The box-shaped personnel transport aircraft landed down, touching the ground a safe distance from us and well away from the altar.

As the group prepared to get on board,

“So, did we do well?”

Bona went over and asked Grear, who was standing to the side seeing us off.

“What do you mean?” I asked. “We passed, didn’t we?”

“Clearing the Trial under five rounds was impressive, but it was the Vyrgatel who contributed the most to your success.”

It was the Gatekeeper who answered before she could explain.

“You will have to find another way to get on my and my family’s good side, unfortunately.”

He surmised our performance with a light tone of voice.

“…Ah.”

Right, the game night thing.

“I see.”

Bona cast down her eyes, seemingly disappointed. Whether she was actually upset about the outcome or not, I had no idea.

However,

“Don’t hesitate to call out to us if we meet each other in the city, however.”

He offered his consolation right after.  

“We are active around the central branch clades, so you can look for me if you have anything to ask about the Magna or our traditions.”

Bona raised her head and nodded.

“…Okay.”

“Got it.” I also noted.

Uzzu and the network could provide us with basic information about the Trials and whatnot, but I would much rather hear it from a native with status among their people instead.

Further down the queue,

“It’s disgraceful to abandon the form I’ve grown into, but just one of the sacrifices I shall make for princess Soobin.”

Shedding all of its hulking mass, Lord returned to its small, muddy form and went back into the glass jar.

“As long as you don’t get us in trouble.”

Shattering the empty husk of dried stone, Seola warned the creature.

“Hmph.” It turned away.

Storing the jar in her inventory, Soobin let out a relieved sigh.

“At least that went well, unnie.”

“Yeah.”

Back on our side, we had joined up with the other girls when Exy came over.

“Good work, Xuanyi, Yeonjung.”

She mentioned to the two of them.

“I’ve seen how you two helped save the others during the Trial, so thanks.”

“No problem, unnie.”

Yeonjung made no big deal about it, but Xuanyi only stared back at her in response.

“…Why didn’t you tell me that the Nagam had that kind of effect? I told you not to be so careless with it, didn’t I?”

She began.

“I believe I said the same thing too.”

I took her side and added.

“I’m fine, you all. I don’t see why you’re getting so uptight about a game…”

She stopped talking as soon as she saw the seriousness in Xuanyi and Bona’s eyes.

“…Fine. I mean, how could I know about it either? You’ve all read the system description and didn’t see anything mentioning about it, right, Bona?”

 “That’s true,” She nodded. “There was no way any of us could have known about it in advance.”

“But still…!” Luda interjected.

“It’s basically the same thing as what happened to your wristband, KC; I only found out the Nagam drained my stamina after using it on the field.”

“Urgh.”

Recalling how the Amethyst Bridge overheated in the first round, I couldn’t argue against Exy’s point.

“The point is, now that we do know, I’ll make sure to be more careful when I use it next time.”

“You…”

Xuanyi wanted to say something, but relented in the end.

“Fine. It’s not my job to look after you all the time, anyway.”

“Just don’t go too far, unnie.” Yeonjung advised.

The conversation ended on that note, but I continued to ponder on my thoughts about it myself.

By contrast,

My eyes moved to Seola, who had come over to pester Yeonjung for one of her potato chip packs.

She did not use the Winterhymn at all throughout the entire Trial.

Was she being careful not to fail the test, or was she just too afraid of it being unstable?

“Hmm.”

Ruminating over 2jung’s different attitudes towards their double-edged abilities, I waited for Aidan’s signal to get on the flying bus with the rest of the group.

---

The transport aircraft’s high-pitched engines sung as it lifted up from the ground, flying away from the Trial grounds back towards Deusrust.

[I’ll be taking you back to the Trial Hall to have your entry permits recorded with Emer.]

Aidan’s voice sounded over the internal speaker system.

[Once that’s done, you can enter any Magna settlement you like, provided that you don’t land in someone’s home or anything like that.]

“Entry permits…”

It sounds so plain when you say it like that.

Anyways, the seating arrangement was identical to when we set off from Deusrust before. Everyone was comfortable with where they picked, I guess.

“Is there anything you wanted to do in particular in Arbosienn?”

Kalasia asked Krieg about their plans for the city.

“Not really.”

He answered, fiddling with the shadows he pulled from the night in his hands. From the looks of it, the streaks of darkness around his arms were helping his wounds heal?

“We’re just looking around for information regarding the ruins on Kamag.” The Vyrgatel continued.

“Treasure hunting?”

I caught wind of their conversation and asked.

“Basically, yes.” Egon answered on behalf of him. “With the necessary permits from the Magna, of course.”

“Is that, like, what you do for a living?” Luda also joined in. “Going from planet to planet, system to system, in search of precious treasures? Sounds like fun.”

“Archeological artifacts for the most part, but yes, it is.” He nodded.

“We also want to see where there are traces of Vyrgatel interaction with past civilizations as well.” Dagmar added.

“Huh.” I mused.

“What about Earth?” Seola enquired.

“Or Fetu?” Jina also followed.

Looks like the conversation had attracted the attention of the people in front, too.

“We’ve been to Earth before. Not Fetu, though.”

Lenard recalled.

“Humans really are an amusing people; from their attitude towards everything, it’s a miracle they became a major Frontier race at all… Oh, I mean that as a compliment, by the way.”

I didn’t mean to offend, he waved his arms.

“None taken.” I shook my head. “I’d say the same too.”

Glancing at the girls in front who have long returned to their noisy selves,

“That’s one thing I like about ourselves.” I sighed.

“Heh.” Egon smirked. “Maybe so.”

Silence returned to the back of the flying bus soon after, only the sound of bickering in the front breaking up the constant hum of the ers.

It should be another half an hour before we arrive.

I drank from the water bottle in my inventory and put it away, trying to save what little water was left in it.

“I should stock back up on my consumables soon.”

Foodstuff and toiletries, mostly – we were fine where materials are concerned.

After filling up the charges of my equipment, I got bored sitting by myself before long and walked to the front to hang out with the members.

“I’m hungry.”

“Me too.”

That was the first exchange we had as soon as I met up with them.

“The Trial really took out all our energy, didn’t it?” Jina giggled, a finger on her lips. “We should get some food soon.”

“Their lunchboxes were pretty decent, right?” Soobin recalled. “I didn’t expect the Magna to, you know, come up with something that tasty.”

“It was alright.” Luda shrugged. She seemed to have something more to say, but chose not to.

“From what I’ve read, the Magna have been hospitable to many kinds of races too, not just us. Other than the whole Trial thing, their settlements are highly accommodating for organic lifeforms like us.” Bona explained.

“I see.” I nodded.

It wasn’t like the Magna were using the Foundation Trials to discourage outsiders from mingling with them; instead, they were most likely to test the integrity of the people they’ll be dealing with.

“Still, for one Trial to be enough to allow us access to all of their cities…” She pondered.

“It’s not like we can run around as we please, Bona. Aidan did say not to land in someone’s home, right?” Exy joked.

“Were you actually planning to do something like that!?” Xuanyi followed along.

“You two…” Bona sighed in response.

[That wouldn’t be quite right, Human.]

A voice reached out to us from the intercom: It was Aidan, who proceeded to join in our discussion.

[The Foundation Trials will grant you visitor access into our cities on Kamag, but residency and most other permits would be another thing entirely.]

Our group quieted down to let him continue.

[Also, you will need to take a separate Trial to land anywhere on Sadus, not just the inhabited areas.]

“Sadus, huh.”

The adjacent planet to Kamag.

According to Eunseo, the ancestors of the Magna once built an empire that covered its entire surface in the past. I can’t imagine how they would keep outsiders from trespassing onto the place, seeing as it’s an entire planet full of ruins.

“I’ve had my share of ruins for the year.”

Xuanyi shrugged as she glanced at Bona.

“For sure.” She agreed.

I had the same thought, too: All the stuff we had to do for Kamag was tough, and I wasn’t ready to repeat the whole thing again for a planet I don’t have to go to.

Path: Body of Magna, Blood of Shaen (1/2)

Seeing the contents of the Path again, I confirmed that my next and final lead was just a Magna assembler, not someone specifically.

“Phew.”

Let’s hope we won’t encounter too many obstacles today.

“Also,”

Out of the blue, Exy began. She rose up from her seat and tried to head to the back of the bus, but,

“Hmm? What’s up?”

Her path was blocked by Seola, who seemed to have the same thought.

---

The output of the bus’s ers slowed down as Deusrust came into view outside.

Unlike when Luda and I arrived here past midnight, most of the buildings’ lights were still on, and the outpost itself does not seem to be winding down soon in the late evening.

“Thanks for helping us with our stuff, girls.”

Kalasia bowed slightly to Exy and Seola, who offered to help organize the three NPCs’ carry and repair any damage their bags might have suffered.

“No problem.”

“Thanks for letting us go through your stuff, too.”

Both of them replied.

It seems that the other girls had the same idea, too; seeing the bags laid to the side of the ship in a jumbled mess must have been the cause. With little else to do to pass the time, the rest of us joined to help with whatever we can.

“It was a learning experience.” I nodded.

Rather than a simple favour, the act was more of a give-and-take affair between us and them; they would answer the questions we have about their equipment in exchange for the housekeeping.

“Still, to think that you’ve made over two hundred protypes of that hammer, Jina…”

Yeonjung had a look of newfound admiration towards the woman.

“It’s nothing that amazing, really.” She played it off. “If anything, the fact that the Ditherer still malfunctions after that many revisions shows that I still have a long way to go.”

From the whole process, we found out just how light the NPCs travelled with – essential rations, two changes of clothing at max, utility modules and prefabs…

That their suit systems handled financial and identification matters for them seemed to help a lot.

“I can see why you’d want to sell the haul off as soon as possible.”

Luda sighed, glancing at their carves from the Sammad Fellean hunt.

“On most occasions, that is.”

Memphis pointed out, shooting me a look. I said nothing and only shrugged in response.

[Alright guys, we’re landing soon.]

Aidan’s announcement came soon after, and the group broke up to return to our respective seats.

“That must sell for a lot… Maybe I should think of taking up hunting too in the future.”

Soobin added as she walked away.

“You’ll be fine if you stay with me, no?”

Seola flashed a gray card in her hand and grinned.

So there are items to help with money too… That’s cool.

Making a note of that, I walked back to my seat and got ready for touchdown.

Soon enough, the personnel transport aircraft found itself circling around the town centre of Deusrust, looking for a good place to land.

“The residents must have gotten used to the noise.”

The bus’s ers weren’t the loudest I’ve ever heard, but it must have been like living close to the airport for these people.

A few moments later, Aidan finally found a good landing site and dipped the aircraft towards it.

[Remember, go to the Trial Hall and have Emer record your permits. You won’t be able to enter Kamag’s native settlements without an Overseer’s authorization.]

“Got it.” Egon nodded, peering through his inventory window.

All four of the Vyrgatel had their own inventory system, which explained why they weren’t carrying stuff around like the others.

I figured that such technology would be common among travelers. Why Memphis and the rest haven’t gotten one for themselves…

Must be the same reason they don’t have their own ships yet.

“Anyways,”

I cut my monologue short and prepared for touchdown.

*THUD*

The bus landed squarely in one part of the town centre, nearby a convenience store and what looked like a couple of tech vendors.

As we got up to leave,

“Are you heading straight to the hall, KC?” Luda approached me. “I feel like stopping by the shops for a bit.”

“Sounds good to me.” Yeonjung heard her and added.

“Hmm.” I pondered something.

Walking to the cockpit of the aircraft.

“We’re flying to Arbosienn with our own ships, right?” I asked the Magna pilot.

“Yep.” He answered, directly this time. “Of course, there are establishments who’d be happy to offer you transportation if you’d rather not fly there yourself.”

Realizing something,

“We’re part of the Trial and Validation Division ourselves, so official trips only, sorry.”

He held his hands together in apology.

“It’s fine, thanks.” I replied. Turning to Luda,

“Looks like our itinerary’s pretty much free after we get our permits. It should be fine as long as we don’t waste a lot of time.”

“Alright.”

Getting of the bus,

“We’ll be going on ahead, people.”

“Us, too.”

Bona and Xuanyi elected to leave for the Hall immediately, with Seola and Soobin trailing after them.

“So it’s just us to the shops, then.” Exy said.

I looked over everyone: Myself, Luda, Yeonjung, Exy, along with Memphis, Jina, and Kalasia.

“Krieg’s group already left.” The Feran nodded. “He made sure to send you his regards, though.”

“Oh, okay then.”

The seven of us split up as expected: Us players heading into the convenience store and the other three opting for the tech vendors.

---

“Jina said she wanted something berry…”

Recounting the woman’s request, Yeonjung peered into the drinks section, cooled in a supermarket fridge just like in real life.

Mentioning something about hydration, Luda went to join her, while Exy moved to the healthcare aisle to look at medication stuff.

The Nagam’s effects shouldn’t be permanent… It must be for something else.

Minding my own business, I went around and restocked my hoard of snacks, tossing in a few packs of instant food in between.

None of us took longer than a few minutes to complete our shopping, finding each other queued up to the cashier before long. Add to that the impressive checkout skills of the Gray shopkeeper, and we found ourselves out of the store in no time.

“Should we go to the hall now?” Yeonjung asked. “Jina didn’t say anything about where to meet up.”

“Hmm.” I pondered.

I didn’t want to ditch the three of them unannounced, but we don’t want to leave the Overseer waiting too long either.

“Let’s look around the other shops for a bit, see if we can find them or not.” Luda suggested.

“Fine by me.” Exy agreed.

“Alright, sounds good.”

Seems like all of us can hang around for a while longer.

Browsing the line of stores selling suit and ship technology, digital or mechanical, we came across the three NPCs before long.

“Ooh…!” I exclaimed.

‘Deusrust Parts & Materials Exchange’

That was embossed on the plate above the wooden-lined store they were in.

So this was the place!

“Luda, Yeonjung.”

Jina saw us at the wide entrance and waved, shuffling the coat she wore to a more comfortable position.

“Are you done with your procurement?” Memphis asked.

“For the most part, yeah.” I answered them.

“Come drop off your stuff too before you forget, you two!” Kalasia grinned, motioning to the human attendant with his claws. The man in loose clothing smiled at me in return, understanding that the two of us are friends.

“My stuff?”

“Ah, right,” Luda immediately understood and turned to me. “Sell off any parts from the hunt this morning that you don’t need.”

“Oh, got it.”

Going through my inventory, however, I couldn’t really find anything I’d rather sell than keep. The parts from the Fellean were either those I wanted to keep or those too worthless to sell.

Putting the window away, I shook my head.

“I’ll pass this time, guys.”

“No worries.” Kalasia nodded.

“Wonder if there’s anything I can part with…”

Yeonjung mulled over her own inventory. Taking out what looked like a piece of fabric riddled with holes, she went up to the attendant behind the slab that made up the counter and handed it to him.

“What do you have for me, young lady? Let me see…”

He examined the translucent material. After a few moments,

“…Oh, mediative scaffolding! It’s not in the best condition, but I believe we can work out a deal for this.”

“Please do, thanks.” Yeonjung nodded.

While they went ahead with their business,

“You’re not selling anything, Exy?”

I asked. She was still hanging around by the entrance, waiting for everyone to finish.

“I don’t have anything to sell.” She shrugged. “Plus, I won’t hear the end of it from Kai’eta if she finds out I’ve been hanging around these kinds of stores.”

“Kai… what? Who?”

I furrowed my eyebrows hearing an unfamiliar name.

“Someone working in the same company as I am.” She explained. “She’s got a nose for deals, like they all do.”

“Huh.”

That’s going to be a whole other story to tell, from what I hear. I decided not to pursue the topic any further.

As I waited around with her, I heard the sound of spaceships taking off into the air in the distance. From this position, I couldn’t really see where the landing zone would be.

Was that Bona and the rest, I wonder?

“We’re done.”

Luda and Yeonjung went up to us after they finished. I didn’t get to hear what Luda sold, but she looked happy that she did.

Memphis and the rest also completed their trade soon after, appreciating that their carry bags were now as light as they could be.

The seven of us met up and left the store together, heading for the Trial Hall.

“Just a bit more…!” Jina muttered, reviewing her credit balance in a window.

“Almost there, Jie.” Kalasia chuckled. “I’m sure you’ll be there in no time!”

“Are you saving up for something?” I asked her.

“Ah, yes, I am.”

She noticed me and nodded shyly.

“It may not mean much to you, but I’m working to get a virtual inventory system for myself.”

“Oh, really?” Luda expressed her surprise. “It’s a really nice thing to have, Jina. I hope you get one soon!”

“Yep.” I echoed her statement.

The streets of Deusrust were still well illuminated this time of the night, but it made the outpost look different enough to get myself lost if not for the three people’s guidance.

Before long, the block where the clinic and hall were appeared before us in the town centre, metal-wood architecture and all.

At this time,

“The girls are setting up a meeting point in Arbosienn.”

Exy peered through the chat window and shot me a glance.

“Don’t forget to check the group, KC.”

“Ah, okay.”

I brought the window out before I could forget.

Soobin: I’m looking at the city map now.

Soobin: None of the cafes near port Nascia are big enough for us.

Xuanyi: So we’re settled on Anne’s Depot, right?

Eunseo: That’s a good place, unnie 👀 I’ve been meaning to go there as well.

Chengxiao: We will, after this.

Bona: Then we should land in port Ibera instead.

Bona: It’s nearer from there.

Seola: I can do either way 😗

“…I’ll look it up again once we’re in the air.”

It was a bit difficult to pore through the chatter in chat while I was walking.

Entering the Trial Hall, I saw Emer, the Magna from before, organizing the registration forms at the desk.

There were other people in the hall, too: From the looks of it, some of them were preparing for their own Trials, while others were resting after finishing theirs.

Catching sight of us,

“The Burning Globe Trial, yes?” She asked.  “The Humans earlier told me to wait for you, though it was my obligation to do so anyway.”

“That’s us, thank you.” Exy nodded in return.

“I’ll be with you in a moment,” She motioned to the registration counter. “Just queue up there like before.”

I nodded and did as she said, lining up at the back of the hall along with the others. As we waited for the Overseer to return,

“Are your stents doing fine, Jina?” Luda whispered.

“No problems so far.”

The Human looked over her forearms and answered.

The slender lines going down her wrist and elbow belied their strength, judging by how easily Jina swung her oversized mechanical hammer.

Maybe that’s how fit you need to be to become an explorer in the first place.

“I’m glad that the Astronaut physique exists.” I said to myself.

“Can’t wait to get some rest after we finally reach the city.”

Kalasia yawned with the purr of an oversized cat.

“Hopefully all the cheaper apartments aren’t full yet.”

“That shouldn’t be the case, from what I hear.” Memphis speculated. “Kamag’s planning should prevent such things from happening, unless a significant crisis occurs.”

“Do you sleep too, Memphis?” Exy pointed out.

“Ilyids do possess a hibernation subroutine, unlike the Magna.” Jina explained on their behalf. “It’s nowhere as inconvenient as how us humans sleep, though.”

“You can say that again.” Yeonjung sighed, recalling something I would rather not ask.

Our small talk continued for a while longer, before Emer’s return interrupted it.

“You have my gratitude for bearing the delay on our part, candidates.”

The Magna made a slight bow.

“The Overseer presiding over the next shift had just recovered from her injuries, so I am doing my part to lighten her burden.”

“It’s fine, really.”

“I hope she feels better soon.”

All of us insisted that we were alright.

Emer nodded and took out a device from somewhere on her body. It looked like a hand barcode reader from the supermarket, except with an industrial design and much more complex sensors installed.

“When you’re ready, just hold any part of your suit system out to the interface. It will crosscheck the photon signatures of your allotted Trial’s Gatekeeper and that of this Hall, bearing both of us to witness the authorization of your permit.”

“The two parties will vouch for our entry to the cities, is what you mean?”

As the first in line, Luda asked.

“Correct.” The Overseer nodded. “We will be the proof that you have taken and completed the Trial according to our rules.”

“That’s good.”

Satisfied with the answer she received, Luda held her arm out to the device. A few beeps later, her authorization process finished without issue, and it was the next person’s turn.

I don’t remember Grear doing that kind of thing to us… It must be different for Gatekeepers like him.

“I’m glad we didn’t fail the Trial.” I sighed.

“Teamwork makes the dream work, they say.”

Behind me, Exy showed me an equally relieved smile.

---

“Is there anything else?”

Yeonjung asked Emer after all of us were done.

“That is everything, explorer. Enjoy what Kamag has to offer, and I wish you all well on your journeys.”

From the tone of her voice, I could tell that the Overseer meant the words she said.

“That’s everything, then.” Luda affirmed.

“Is it time to go now?” I asked, excitement welling up in my heart.

“Let’s go, KC!” Yeonjung matched my enthusiasm and exclaimed.

“Finally…!” Jina looked like she couldn’t contain her joy either.

“No point wasting our time standing around now, is there?” Exy pointed out. “Time to leave, everyone.”

Waving goodbye to Emer, the seven of us left the Trial Hall and made our way to the landing area outside Deusrust, where our ships were.

Along the way,

“Uzzu,” Exy called WJSN’s mascot and asked. “Tell us what you know about Arbosienn.”

“Right away, Astronaut!”

The creature appeared from thin air and began.

“Arbosienn is a standalone, native metropolitan settlement on the planet of Kamag, comprising a population of 70% Magna, 8% Human, and 5% each of Gray and Shaen, with the remaining 12% made up of other sentient species.”

“Known to its inhabitants as the City of Tranquility, Arbosienn prides itself on the capabilities of its craftsmen and pole weapon masters, as well as the curious industry of mineral cultivation!”

“Many of Kamag’s best wooden and crystal contraptions come from this city, and rightfully so: The exquisitely constructed spires that make up its skyline are a wonder to behold.”

Finished with its explanation, Uzzu bowed and disappeared soon after.

Observing Arbosienn’s skyscrapers in the distance,

“They are, aren’t they?”

I let go of the breath I was holding.

“We’ve been looking at the city from outside in the nights waiting for your return, KC.”

Jina mentioned, parting a strand of long black hair to the side.

“To finally be able to grab hold of the dream in front of us… It’s been so long since I felt like this.”

I saw the glimmering light behind her eyes.

Right in the feels, huh.

“…Sorry to make you wait so long.”

I shook those thoughts off and apologized.

“No, don’t be…!”

The Human hurriedly waved her arms in denial. With a smile,

“How else would I get the chance to meet everyone else?”

“That’s true.” Yeonjung giggled. “All’s well that ends well.”

“Save all those words for when we reach Arbosienn, Jina.” Luda joked around.

“Our gratitude remains, Luda.”

Memphis stated, their single red eye staring straight at her.

“We wouldn’t be able to do this without you and everyone else.”

“That goes for us, too.” I replied. “Thanks.”

“We’ll leave it at there, then!”

Kalasia grinned and wrapped the conversation up.

We reached the edge of Deusrust’s perimeter before we knew it, and the metal arch that formed the entrance to the clearing came into view.

“So, who’s riding on whose ship?” Yeonjung began.

“If we go by earlier today, Jina with Luda, and Memphis and Kalasia with me.” I recounted. “Unless you want to take them instead?”

“That’ll be fine, then.” She nodded. “The way to board my ship is a little strange, after all.”

“No doubt.” Exy shrugged. “My ride is a bit of a mess, and cleaning up for guests will take more time than we can afford to waste.”

“Like before it is.” I held my thumb up. “Cool.”

Each of us took turns to pass through the scanners on the arch, before breaking up to head for our respective ships.

“See you there, KC, Memphis, Kal.” Jina waved as she left with Luda.

“You too.” I returned the gesture.

Walking towards where my ship was parked,

“Open up, Wandering 14.” I said out loud.

*HISS*

Hearing the locks release on the hatch by the wing,

“You two first.” I gestured towards the door.

Nodding back, Kalasia and Memphis got on the wing and entered my ship, with me following after.

Closing the door, I made sure they were comfortable and ready to fly before going to the pilot seat in the cockpit.

Activating the ship’s systems and turning on the engine,

“Next stop,”

I drew a deep breath.

“Arbosienn.”

---

The Wandering 14 took to the skies third in line, after the Limitless 13 and Observant 06.

As I felt the g-force wear off my body,

“I’ll be running a few checks on the Dauntless for a bit; the three of you can go on ahead.”

Exy’s voice sounded through my ship communication system.

“Got it, unnie.” Yeonjung replied through the same channel.

“The city’s only a stone’s throw away, anyway.” I commented.

Deusrust was a satellite outpost linked to Arbosienn, after all; it wouldn’t take more than a few minutes by ship to get there.

Seeing the girls’ ships steer in the direction of the city,

“Here we go.”

I did the same and set a course for the same destination, at a safe altitude.

Steadying the flight path,

“I should be quick with this.”

The chat window responded to my gesture and appeared, showing me tens of unread messages from the main group.

Anne’s Depot, was it?

My eyes skimmed through the conversation.

Luda: Post the menu here.

Luda: I’m flying right now so I can’t really surf the network.

Xuanyi: [5 pics posted]

Xuanyi: There’s a lot to go through, Luda 😆

Bona: We’re still on our way there, ourselves.

Bona: A bit difficult to find our way around on these roads.

Yeoreum: Sounds tough, unnie 😖

Soobin: Seola unnie says she’s stuck in immigration for a while. She should have come with us, that unnie.

Soobin: How about your side, Yeoreum? Going well?

Dawon: We’re done with our second stop, unnie ✌

Dawon: The support from the people has been great.

Dayoung: You should have seen what Yeoreum did for the performance 😂 Didn’t know she had that in her 😂😂

Yeoreum: 😑

“…Anyways.”

Viewing the photos Xuanyi uploaded, it looks like Anne’s Depot had a wide range of food on offer, comparable to a family restaurant.

We’ll be meeting up there, hope it can accommodate all of us.

Slowing down the travel of the Wandering 14,

“Now, where to land.”

I switched the window to search the network for directions.

Seeing the waypoints that appeared on the city map,

“It’s in the northwest…”

The two landing points nearest to it are Port Nascia and Port Ibera, though Port Saffron also had a transport link that would take us straight into the block.

Like the girls discussed before, port Ibera was the closest to the restaurant, but you wouldn’t go wrong with any of the others either.

In the end,

“In-house spacecraft services.”

I chose port Ibera because of what it had over the other two.

Pointing the ship navigation to my destination, I ran automatic flight guidance on the ship, though chose to stay in the pilot seat in case anything goes wrong.

Even in the night, the splendor of Arbosienn came through as our ships approached its city lines. We could see some of the airships whizzing around from here, a bustling scene without appearing too busy.

Speaking of which,

“Where are you all landing, girls?”

I spoke into the transmission.

“I’ll be setting down in port Ibera, myself.”

“Me too.”

“Sounds good, let’s group up there.”

Luda and Exy indicated the same location.

“It’ll be port Nascia for me, KC.”

Only Yeonjung chose a different landing point.

“Maybe I can catch up to Seola unnie before she leaves.”

“Sure thing, Yeonjung. Tell us if you see anything interesting over there.” I said to her.

“Okay.”

Soon after, we breached the perimeter of the city, and a notification came up on my HUD.

‘Scanning Credentials’

A few seconds later,

‘Permits Approved’

‘Welcome to Arbosienn, The City of Tranquility’

The illuminated spires passed through either side of my ship, as the automatic guidance set it on a suitable path to port Ibera.

“A big city, like any other.”

Kalasia admired the cityscape from the window next to him.

“Civilization.” Memphis added.

From the air, I could see the streets lining the city: There was a marked absence of wide, multi-laned roads, and numerous points where the smaller paths ended abruptly, some capped with square platforms and others without.

Yeah, I’d be confused too.

 None of the cities I saw in this world had an infrastructure quite like this.

An alert went off in my navigation before I could observe the city any further: Arrival to our destination.

“Get ready, you two; we’ll be landing soon.” I said to the other two.

Ahead, a conical structure that looked more like a monument than a building revealed itself to be our landing point.

‘Port Ibera – Clades Melado, Tirill and Orao’

Growing out from all over its surface were thick, branch-like extensions that further pronged into thinner ones, eventually ending in bronze-coloured ‘leaves’ that lay perfectly flat on their stems.

All the deltoid-shaped platforms had the same orientation; completely horizontal and reaching out in all directions from the central trunk.

“Don’t tell me…”

The HUD flashed something at that very moment, and a few crosshairs appeared on the window overlay corresponding to each of several of those leaves.

A second later,

*BEEP*

‘Welcome to Port Ibera. Please allow your ship to communicate with our clovers such that the most suitable one will be selected for your ship.’

Hearing that automated message, I did as it said and let the Wandering 14 do its thing.

Luda’s ship was already out of sight, presumably having done its landing earlier.

“Clovers, huh. that’s a cute term for it.” I said to myself.

“For all their traditions, the Magna sure are flashy with their tech.”

I felt Kalasia’s large presence come up behind me as he commented.

“I know, right?” I replied.

Soon after, all the crosshairs disappeared from the HUD, except for one. In response,

“…Wow.”

The stem directly holding the clover my ship chose swung around, placing the platform well in front and below us. At the same time, the Wandering 14 initiated its landing process.

“It’s all done for me.” I shrugged.

“Time to leave?” The Feran asked. “We’re up so high that even I would be nervous. Don’t know how the acrophobic will handle this.”

“Jina?”

“Not her, she’s fine; I’m just saying.”

“That’s good.”

I don’t think space travel would be easy if you’re scared of heights, with the spaceships and all.

Before we could get ready to leave,

“Hold your paces, KC, Kalasia.”

Memphis interrupted, their wiry body unmoved from their seat in the weaponry room.

“It’s not over yet.”

“Huh.”

Heeding the Ilyid’s words, I sank back onto the pilot seat and waited for the ship to land squarely on the clover.

*THUD*

The moment it did,

“Whoa.”

“Seriously?”

The branch connected to the flat platform unfurled, revealing railway tracks that went into a tunnel further down the larger segments of the extension.

A moment later,

*CLACK* *VMMMM*

The clover holding up my ship slid down those tracks and entered the tunnel, apparently heading for the main structure it was attached to. Dim golden lights illuminated the interior of the circular tunnel, just a few metres wider than the breadth of the Wandering 14.

Around half a minute later,

‘Hangar 32’

We reached a floor in the conical monument, where numerous other clovers holding ships of their own lined up in an orderly manner.

Similar to the port in Mara Artemis, the platform holding my ship zoomed around the compound. However, rather than directly looking for its parking spot, it took us right in front of the entrance to the hangar.

‘Please disembark from your ship, taking care not to forget your belongings. Your clover will park your ship safely once you leave.’

That was what the automated message said.

“Welp.” I rose up from my seat.

“Not nice to leave the others waiting, if there are.” Kalasia also went back to his seat.

Memphis merely nodded, already ready to leave.

Checking that everything was in order, I opened the hatch and let the two of them get down first.

“And that should be all of that.”

Noting that the Ovation was secure and accounted for in my inventory, I closed the exit behind me and left the ship.

---

The platform remained in front of the entrance for quite some time after the three of us left the ship, before finally leaving with the Wandering 14.

“KC, the elevator is here.”

Memphis called out to me, drawing my attention away from Port Ibera’s sorting system.

“Right, coming.” I followed after the two.

The doors of the hangar led to a lobby of elevators: Six of which served this section alone. Consistent with its exterior design, the room’s walls and flooring followed a grand, golden-brown design, with fine carved patterns laid alongside polished quartzite tiles.

“Feels like an expensive hotel.”

I caught myself saying as we entered the carriage that arrived.

“Hospitable, indeed.” The Ilyid agreed.

“It’s a little too posh for me, to be honest.”

Kalasia carefully pressed the button to the ground floor, where arrivals were. The size of the Feran’s hands meant that he had to use his claws for any precision tasks, which was funny to watch to say the least.

The elevator closed its doors after sensing that no one else was entering, and took us down the building in a smooth, silent motion.

On the way down,

“Oh, a call from Luda.”

I pressed the notification that appeared and connected to her call.

“Have you landed, KC?”

Her voice sounded in my ear.

“Yeah, Hangar 32. How about you?” I replied.

“Hangar 18. Where should we meet?”

“After arrivals, as usual. Have you called Exy too?”

“Not yet.”

Me first, huh.

“I’ll get her up to speed.” I offered.

“Okay, see you soon.”

She voiced her agreement before hanging up.

Seeing me run through the window to make another call,

“Busy man, aren’t you?” Kalasia raised an eyebrow at me.

“Just chasing after my dreams.” I responded without missing a beat.

*PFF*

Ignoring the leopard Feran’s laugh, I pressed on Exy’s name in the player list and rang her up. Seconds later,

“Heyo,”

She picked up the call.

“Have you landed yet? This place is pretty crazy, huh?” I asked.

“Yeah, I’m going through the tunnel now.” She indicated. Predicting my intentions, “So where are we meeting up?”

“Right after immigration, I suppose. I’ll probably be waiting around with Luda somewhere.”

“Sounds good. I’ll be there soon.”

Closing off the call,

“Hah,” I sighed.

“What’s up?”

“Something on your mind?”

Kalasia and Memphis saw my expression and asked.

“Nothing serious, really.” I responded. “Just wish I could get to talk longer with her, you know?”

“Oho…?”

“Mm.”

The Feran showed me a toothy grin while the Ilyid’s vocalizer let out a short grunt. I guess even nonhuman NPCs could pick up on how obvious I was.

Exy is one thing, but Seola is another.

The fact that I could even talk to her about the Winterhymn thing was already an achievement.

Just because they’re my biases doesn’t necessarily mean I can get as close to them as I’d like.

The elevator arrived to the ground floor while I was deliberating by myself. Only after the Feran hit me on the shoulder did I come back to my senses and leave the carriage.

All three of us passed through the immigration posts without issue; according to the guidelines presented by the port, our entry permits would also indicate our performance in the Foundation Trial leading up to its authorization, which would suffice to weed out any abnormal behaviour we showed.

“Don’t do too much on your own.”

The officer handling my permit advised me after I was done.

It’s all recorded, huh.

“Anyways,”

Looking around, there were plenty of people arriving through the port, though still well below the capacity it could handle.

We went through the security corridors and reached the public area before long. As expected, even in a place like this, what greeted us were lines of outlets offering all sorts of products and services to travelers.

Port Ibera had an entire marketplace attached to it.

---

Who am I kidding? This is clearly a shopping mall.

“Then,”

I found what I was looking for in an instant.

In addition to everything else, the port had spacecraft shops of its own to serve pilots and shipowners landing here, selling all sorts of replacement parts and technological modules, Magna made or otherwise.

As advertised in the network,

‘In-house maintenance, servicing and upgrade services provided’

Almost all of them advertised a variation of that offer.

At that moment,

“Memphis, Kal, KC~!”

Outside one of the stores, Jina called out and waved to us. Her face didn’t show any signs of fatigue or airsickness, but that was to be expected.

“There they are.”

I responded in kind, and we walked over to where she was.

“I don’t see your friend anywhere, though?” Kalasia tilted his head.

“She’s right over there.”

I pointed inside the shop behind her.

Standing inside a store selling portable utility gadgets, the suit the petite girl wore was unmistakably Luda’s.

“The wares must have taken her attention too.”

Memphis let out a quiet chuckle, literally causing me to jerk my head in their direction.

“Huh.”

Kalasia had the same expression on as I did.

The two of us looked at each other for just a moment, before both of us shrugged it off.

“Did you get anything for yourself, Jina?”

I asked as we met up with her.

“Or, wait. You’re still saving up to get the inventory system, right?”

The woman shook her head, adjusting the carry bag on her back.

“I’d like to keep my powered equipment at the minimum, KC; don’t really want to spend on energy cells.”

Ah, that’s fair, I nodded.

“Did you see Exy unnie on the way here?”

Luda also paused her window shopping and approached us. She was holding a white canister in each hand, seemingly comparing between them.

“No, I didn’t. She should come by soon though.”

I glanced at both of them to activate the system’s description.

‘Response Speed Modulation Buffer’

‘Agility Modulation Buffer’

“Ah, these? Too bad they’re not permanent, though.” Luda sighed. “Organic ship parts just don’t upgrade the same way the others do.”

“Sounds tough.” I commented. “Oh, thanks for reminding me, Luda – I need to get my stuff too.”

“Sure.”

She turned to Jina and the others.

“Keep an eye out for Exy unnie when she comes out, thanks.”

“I will.” The Human nodded.

“Thanks, Jie.” I also said to her as I left to do my own shopping.

Skimming over the various stores,

“er capacity…”

Sounds like a major upgrade to me, which means it’ll be more expensive.

I found one that sold parts for Shuttles before long. Rather than look at the product descriptions one by one,

“Hi, I’m thinking of getting my ship boosters upgraded?”

I asked the Magna shopkeeper, who already made himself ready for me.

“Shuttle boosters, right? Are you looking for high velocity mode upgrades or more on the overall speed of your ship?”

High velocity mode, huh? That was the first time I heard of it.

“…How about both? Are they compatible with each other?”

“Yes they are, sir.”

The shopkeeper pulled out a holographic window from the sleeve of their black upper and showed me a table of boosters and HV upgrades, sorted by brand and how well they synergize with each other.

“I would recommend Dysons for their all-round specs, if that’s what you’re looking for.”

Seeing the scrutiny with which I looked at the window he showed me, however,

“…Or perhaps, you’re thinking of high-performance ones, sir? Are you pursuing an Expedition Trial?”

Hearing his words,

“Ah, no, it’s my first time coming to a Magna city, so…”

I blurted out without thinking.

“Oh, a prospective disciple!” He welcomed. “You must be interested in our people’s tech, then?”

“I’m just thinking of preparing my ship for anything that might happen, really.” I explained. “We’ve been through some things.”

“I understand.” He nodded, placing the window in front of me. At once, my system sent a notification, requesting to take over control of the hologram.

That’s neat.

Accepting it,

“I’ll still vouch for the Dysons, like before.” The shopkeeper motioned. “Or, if you don’t mind the higher fuel use, a set of Ravexes would suit the more demanding of your needs.”

I scrolled through the window and compared the two sets. As mentioned before, the Ravexes were more technically competent but less economical.

“That’s a tradeoff I can make.”

I made my decision and told him.

“Thank you for your business!”

He said joyfully and brought out another window in my direction.

“Make your payment here and we’ll send the upgrades up to the port. They’ll have it installed for you in a jiffy.”

“Oh, is that how it works?”

I held up my hand in front of the window, authorizing the transaction. The price of the ers plus HV supplements was appropriate to its capabilities, carving no small hole into my wallet.

“Mhmm.” He nodded.

“How about maintenance and servicing?”

“Those too, handled by their respective providers of course.”

“Good to know.”

The Magna bid me goodbye after we were done. Luda saw me leave the shop and walked over, apparently done with her business too.

“What’s up?” I asked.

“Bona and Xuanyi unnie’s taking orders at Anne’s.” Luda pointed to her chat window. “Don’t forget to put yours in.”

“Oh, right.”

I pulled my own window out and went through the menu Xuanyi posted.

Something not too heavy…

It would usually take me some time to pick something to eat, but I didn’t want to waste too much time this time around.

You: Framme Whitebutter Rice, please.

Xuanyi: 👌

Xuanyi: Anything else?

Bona: We’re getting fried chicken for everyone too, KC.

You: Sounds good.

You: Regal Apple juice, too.

You: Thanks 🙏

“Jina and co are coming with us, right?” I turned to Luda. “Are they getting something too?”

“I’ll ask.” She nodded. “Exy unnie also called me just now, she said she’ll be out soon.”

“Alright, that should be enough time to dip to somewhere else, right?”

“Where are you going, KC?” Luda raised her eyebrows.

“Getting my ship looked at,” I responded. “See if anything needs fixing or topping up.”

“Okay, I’ll be over with Jina and the others.”

Both of us parted ways as I continued my search, putting just a bit more speed into my walking.

“Here we go.”

I found a suitable vendor for my needs on the opposite block of where we were. The attendant was Magna too, though much less chatty than the shopkeeper before.

“Hull, interior, weaponry, electronic and protective systems.”

She went over my request.

“That’ll take two hours or so, is that fine with you?”

“That should be alright.”

The attendant nodded and pulled up the transaction window.

Noting the fees included in the service,

“Phew.”

I paid in full and checked the remaining balance in my account.

“I hope the assembler won’t ask too much for the Ovation’s upgrade.”

I realized at this moment how costly having others maintain your spaceship can be.

---

“Sorry I’m late guys.”

Exy left the gate to arrivals a few minutes after I joined back up with Luda and the rest.

“Did something happen in immigration?” I asked her.

“Not really, it’s just a long queue in the clovers taking everyone to the entrance.”

“Ah.”

“We got lucky.”

Luda and I exchanged glances with each other.

“I’m in Hangar 6.” She stated. “How about you two?”

“Hangar 32.”

“Hangar 18.”

“…Must be the single digits, then.”

Exy crossed her arms hearing our response.

“So, are we moving or not?”

“Sure thing.” I turned to Memphis and the others. “You three ready?”

“We are.” Jina nodded. “Don’t want to leave our food too cold after all.”

All three of them agreed to join us for a late supper.

It’ll be lunch for us, though.

“I’ll set the nav for the restaurant.”

Luda offered, having obtained map data from Port Ibera’s information counter in the meantime.

Following her lead, the six of us made our way out of the conical superstructure and reached Arbosienn’s streets. The other spires were appropriately farther away from the building for obvious reasons, but it still felt like the port was in the middle of the city.

“It’s in Clade Melado.”

Luda directed us to walk across one of the city’s very few wide roads. We waited for our turn and used the crossroads like everyone else did. Then, using one of the smaller paths, we traveled for a while until we reached the end of the road.

At that moment,

*WHOOSH*

Through the strange noises coming from in front of us,

“Ah.”

I understood why the roads were designed as such here in Arbosienn.

The square platform ahead of us had scratches and friction marks all over it, despite the incredibly hard pavement it was made of.

Atop its surface,

*BOOM*

*WHIRR*

The passersby waited for their turn with the platform, then left it with all sorts of ways you could think of.

“Air traffic control will be a nightmare.”

Rockets, wings, propellers, what have you; the mostly Magna citizens that didn’t already have them as part of their bodies used external attachments to achieve the same effect.

Further still, some of them did not to use the platform at all, going around and walking on ahead instead. Well-trodden paths ran between the endings of the roads, clearly made by those who would rather make their trips on foot.

“So, uh.” I turned to everyone. “Can any of you fly or do anything like that?”

“Not that I recall.”

“Me neither.”

Even Memphis shook their head in response along with the others.

“Oh, that’s good then.” I let out a relieved sigh.

“You have your jets, don’t you?” Luda recalled.

“Yeah, but I don’t want to have to split up from the group or anything…”

Up to you, Exy shrugged in response.

“It’s nice to not have to deal with transporters, but the noise…”

Jina covered her ears from all the sounds of flying.

“Let’s hurry, the sooner we can get away from this the better.”

Kalasia suggested, also showing his discomfort with the commotion.

With that settled, we went around the platform and continued onwards through the cleared path. Without cars and such to look out for, it wasn’t as dangerous to cross them compared to the larger causeways.

Looking around, the clearing of land surrounding Port Ibera felt more like an oversized park rather than a network of streets.

Even as we moved deeper into the block of Clade Melado, more pedestrian walkways filled the spaces between its buildings than transportation roads. Like before, square pedestals dotted these paths in intervals of about a kilometer between each.

However,

“I can barely hear the sound now. What’s happening?”

The city’s atmosphere was veiled in a comforting silence, despite the amount of people flying overhead.

“Are the buildings absorbing the noise?”

Kalasia and I stopped to observe the structures around us. Walking up to the side of what looked like an office,

“Wait.”

The layers in the material that made up the building furled and waved, just like wood.

“Try touching the wall, KC.”

I turned to see Kalasia’s paw-like hand moving across the wall. Following his actions, I pressed mine against it.

“Hmm?”

The texture of bark, but—

“It’s stone, isn’t it?” The Feran turned to me.

“Yeah.”

I nodded harder than I intended. There was no mistaking it, the way the wall’s indentations brushed against my skin—this came from the ground.

At this moment, I also realized something else about the city.

The night isn’t as cold here as it was in Deusrust.

Soundproofing and temperature control; it didn’t seem like it from the outside, but Arbosienn felt like it had an ecosystem of its own.

“Are you two done?” Exy called out to us.

“We’re moving on ahead.” Luda pointed to her navigation window.

“Oh, coming!”

Seeing everyone else already in the distance, both of us hurried to catch up with them.

---

Anne’s Depot was located in a block of Clade Melado where many restaurants and markets staked their claim.

The venue established itself in the fifth floor of a spire, perhaps to use the neighbourhood’s cityscape as an attraction point. Thanks to that, however,

“Haah…”

I let out a sigh as Jina looked at the others with a concerned expression.

“You’d think they would have elevators everywhere, being this advanced and all.”

We had to use the stairs to climb up all the way there. It was more surprising that the frost-skinned girl didn’t show any signs of exhaustion, after such a long day for her and the others.

Anyways,

The entrance to the restaurant tucked itself away on one side of the corridor, adorned by a glass door.

“Looks like a BBQ and grill place, huh.”

“Yep.” Luda nodded.

Exy took the lead and pushed the door, entering the place followed by the rest of us.

“Oh, Exy!”

“Over here, girls~”

It didn’t take long for Bona’s and our group to see each other.

With Xuanyi and Soobin, the three of them sat around one end of a long table, close to the window overlooking the clade’s warmly lit spires.

“Been waiting long?”

After some thought, I chose to sit at the other end of the table, along with Memphis and Kalasia.

Shouldn’t push it with the members.

It was a redundant precaution to take at this point, but I tried to give them some distance anyway—

“Give me some space, you two.”

Being against the wall, Exy asked me and the Ilyid to pull our chairs closer to the table to let us through.

“Oh, sure.”

She passed through quickly before taking her seat next to me.

Ah.

“Can’t you leave me alone for once, unnie?”

Soobin cried out, further down our row.

“I don’t want to deal with Lord and you at the same time!”

Only at that point did I notice the glass jar behind her, inside which the dirt monster sat curiously staring out the window.

“Seola unnie’s going to sit between us, no? Just bear with it until then.” Exy only shrugged in return.

Ignoring those two, I turned to look at Jina, who was conversing with Bona and Luda about something.

“You sure you don’t want to sit closer to her, Mem?” I whispered to the Ilyid beside me.

It was Kalasia who sat across us on the other row, rather than them.

“I don’t see why I would need to intrude on her valuable time with your friends, KC.”

“Hmm.”

I looked into their singular red sensor, which stared back at me without an observable expression.

I really can’t tell from their face.

“…Suit yourself, then.”

“As you do.”

Having already made our orders earlier through the chat, we passed the time with small talk, asking one another about what they saw here.

“I tried to use the squares with my levitation mod,” Bona explained. “But it’s even slower than walking! Can you believe that?”

“It was really funny seeing Bona try to set herself down, bumping into all the other ones getting ready to fly.”

Xuanyi laughed, recalling their experience.

“So you really need the proper equipment to use those things, huh? The platforms.”

“I guess; you wouldn’t go scuba diving with just a snorkel, after all.”

In the meantime,

“We’re not late, are we?”

Seola and Yeonjung arrived to Anne’s Depot a bit later, right after our drinks were served.

From their ragged breathing, the two of them must have rushed over here as quickly as they could.

“Why the hurry?” Bona asked. “It’s just dinner, isn’t it?”

“I didn’t know how long the precession would hold up the road, unnie. People were putting up shows and there were drones flying everywhere!”

I set down my glass on the table and turned to her.

“…What.”

“There’s some kind of celebration happening where our ride went through… Clade Karri, was it?”

“I think so,” Seola affirmed Yeonjung’s words.

“No one else saw anything like that on the way here?”

“Not us.”

“Me neither.”

The rest of us shook our heads.

“…Oh well, we can always go back there if any of you are curious.”

With their arrival, the eleven of us were complete again.

---

Seola took her seat between Exy and Soobin, while Yeonjung sat herself right across me, between Kalasia and Jina.

“Port Nascia was this tall cylinder building with branches all over it, KC.”

The member in front of me began.

“One of the golden leaves they called ‘clovers’ brought my ship into a hangar inside, dropping me off at the entrance.”

“It’s the same for us, too.” I recounted. “Ibera had more of a cone shape, though.”

“Oh, that must be how it is here.”

She sipped on her glass of mist soda in contemplation.

“Right, speaking of which, how did it go with Seola’s thing at the immigration?”

“Unnie was already waiting for me to come out when I landed, so I didn’t get to ask.”

I turned to my left and reached out to Seola, who was discussing something with Exy.

“What is it?”

Her eyes met mine without reserve, making me fumble a bit on the question.

“…The immigration thing, what happened?”

“Oh, I think you can guess, KC.”

A thin smile spread on her lips.

“…Winterhymn?”

“That’s right.”

Seola explained how she barely got off having to undergo a weapons discipline course by having both Seo-ri and herself promise not to use their powers without an authorized Temple Head’s consent.

“From their words, it seems like this Temple place is where I need to go next.”

Seola deduced the destination for the next part of her questline.

“Right, the Path…!”

“How about yours, KC?” Exy asked. “Do you need to do some sort of Trial to meet your assembler or what?”

“I haven’t looked it up myself.” I shook my head.

“Stay focused, and don’t hesitate to ask us for help if you need it.”

She advised.

“I’m thinking of having Yeonjung or Xuanyi come with me to meet my contact after this.”

“Oh, who?”

“The Beslac, I told you about her already, no?”

“Beslac?”

Our food arrived to the table at that moment, interrupting the conversation.

Rice, tubers, leafy and fleshy greens; all sorts of food filled the dishes set in front of everyone, accompanied by a plentiful amount of no less than five kinds of meat, none of which I could recognize apart from the fried chicken Bona ordered for everyone.

“It really is a feast when you have a lot of members, huh?”

I said my thoughts out loud.

“Right? You can ask anyone to share their food if you’re curious, KC.”

Yeonjung replied, having heard me.

“I’ll think about that. Thanks, Yeonjung.”

Everyone started to eat, including Memphis who enjoyed their curried stew by extending a couple of tubes and wires from the top of their chest into the pan.

Probably won’t be able to speak in that state, better leave them be.

Ignoring Kalasia wolfing down his steak, I started going through my own dinner. Framme Whitebutter was a sort of fried rice dish, complete with a selection of seafood-like meats and a very peculiar-tasting butter finish.

“Still good, though.”

While munching through the fried chicken Exy passed over, I mindlessly stared outside and observed Arbosienn’s scenery.

Huh.

Unlike the other settlements I’ve been in so far, this city was… dry. There was little consideration for water or its supply anywhere in its architecture. Also, despite the tree-like motif of its spires, there was a marked lack of greenery and foliage around, the few I could see found only indoors or on someone’s balcony.

“That might be why all the food serving places clustered together so closely.”

Though Arbosienn is hospitable to outsiders, it was still a Magna city first and foremost.

“Stay focused.”

All of us came here to fulfill our own goals, not just to play around.

Still,

There were many ways I could go about progressing on my Path. On one hand I could just search the network for the best and most reliable Magna assemblers to go to. On the other hand, I could maybe get a trusted source to fill me in?

Exy and Seola’s paths also caught my interest, mainly because I was curious about what they were up to, but I could also tag along and ask the people we meet about Magna assembly.

There was plenty of time to think about it, seeing everyone take their time with the food.

Either way, I don’t think I could really go wrong with the choices I could make: Any of them can show me what Arbosienn is about, and what the city has to offer for players like us.

What should I go for?

---

A) Find your own lead for the Path
B) Get Grear’s advice for your Path
C) Accompany Exy on her Path
D) Help Seola with her Path