the middle of the street. Silvia wasn't calling for me - no one was.
"No my mum really is calling me right now..." I doubled down, continuing to walk away.
"Oh really boy, then how come I can't hear her?" For some strange reason I could still hear her very clearly even after walking a good distance away.
"Because only her son can hear her from far away. It's a family thing." I tripled down while picking up the pace I was walking away at. Is she following me?
"Oh is it?" Her eyebrows twitched in annoyance, her warm smile slightly fading. "Your family must be quite special then." I looked back. She was in the same place. No, that wasn't it. I was in the same place.
Even though I felt like I was walking away I wasn't moving. Every time I looked back she was in the same place, if not closer. Like I was being stopped by something. Like I couldn't leave without her permission.
Walking away wasn't working. Clearly there's more than meets the eye to this witch. Escaping her wasn't going to be that easy. I turned back to face her, deciding that was probably my best course of action. She looked like she was about to say something every time I turned back so I might as well hear her out. I had time, clearly I wasn't going anywhere.
"You can't run from me. I control everything in this area." Well, I thought as much.
"Oh and by the way, that's the wrong direction anyways. Your parents are behind us."
"..."
"And I'm a mage - not a witch. You got that boy? A mage."
"Ohhh...ha ha..." I made eye contact again - her stare as intense as the sun. For some reason her words held some sort of warmth to them. I had no reason to - but I believed her. "Thank you mage lady, I'll be on my way now..." This time I walked towards her. Slowly.
Surprisingly, this time I could see myself moving - like I was actually getting closer to her. Perhaps she would let me go now.
My heartbeat increased with each step until I was just in front of her. Then - avoiding eye contact - I walked past her. Calm and collected - I walked in the direction she said my parents were. Phew, I made it out.
"Return." I froze.
Son of a—
"Return now."
The warmth from earlier had gone leaving only a thick layer of frost in her voice. I tried to keep walking but my legs refused - rooting me on the spot. I was neither able to obey or disobey her.
"You're a stubborn one aren't you," She sighed "Let me help you."
Before my very eyes, a torrent of water sprung up from the ground, surging towards me at a terrifying speed. Caught off guard, I reacted too late. I tried to jump away but the wave had completely swallowed my entire field of view.
Fireball!
My body moved on its own. My right hand shot up, heat flaring from my palm as I cast the spell, desperate to delay the inevitable. A lone ember streaked toward the oncoming deluge, glowing briefly like a will-o'-wisp. It vanished without a trace. Just me and the flood.
Death.
A sudden gust of wind hurled me into the air, my field of view spiralling out of control. Blue and white flashed in alternating patterns as my stomach churned and my body locked into fight-or-flight mode.
Before I could react I was flying - a meter or so above the world of blue and several meters above the ground.
Ahhhhh!
Abruptly, an earthen plate formed atop the wave, catching me bottom-first and cushioning the impact. It became my seat as the water carried me straight back towards the eye of the storm.
The wave began to fade, shrinking little by little until, with one final curve, it delivered me on an earthen platter to the mage.
Holy crap. I almost died just now.
"Hahahaha! I knew it! I knew it! I know talent when I see it - and you have a real talent for magic. You absolutely shouldn't be able to use magic at your age. Especially not in this run-down town. To be able to cast a fireball spell under that kind of pressure and when caught off guard - boy you're even better than I thought. You're going to be an amazing mage when you're older!" She gleamed with joy like she'd found a rare gemstone.
She's crazy. Who 'helps' a five year old like that? I almost died! And she's laughing? Okay okay calm down Reno, deep breaths, deep breaths.
I did have to admit she's extremely powerful. To do that all that without any chants and whilst not even looking. My fireball didn't affect the wave even slightly. I couldn't hope to win against her at all. No escape. She's bad news.
I think she said something about this town being run down—just who is she? If Butter Town is run down then just how illustrious must the main cities and capitals look.
"Boy what other magic do you know?" She questioned inquisitively.
You dare question me after that attempted murder!?
"I only know two spells, fireball and waterbomb spell." I took a few more deep breaths before responding but I think she was so carried away in her excitement she didn't realise my situation.
"How old are you?"
"Five." She asks even more questions than I do.
"How long have you been learning magic?"
"Two days." More like one and a half.
"TWO DAYS?"
"Uh yeah..." Something like that.
"T-two days is good my new apprentice. That fireball spell was impressive considering you've only practiced for that long." She cleared her throat, suddenly taking a much more dignified appearance.
"Apprentice!? Are you kidding me? Aren't you going to say anything about how you nearly gave me a heart attack earlier? Something like, I don't know, sorry?"
Is what I wanted to say but I just nodded along submissively. After all, I definitely wasn't escaping this witch. Not with magic that powerful. So, I figured I might as well try and get on her good side.
"Have you been evaluated yet?" She thought for a moment before asking excitedly - her face glowing with expectation and eerily resembling Silvia's earlier today. Here we go again.
"Oh the evaluation huh..." This is bringing back bitter memories.
"It's okay if you haven't I can do it right now—"
"You mean like my soul strength, affinities and mana pool grade?"
"Yup, there's a little more to it but for now that should be fine. So, have you done it?"
I paused, looking around uncomfortably.