33 Information Gathering...

Andrew chuckled lightly in confusion, "I guess we just got re-assigned? Well, whatever, let's resume getting our food."

Thinking back, Cage verified that he did indeed have high combat power for his Stage. He had fought Andrew and managed to tie it before, then he had beaten a Stage Two mutant; Following which, he had massacred hundreds of crawlers. He had achieved a small battle record that could make anyone's mouth go agape.

'A week, huh? I wonder what the expedition will be. I hope it isn't Quadrant 7, I think I've had enough crawler encounters for at least a month.'

Cage and Andrew walked down the path and entered the main camp after registering with the guard who was always there.

After reaching the food area, they got in line and waited for their turn.

To no one's surprise, it was soup! In soup's defense, it was easy to make large quantities and nothing is wasted from making it so it was ideal for a location where waste was frowned upon.

"Here's your soup little dude."

"Thanks!"

Cage glanced back at the beast-man who had served him. He was a very chill, turtle-type, beast-man.

Looking around the gathering of people eating or chatting, he found Andrew sitting a little ways away. Making his way over, he weaved his way through the bodies of people.

Cage sat down and placed the bowl on his lap. Turning to Andrew, he said, "Thanks for saving me a spot."

Like a hungry wolf, or tiger(?) in his case, Cage ate voraciously. In a little less than a minute, his bowl was wiped clean of everything in it leaving Andrew wondering how someone could eat so fast.

Cage observed the various individuals who were relaxing, he couldn't help but notice that everyone seemed to be happy or at ease. To his knowledge, they, being slaves and all, would be treated horribly. However, that clearly wasn't the case. They were given reasonable tasks that were withing their ability, plenty of food, and were essentially never abused. They even got free treatment from healers!

Cage tilted his head and asked, "How come we are treated so well?"

In between mouthfuls, Andrew lowered the spoon from his mouth. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, we ARE slaves right? Wouldn't we be forced to work arduously for long hours and be abused or taken advantage of? The only thing that is remotely inhumane is the soul binding cuffs, but even those get rarely ever used."

"So that's what you mean." Andrew nodded, "You are right. If we were enslaved for any other kingdom, then we probably would be treated like that. Fortunately, we are under the Dralos Kingdom."

The Dralos Kingdom was one of he big five powerhouses of the world. Legends say that the kingdom was founded by 7 beings who had each reached Stage 10 a few thousand years ago. The legends also said that each being was of a different race. Unfortunately, the exact history had been lost to time.

The Dralos kingdom had long been known to be fair to all and was a kingdom where, no matter the race, everyone was treated based on their strength. It was a strength based hierarchy where the seven strongest would be the representatives. Why seven? It was simply a nod of respect to the legends.

While it was a strength based hierarchy, the weak weren't treated like trash. They just didn't have a voice in any matters relating to the development or growth of the kingdom. In the Dralos Kingdom, slaves were treated like a worker would be. The only difference was that they didn't get to choose what they did.

Cage nodded in understanding, "I see, we are lucky then."

Andrew laughed, "Yeah, I guess we are. Me especially so because I heavily injured a noble's kid and yet, here I am! Haha!"

Cage let Andrew go back to eating because he still had about two thirds left in his bowl.

Cage let himself be immersed in his thoughts, 'If we are going on an expedition, then it would probably be a good idea to know more about the other Quadrants. I've only been in two Quadrants after all, it would be unfortunate if I did something I wasn't supposed to...'

Cage looked around at the other people again, 'I guess it wouldn't be a bad Idea to make more connections either. Who knows, it might even come in handy later.'

Cage activated mana-vision. Someone stronger would naturally have access to more information, hence they would be the best source. It only took a little more than a second for someone to catch his eye.

The person who caught his eye was a man who looked to be in his 20's and had blue hair. He had the mana level of a high-level Stage One. Strangely, he didn't have an aura so Cage couldn't tell his affinity. Cage also didn't know if the man was an enchanter or a mage.

Cage promptly walked over to investigate the man and to take- to ask for information on any of the other Quadrants.

The man glanced up and raised an eyebrow, "If you're trying to get my food, then it's not going to work."

His eyes faintly gave of deep-blue wisps, following which his expression changed to one of a little surprise which he quickly hid.

Cage shook his head, "I'm not after your food. I'm just a little curious about someone who is at the high-level of Stage One. Ah, I should Introduce myself. I'm Cage, a cat-type beast-man as you can see."

Cage slightly smiled and pointed to his ears at the top of his head.

The man held out his hand, "Well then, nice to meet you Cage. I'm Dan, a human. I have to say, it's rare to see someone as young as yourself at the mid-level of Stage One. I don't mind the company though, so what do you want to know?"

Cage placed his hand on his chin, "Hmm, I've only been to Quadrants 7 and 2 so maybe just more about the others..."

The man nodded, "I've only been to Quadrant 4, but I'll try my best to describe it."

"Do you know what a beach is? It is essentially a place with a lot of finely ground up rocks and lots of water. Quadrant 4 is a large beach that has a rocky promontory covering the water, we gather the soul-stones that are found on the rocks. When we finish, we are able to go fishing and get some extra food. There are a lot of water type beasts, so we need to be careful when we are near the water, which es essentially all the time."

(A/N: a rocky promontory is a place where a rock or rocks stick out of the water and is typically out at sea.)

Cage hit his palm in realization, "Is every Quadrant different? If they are, then this place is like its own ecosystem or miniature world!"

Dan laughed lightly, "Ha ha, yeah. It is inside the fossil of a titan-class beast after all. It would be weird if it wasn't diverse."

Cage tilted his head, "Titan-class? What's that?"

Dan waved his hand in dismissal, "Don't worry about it. They are as rare as a phoenix feather and most of them are already dead. You probably wouldn't encounter any in your lifetime."

A glint flashed in Dan's eyes, "Now that I answered your question, It would only be fair if I got to ask a question or two; Right?"

Cage gave a thumbs up, "Sure, I don't mind. If it's something that I can answer, then I probably will."

"Good. First up then, how did you start cultivating? Did you discover it yourself or did someone teach you?"

Cage had already said he would answer if he was able to, and he was certainly able to answer a question like this. "I was taught how to." Cage pointed to Andrew, "See that silver-haired wolf beast-man over there? He taught me how."

Dan followed Cage's finger, "That would make sense, he is pretty strong! Still, to be able to understand the theory behind cultivation at- Actually, what's your age?"

"Four years old."

"Four years? What are you, some kind of genius?"

Cage stayed silent. 'I probably shouldn't answer that.'

If Dan knew that Cage had only started a little while ago, then he probably would have died on the spot. It was almost unheard of for someone to progress so fast.

Like a kid on Christmas, Dan's eyes lit up. "My dream is to discover every type of magic there is. It might seem impossible, but It has been my dream since I was a kid. I couldn't help but notice that you have a dual affinity. This brings me to my second question, what is your compound magic! I reallllly want to know!"

Cage started to fidget awkwardly and with a wry smile, he said, "I haven't discovered my compound magic yet... Sorry."

Cage had only been able to sense elemental mana for a little while now. In fact, the total time he had been able to sense elemental mana was only a little more than an hour.

Dan sighed, "Oh well, it can't be helped then... If you discover it or want to talk about magic, then let me know! I have this week off so I'll probably be hanging around here either chatting or trying to make new skills. Oh yeah, you should also try and research other magics, it can help with your understanding!"

'Understanding? … oh! If I know more about my elements then I can use them better. Furthermore, if I have a good understanding of the other elements then I would be able to respond to them better!'

"I think I will, it would be beneficial for the future. Thanks again, I'll let you know my compound ability the next time we meet! see you later!" Cage said as he waved goodbye.

With that, Cage and Dan parted from each other.