Chapter 14 Locals

Another Rotation…

The room was pretty small and filled with an enormous amount of plants. It reached all the way to even the ceiling. Hanging vegetations, fruit trees on the walls, and plants with strange flowers. All of this was some kind of strange greenhouse and the person in the middle of it was looking at his notebook. He was excitedly writing something on until he noticed me by the door. I moved a bit of the leaves away from my face to take a better look at the person. To my slight surprise, it was Juxo! The person that mercilessly beaten me and some students up during physical training level 3 or something. He looked quite excited as he started to tie his shaggy hair into ponytail. It was a bit strange for a subject to be here. Wasn't I here for physical training level 4? This place doesn't eve look like the place for fighting. But the air quality of this place was quite soothing. It felt fresh like some of the simulator planets I've been on. I walked closer to Juxo to see that he prepared some stuff.

Juxo: Oh wow. You actually came! I didn't think any other student would be interested in this class. At least, the platform could give me some extra credits now. One student! I can't believe it! I can't wait!

Arc: Uh… This is Physical training level 4 right?

Juxo: No… This is herbology 1. You came here because this is Herbology 1. Why would you want to fight in this kind of environment. It's dangerous for both the plants and us.

Arc: Then I'm in the wrong class. Excuse me...

Juxo: WAIT! WAIT! WAIT! DON'T GO JUST YET!

Arc: What?

Juxo: Don't you want to learn some new things? Things that might save your life? Types of vegetations that can be used for an advantage or something?

Arc: Yeah, that's why I should be in physical training level 4. This plant stuff isn't going to help. It also looks a bit boring.

Juxo: Wait! Please! Just give it a chance! I haven't had a student for a while! All of them… Well… they kinda just died.

Arc: That's not convincing!

Juxo: WAIT! I know it's not but they passed from different reason. They didn't because of the subject. They went on classes and they just didn't return. Adam be with them. But that shouldn't be a bad reason to join this subject!

Arc: Give me a reason then. So far you haven't given me a good amount of reason to stay. This plant stuff isn't that big for it to be a prerequisite after all.

Juxo: Well, I'm from the yellow class. Isn't that something you should already take notice of?

Arc: I guess…

Juxo: I wouldn't live with what I already know. So there's that.

Arc: How many rotations have you been on already?

Juxo: 21 rotations. As you can tell, I'm still alive aren't I? Most of those classes I went on, I've lived because of this stuff. It's important to study the terrain of the planets we come across. Even the plant life could be the difference between life and death.

Arc: Okay. But you have to do something for me in return. I want to join the yellow class.

Juxo: A part of the suicide class?! Why would you do that? Kids nowadays would rather be in the red or the vanta class. Nobody wants to go to the yellow class. But tell me anyway.

Arc: Because I remember everything… I can't forget. Now, I just want to go.

Juxo: … Kids these days, well fine. Though if you're going to join with my recommendation to get into yellow then I'm making you sign up for five levels!

Arc: Five levels! That's going to take forever!

Juxo: You want these yellow highlights don't you kid? Then I'm going to make sure you're going to live. I don't want a student of mine to pass because of a dumb mistake like eating a Loka seed or Omen shrooms.

Present time…

It seemed like I had finally come face to face with an actual local of Plaux. I couldn't take a good look at her because I was seeing from the ground. She looked at me with confused eyes but she clearly knew what a human was. Or at least a magic born looked like. My back was aching from the fall despite softening the landing as best I could. The hard stone mixed with the dirt was still too tough. I should've softened the ground instead of an air mine. Rookie mistakes. My legs started to stand up on their own. As I stood up, the girl did the same to me. She was almost the same height as me and she had a strange look to her. Her hair was short just like Nex except it was kept in a ponytail fashion. It was also pink! A strange hue that I've never seen on a humanoid looking local. This person also had old bronze circular goggles resting on her head. She was also wearing some kind of strange garb that had several colored patches. Was she poor? Or was this the outfit that the people of this city wear? However, she also seemed to have a good looking pair of combat shorts and modified boots. They were basically roller blades…

Girl: My, I didn't think that I'd run into another Adamian. It must be bad luck for me! I hope my family doesn't hate me for bringing bad luck to the house!

Arc: How is it bad luck for you guys?

Girl: My dad says your species is dangerous. All that strange stuff you do with your bodies. Yucky stuff you know.

Arc: We're not that dangerous. Or at least not hostile to other species.

Girl: You use magic though! Magic is bad! Isn't it?

Arc: You have no clue what magic does, do you? It's not just made for war or fighting y'know.

Girl: That's not what my father told me.

Arc: Do you believe everything your father tells you?

Girl: Why wouldn't I?

Arc: You're hopeless then. Anyways, nice talking to you. I have to go now. I need to find my way back.

Girl: Back where? To the sky?

Arc: No, to my friends. One of them sent me here but I'm not sure why. Maybe she sent me here to save me from something but I just don't know what.

Girl: You're strange! Show me magic! I want to see what it's like up close!

Arc: Hey, didn't you just say magic was bad luck for your people. You wouldn't want bad luck for the rest of your life.

Girl: It is! But I want to see it for myself! You did say that it wasn't just for war hehehe.

Arc: Fine…

Girl: YAY!

Arc: Be quiet! I don't want the whole city to hear you.

Girl: Sorry hahahaha. My name is Olley! I got my name from my fascination with wheels. I like how they go spin or move.

Arc: You get names from what interests you?

Olley: Of course! It's only fair for something that important to be something that you love. It's also only fair for something so important to be decided by you! Now what's your name?

Arc: 24th Arc.

Olley: 24? Like the number? Do you like numbers?

Arc: No, that's the designation that we have. Or at least that's what you call Adamians have. We don't have a say in our names. It's simpler that way.

Olley: Sounds boring. Imagine getting a number like 100. You must be pretty weirded out by the amount of people that have the same last name.

Arc: That's why we have numbers, so that we don't get confused with our other name. Only my classmates call me Arc. Though I guess you can too. It's not like you know others of the series.

Olley: I like that! You're now unique! Just like me!

Arc: Unique?

Olley: Yep! Unique! Unlike other females in my district, I'm unique!

Arc: How do you even call yourself unique?

Olley: Because I have an Adamian friend! Also I have some other cool stuffs and secrets. I'm just better you know.

Arc: Wait a minute, I've never said I was going to be your friend.

Olley: What?! I thought you were going to show me your magic!

Arc: I will but that doesn't' mean we're friends! I have important things to do besides show you what magic looks like.

Olley: But what if I help you! I know the places around "Hyer".

Arc: Hyer? This isn't the Federation?

Olley: The federation? That's the capitol. Hyer is the combined city.

Arc: Interesting…

I modded my boots to a jump amplify, then started to run. A good vantage point would be really nice to have. Having the layout of the entire place will give me an easier time to decide what to do next. As I ran around, I could see that this village was quite small. There were some locals getting ready to stay inside their homes. It was starting to get dark after all. However, there was a giant tree in the center of the village. It looked like it was one of it's watchtowers. Resting on top of the tower, a giant decorated horn with paint. The tower is held by old fashion construction on top of a tree. It also looked quite old, something they should work on when they should upgrade things. Everyone was already starting to light up the torches as the sun started to set. This would mark the first full day of Plaux. This planet was quite huge to have two suns and still have a night cycle. The area was starting to feel depressing to me because of how stuck this place was in the past. They still didn't have electricity for proper lights. Upon getting closer to the watchtower tree, I looked to my side to see Olley keeping up. She smiled as she gave me a peace sign, then ran even faster. That was quite strange. Did she have any modifications to be running this fast? I started to increase my speed more to catch up to her. As the tower got closer, I jumped with momentum I've built to reach the top of the tower. There was no way she could get up here.

Olley: Hello!

Arc: Gah! Where the hell did you come from?!

Olley: I jumped like you! You were really fast! Nobody could keep up with me that fast! You must like running too!

Arc: Why are you following me? I'm in the middle of things right now.

Olley: You haven't shown me magic. You said you would.

Arc: Didn't you just see how fast I went? Or how high I jumped?

Olley: Was that it? That's all you could do? Can't you do cooler things? Like I don't know, blow up an entire planet or something? That's what my dad said some could do.

Arc: What?! No! Of course not! I can do other things! I just don't want to show everything to someone I just met!

Olley: What?! But I've already decided for us to be friends! I was going to show you to my family! I can just imagine their faces when they see you.

Arc: Don't treat me like some kind of exotic creature. I'm not some strange thing. I have a name and things to do.

Olley: Well you kinda are. Just saying you know…

Arc: No, I'm not going to do that. I'm busy!

Olley: Busy doing what?

Arc: I have to get back to my classmates! I'm worried about them. They just sent me here but I just know I have to get back.

Olley: Maybe the scientist can help you!

Arc: The scientist?

Olley: Yes! His name is -

Arc: Peter?

Olley: Oh my! He must be quite famous for an Adamian to know him.

Arc: Seems like this is the reason why I was sent here. He probably has a teleporter to Talos, how else would Terra get back to that location. If only Nex was here, I'd be able to get back easily.

Olley: Who are you talking to?

Arc: Nothing! I was just speaking my mind. What the heck are you still doing here? Go back to your life or something. Isn't time for you to get home? It's already dark.

Olley: I don't need sleep.

Arc: No way, a growing one like you needs to rest.

Olley: Not really, I'm quite mature already. I mean my chest hasn't really developed yet but -

Arc: Stop talking already!

Olley: Oh my~ Are you shy or something? Just because a girl talks about these kinds of things doesn't mean it's pervy or anything. Though I guess some guys can be quite shy hehehe.

Arc: No, I just don't care. Please just stop talking, I need to think.

I looked over to the city, it seemed like I couldn't understand much of this place. There were large walls stopping me from getting a better view of the other side. The material didn't look quite strong like concrete. However, I could see some guards patrolling. Though the guards didn't seem to have the same garments as the other locals on this side of the wall. I kneeled down on one leg then started to fix my contacts. The light was starting to fade away and I needed to see through the dark. I could barely see anything on the other side of the wall. However, I could notice that there were some lights. This district didn't have any lights? There was another thing that I found strange. The district adjacent to this side of the wall also didn't have lights. Instead, it looked like fields. Looking at these, I had no clue where to go. Where was the capital? After a while, I felt a finger pestering the side of my cheek. Out of frustration, I grabbed the finger with a tight grip. It made Olley wriggle around in pain as he tried to set herself free by punching my hand.

Olley: Hey… Hey… Hey.. H- OUCH! OUCH! OUCH! Let go! That hurts! I was just trying to get your attention!

Arc: I'll only let go if you promise to not annoy me or disturb me while I'm thinking.

Olley: Fine! Mr. Grouchy pants. I was just trying to tell you that it's time for dinner.

Arc: I don't eat dinner.

Olley: Adamians don't eat!? That's amazing! How do you guys do it? Magic? I mean it has to be right. What kind of way can I live without eating? Can you produce magical foods out of thin air? Or perhaps you can- OUCH! OUCH! OUCH! STOP! STOP! STOP! I GET IT! GET IT! PLEASE LET GOOO!

I released my grip on her two fingers then she dropped on the ground. Are the locals really like this? Are they that annoying? Why do she keep following me and asking dumb questions? Damn it, now I'm asking too many questions. Finding the capital area should be my first priority because then I can regroup with my friends if I find the teleporter. My watch didn't seem to be working anymore either, I must be too far away from Nex or Nitra to see their tracking location. As I looked on some more to see anything strange on my watch, pink hair suddenly came into vision. Some of it even touched my nose which made it itchy! I grabbed the girl's head with a crushing grip.

Olley: AAAHHH! THIS HURTS MORE! PLEASE STOP!

Arc: Why are you still talking? More importantly why are you still here?! It's almost like you want to get hurt? Is that right? You must be some kind of masochist to want to get crushed.

Olley: AAAHHH! I'M NOT A MASOCHIST! PLEASE THIS REALLY HURTS! I'M GOING TO DIE!

Arc: No, you're not going to die. Don't be dramatic.

Olley: I WILL IF YOU DON'T LET GO! AAAHH!

Arc: Geez, what a baby. If you can't even withstand that kind of force, imagine what other planetary gravities will do to you.

Olley: OOOHHH! You've been to other planets too? Can I come? I'd love to see other planets. There's this one planet I've really liked hearing about! It was ….

I jumped off the wooden platform to head to find another safe place to scout the walls. This wasn't a good enough place to understand the lay of the terrain. Maybe if I get on top of one of the walls I could find a better place. There was no way that girl was just going to stop talking. As I reached down to the ground, she was already there! It was as if she teleported! She also didn't skip a beat talking!

Olley: As I was saying before we jumped down. There's this one planet too that said that it had huge creatures. Bigger than any Moliaths here in Plaux! And I have to say that Moliaths are wicked huge! I one rode on top of one and it didn't even notice me! Imagine being so huge that you don't even notice small creatures like - AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Arc: You're starting to get on my nerves Olley! Don't you have friends and family to go back to! It's already night and I need to get moving. Someone as loud as you might get detected and in return get me into some big trouble.

Olley: OUCHIES! How many times are you going to keep doing that to my head. That's where all my imagination juice comes from.

Arc: I'll stop, when you stop talking. Can't you tell I need to get back to where I was from. I don't need you to tag along. I'm Adamian! Don't you think that should be a signal that I'm not safe to be around with.

Olley: I'll decide on that one bucko! There were so many times when people said it was dangerous. OH! Just like that one time I said I was riding on top of a Moliath! People said I was going to die but - AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Arc: What the hell is even a Moliath! Could just shut up for a while! I'm having a really bad fucking day. Now I wish I've gone deaf because of Terra. At least then, I wouldn't have to listen to your ramblings!

Olley: But it's cool! Well at least seeing Moliath is cool. You just haven't seen one yet.

Arc: No it's not. So please. Keep quiet.

Olley: Okey dokey!

She gave me a big smile and salute as I let go of my grip on her head. She held her head to soothe the pain but she still smiled at me anyway. Who was this girl? Why was she so interested in Adamians? I got back to my senses then continued on. The streets were now pretty empty as the night continued to roll in the darkness. These roads were still using rough stone tiles too. What is up with this place? It can't be that primitive. At least no one could ask me some weird questions. These houses felt like huts, most of them still made out of improperly cut lumber. Some even had straw rooftops. Strange how this place feels like some kind of trip simulator to the past. Getting closer to the wall, someone was still next to me. Olley just continued smiling while walking with me. What a strange person. I'd personally never follow some random stranger especially if the person was Adamian or human. Yet, her ever changing eyes were still something to look at.

Olley: You were looking at my eyes weren't you hehehe?

Arc: Was not.

Olley: It's okay to look at them. I personally like it when I give people some eye contact. It sometimes feels like… nevermind. I feel like my head is in danger again.

Arc: You learn quickly.

Olley: Geez, why are you so cold. We just met!

Arc: It's just better that you don't mess or stay with an Adamian. It's in our rules not to interact with the locals after all.

Olley: I don't mind…

Arc: Why don't you just be perfectly honest. Why are you following me?

Olley: I want to see magic!

Arc: Is that really it?

Olley: Well the second reason is a bit embarrassing hehehe.

Arc: Getting shy now huh.

Olley: Well it's because it's just a personal thing. I think you look pretty hot to me at least. Imagine seeing a hottie falling from the sky. Wouldn't you want to follow them?

Arc: No, it sounds pretty dangerous. You should stop doing that especially with me. I don't care if you find me hot. My temperature is quite fine anway.

Olley: What? Hahahahaha. You're funny too?

Arc: No… If you check my temperature, my body heat should be average. Though I wouldn't know what an average core temperature on this planet would be. But for humans, I'm quite average. Strange that you follow heated things.

Olley: Wait a minute, you're serious. That's not what I meant Arc.

Arc: What do you mean? Or is that something only a local knows about.

Olley: No, when I mean hot. I mean you're quite attractive to me.

Arc: I don't have any magnetized magic if that's the case.

Olley: Are you actually serious?! Or are you just dense?! I'm handing myself like a silver platter here!

Arc: Geez, all of these local talks. I don't understand any of it. Though I'm not really interested in it either. Whatever it is, you should reconsider it.

Olley: This is actually a first for me. I've never met someone so dense! I'm dumbfounded!

Arc: Well my body is quite trained. It would be quite sturdy.

Olley: That's not what I meant! Dummy!

Arc: Why am I the one being called a dummy? You're the one who's following people because of their temperatures. Though forgive me if that's just a cultural thing. I don't mean to be rude in that aspect, I'm just quite confused.

Olley: Wait stop here! I want to bring you to my parents. They won't believe me if I said that I meant an Adamian.

Arc: Didn't you say that my people bring bad luck?

Olley: A lot of my people say some weird things! But come with me anyway! We'll have dinner. Just spare some time please!

She already held my hand trying to pull towards a direction. What kind of girl is this? Why does she have this kind of thinking? It must be because of her upbringing. Some people might have different people raising them. Though I wouldn't know because I don't remember a thing about my parents. Seeing her aggressively pulling on my arm while I stand still makes me feel a bit curious. What kind of upbringing did this girl have to feel so natural with strangers? Would her parents even be scared of me? I'm not quite sure. Though I guess I need some rest from my thoughts. All I've been thinking about lately is about Terra, killing, and increasing my power. I could feel myself slipping away into a monster slowly. These thoughts are what's killing me slowly. If it weren't for my classmates I don't know what I would've become. That's why I shouldn't be wasting time…

Arc: I'm sorry. I just can't keep my friends from waiting too long.

Olley: Please…

???: Please…

Arc: Ouch! My head... That stung...

Olley: Did something happen!? See! You must be tired! Come with me for now!

Arc: Fine! But only for a while…

??? & Olley: Thank you!

Arc: I'm really starting to lose it huh...