Shades of the New World

Chapter 194: Homecoming

The next morning, Evin was waiting for Arza and Ssatsko to come to the mansion, wondering what the hell was Nasst and Deminte's problem.

'He seemed extremely angry when he found out that I set up Arza to study under Deminte, but apparently, the two are close enough to do things like these' he thought with confusion.

He really couldn't understand why Nasst would turn so mental for a moment there. 

But, he couldn't really think further of the matter, since Arza appeared on the other side of the street with Ssatsko, with the old man holding some of his belongings in his hands, a glossy expression on his face. Evin smirked slightly, reminded of the previous day's events.

"Oh, they've come. I'll call Abe," Rith said from the side and took on a golden hue.

Evin went to open the door for the two and let them inside his room.

"Hey," Evin greeted and he started asking Arza about what happened with Deminte.

"So, what happened with the old lady?"

"It went much better than what you expected. We created a Contract, where she promised to teach me everything she was allowed to, while I just have to diligently practice it," Arza replied.

Hearing the answer, Evin was a bit concerned. Doesn't that mean that Arza has to faithfully perform anything that Deminte asks of him?

"Hmm, is she trying to brainwash you or something? I mean, uhh, could you let me talk to Karan for a bit?" Evin asked to which Arza just nodded and gave Evin the short-sword on his waist.

[Hey, Karan, long time no see, huh?] Evin greeted. He realized that he really didn't find many opportunities to talk with Karan as of late.

[You seem to be neglecting me a bit, but I'll let it slide since I don't have to deal with your bullshit anymore, ahahah,] Karan laughed in response.

[So, what's this talk about Arza having to diligently follow Deminte's instructions?] Evin asked.

[Yeah, about that, I've been pretty wary about that as well, but I'm getting the feeling that it's legit as of late,] Karan said and started describing what Deminte was teaching Arza. Hearing about the True Path, Evin relaxed a little. And from what he could understand, most of the time, Deminte was just focusing on strengthening Arza's mana-core.

[I've heard about the True Path from Nasst as well. At any rate, seems like there's not much trouble for the time being But should I try to keep touch with you, so you can tell me if something's wrong?] Evin asked, just in case.

[We'll see what happens,] Karan said calmly. 

[Oh and also, did you tell Arza about what happened to me... with the fight against the Lesser-imposer?] Evin asked.

[What? No, of course not,] Karan replied.

[Alright, then all's good,] Evin let out a sigh of relief.

[What? You decided to keep it secret from your family? What a you thing to do...]

[Aw, bug off. You know it's best that they don't know it.]

[I guess you're right,] Karan's sigh echoed in Evin's head.

Evin couldn't help but notice that the Skinshifter's swearing had lessened significantly after spending some time with Arza. 

'Feels like he would be a pretty responsible parent, now that I think about it' Evin thought with amusement and gave Karan back to Arza.

Rith on the side, had finished calling her brother, and was ready to create the portal to Smallwall town.

"Long time no see, Evin," Abe greeted and before Evin was able to respond, he continued with a smile: "This trip of yours will cost you 60 Gold, 76 silver and 7 bronze. You don't mind if I take it from your next payment, right?"

"Specific as always Do as you wish," Evin replied with an annoyed smile. Now, he knew how greatly these Cosmics charged their customers. The amount of lodestones needed for a trip of that size should be only a hundred or so, which should replenish itself over two weeks, a month at most.

But unfortunately, the non-mage population really didn't know anything related to magic, so they could only grit their teeth and pay the costs. Obviously, the mages also had to bear the same price, since the Cosmics would just say that most of the price was for their service. But, Evin wasn't that mad, since he was sure that he would probably do the same if he was in their shoes. And besides, he planned to do the same to them, after all.

'Next time I sell something to you, I'll definitely sell it hard,' Evin thought gleefully. 

And then, when the two started to cast the spell for the portal, Evin did his best to catch every little detail possible, since he was struggling with the same magic. He tried his best to create one the previous day, but he just couldn't get it to work. But since there was a live example right in front of him, he didn't want to miss it. 

As the tear in space appeared, a strong shockwave seemed to materialize out of it, pushing Evin and the others away from itself slightly. 

'I don't think there was such a reaction when Rith created the portal from the City of Smog to the Ekhri tribe,' Evin wondered.

Now that Evin was focused on the process, he could see a few details that he missed before: how symmetrical the portal was, how a fuzzy silhouette of their destination appeared on the inside of the portal, how the edge of the portal looked very wavy and blurry, and how it emitted some sort of golden mist around it. Evin wasn't worried if this was actually helpful or not. At least he could imagine the exact same image if all else failed.

One thing he also noticed was how focused Abe and Rith was on the process. It felt to Evin that maybe Rith was actually having an laxer time with the process, perhaps due to the gift she received from Kena. But after the portal came to life, the two made a relaxed expression and nodded slightly to each other.

"Alright, everything's finished," Abe said and the group walked inside one after another.

On the other side, the air was hotter and a bit more humid. Weirdly, the sun's location in the sky almost didn't change at all, even though the group had just teleported a huge distance. This discrepancy caught Evin's attention, but he didn't dawdle on it for long.

On the side, Ssatsko and Arza seemed to be having some trouble. Evin looked at Rith, but the Cosmic just shrugged.

"It's just PT disorientation, or post-teleportation disorientation. It'll pass," she said.

Abe hadn't appeared on the other side, so it was only the original group.

[Is this Big Brother's home?] Runa's voice appeared inside his head. 

[Yep, you'll get to see my family as well,] Evin replied absentmindedly.

[Are we not your family?] Runa asked back with a confused tone.

[You probably don't know this, but big brother has three families at this point. So don't be too jealous, alright?] Evin replied.

[So if it's us, then this one... where's the other family?] Runa asked curiously.

[They've already passed away. But if I'm correct, they should have reincarnated as other people, and living their lives peacefully now,] Evin replied.

[What does pass away mean?] 

[It means they die, you know about that, don't you?] Evin asked, remembering that he'd explained the concept to Runa at some point.

[Oh... I'm sorry,] Runa replied, just like how Evin and Rith taught her.

[It's alright. Big brother doesn't mind it much at this point,] Evin laughed and the group started to walk towards the city gates after Arza and Ssatsko felt better..