New Life

After Snow sacrificed half her soul to resurrect the fallen Axel, even Balcromn was surprised to see that the technique did not fail despite the odds. Axel was standing on his feet now, and he felt stronger than ever, and he also felt refreshed after changing his mindset. Yet, a part of him was missing since he entered into the world of Archeria.

Snow wiped her tears, "Axel? Say something…"

Axel then looked at her, "Huh? Where are we?"

Snow flew closer to him, "We are still amidst the place where you ate the berries, I am dearly sorry for not flying alongside you. It is my fault, for I was not there to stop you."

"No biggy, " replied Axel, "But I have one question. How am I alive right now?"

Snow thought about an answer before replying, "Well, to put a long story short. I got Balcromn's assistance, then we came here and used the technique that has your heart beating at the moment."

"Balcromn? Ohh, " Axel looked at Balcromn, "You're the guy Snow was talking about!"

Strangely, Balcromn looked away with a worried look on his face.

'What's that face supposed to mean?'

"Anyway, thanks for saving my butt guys, " said Axel with a smile on his face, "I owe you both a fortune."

Both Snow's eyes and her nose remained pink from all of her crying. She then smiled and answered, "I would happily accept your fortune, because you do not yet know what I have just done for you. So, you better start working, because your savings do not even amount to a single penny."

"Ohh I'll start working alright! In fact, this takes effect tomorrow! I decided to live here in Archeria, and work my way up to the strongest. So consider this the last time you'll ever need to save my ass."

'Wait! What the hell did I just say? Damn, I should have never mentioned Archeria! I'll look like an outsider!"

"Okay, crazy boy, " said Snow, smiling widely.

Axel smirked, "Crazy my ass. I can probably beat you both at Math!"

Balcromn played with his white mustache, "You sure sound like you are more than a child, do you now boy?"

"Ohh me? No, I just sound like that. I'm actually nine."

"Your soul does not say that, " said Balcromn, glancing at Axel, "So you are one of them, " he muttered.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

'What the hell? So this means that people in this world can tell how old you are just by looking at your soul? Wait, 'looking' at your soul? What did he even do to find out? Then it's okay to tell them my real age? No, that's still risky.'

"Forget it, " Balcromn turned around.

He then said, "Snow. Time to go now. Your mother is back at the fairy kingdom worried sick about you! Since I helped you today, you owe me one, " he shot a glimpse at Snow, "And there is a reward for bringing you back to your mother. So I am taking you there today even if it is by force!"

"But Balcromn!"

"Silence, Snow. I am taking you there whether you like it or not. Say goodbye to—what is your name again, boy?"

"My name is Axel."

"Okay, Snow. Say goodbye to Axe—"

"You know what? I need a new name. I don't like 'Axel'. Any suggestions?"

Snow got excited, "Ohh! I love naming stuff! Okay, your name is Axel. Let's keep the 'A' and give you something more Archerian, " she raised her index finger, "I know! What about Amos?!"

"Huh?"

"It is pronounced as 'Ay-mus', very simple."

'That sounds like garbage. What is this? The Bible."

"Ohh, thank you, Snow! That's actually cool!"

Snow smiled with both her eyes closed.

Balcromn grew weary, "Okay, Snow, now that you have helped Amos. It is time you return to your mother."

"Bye Amos, " she said, "If you want to visit me, look for the Fairy Kingdom."

They then both left.

Amos looked at them as they left the woods. And he was about to venture on his own when, "Boo!" shouted Snow.

Axel looked at what seemed like another Snow in the distance, "B-But, you're over there, " he pointed.

"It is a magic spell known as Iconic Illusion—a very effective Trickery Spell."

"Cool, " Axel scratched his head, "So that's a spell huh?"

"Uhhuh, Balcromn himself thought it to me. I can not believe he is now falling for it."

"Wait, so it's just an illusion?"

"Not really. But yes it is. You can not physically interact with it."

"That's legitimately cool."

"Yeah, that mere illusion would be able to speak and move just like I would!"

"It's a Trickery Spell, you say. I'm assuming there are other types of spells too, right?"

"Of course."

"And any wizard can cast those other types, right?"

"No, not all of them. It takes up a lot of mana to cast the stronger spells."

"Okay, so I'm quite fond of this whole 'mana' thing. It's an overused power system and I know that much. But, in this world, what exactly is it?"

"It is basically one's stored magic energy. Without mana, you can not cast magic spells."

"Bruh, I'd hit the light fantastic if I was actually capable of magic. Too bad I can't."

"Yeah, I also used an Observation technique to check to see if your mana levels were depleted from death while you were poisoned. And apparently, " she started flying forward, "there is not even one bit of mana running through you."

He followed her, "That sucks."

'How am I supposed to get the strong bad-ass girls here if I'm a weakling who's not even capable of using magic? Damn, looks like I'm going to have to resort to sword styles.'

"Do not be worried. As I said before, we can determine if you are a late bloomer or not. But, now that we fooled Balcromn, it looks like we are not getting him to do that anymore. However, there is another way we can do it, and all we need is paper. With the paper you can get accurate numbers on your body statistics."

"That's like a freaking video. Let's go get the paper." But before we go, " he glanced at her, "Why didn't you go home to your mother. Isn't she worried?"

She took a while to respond, "I am taking a break from the indoors. If I go back to Mother now, I will never see the sunlight again, unless there is some special event or something."

"Ohh. Well, that sucks. I myself was a shut-in, and I gotta say: I never thought outside would have been this awesome until now."

"I am never going back home. Not even to visit Mother. Because she will only imprison me if I do."

"You got a point there. The only fun thing you can do indoors is grind video games."

"What is this video game you speak of?"

"Ah, forget it. Let's go get some paper now."

"Okay."

"But wait, where can we buy some?"

"A village not far from here."

Amos and Snow both traveled to the village together. On their way, they had fun speaking to each other. As Amos followed Snow to the village, and when they arrived, he saw a wooden sign entitled 'Gropsville Village'.

The village was nothing special. It was small, quite rural, with most of the villagers engaging in trade, farming was their main source of income, and there were many stalls. The villagers themselves seemed to be very shady too.

Many of the villagers were also packing up the items at their stalls, for it was already sunset.

"What the hell's wrong with the people here?" asked Amos.

"Amos, " Snow tapped him, "Do not speak so loud. They can hear you, know?"

She then whispered, "They live near Goblins, so they get frequent attacks, and they are very moody about it. The men here are very dangerous too, so it is best to avoid trouble."

A woman then bumped into Amos, and all of her books scattered. Kindly, Amos then helped her pack all of her belongings back where they belonged.

He then stood, "There you go."

The woman then snarled, and walked off without thanking him.

'Damn, and I here thought the women were at least the only non-moody ones.'

He then continued following Snow.

Snow carried him to a Shop, which was next to a bar.

"Good day, Miss Jenkins, " Said Snow, "Can I have three pieces of paper please?"

Miss Jenkins then looked at her and scoffed, "You again? What did I tell you about coming here!?"

"Though I am small compared to others, I can handle myself just as you can, " she then smiled with her eyes closed, "Can I have two pages of hard prophecy paper, please?"

"One day you will get crushed here, little girl, and you can not say I didn't warn ya."

"Got the hard prophecy paper or not?"

Miss Jenkins was an Obese woman. She had light brown hair, her brown eyes were fierce, she had a lot of fat under her hair chin, and also a few strands of hair in that area. Her lips were covered in red lipstick, and she had a mole above her upper lip.

Miss Jenkins furrowed her eyebrows, "You will get the paper only if you promise to withdraw and never return after your purchase."

"Okay, I promise, " Snow answered, "Now, can I please get the paper. After all, it is not for me. It is for Amos, " she pushed Amos forward, "This elf."

He waved, "H-hey."

"Well hello, Amos. I can not help but blush inside upon looking at your face. You look like you will grow up to be one fine young man. How I love Blonde beauty! Maybe you can stay here with me for a little longer, we can be friends."

"Uh...I just came here for the paper. And No, I can't stay because...because I gotta attend my stepsister's funeral."

"Come on, do not be shy, little elf. Look, " she bent over and grabbed two pieces of paper that seemed to be golden, "I am giving you the paper free of charge."

Snow was on the brink of laughing out loud, "She liked you Amos! Take the paper."

He took the paper, "Thank you Miss Jenkins."

"That is the pages of hard paper, and please, " she brushed her hair back with her hand, "Call me Jenkins. Exclude the 'Miss'. I am not that old."

"Okay, bye Miss Jenkins!"

"Oh bye, elvish sugar pie! Come back anytime! Especially when you are an adult, then we will be able to talk business."

'Looks like I already have a member of my harem! Like hell!'

'I'm never coming back here again.'

He waved, "Bye. And yeah, I'll come back."

Amos and Snow both departed the Shop together.

The sky was much darker now. The two Suns were saying their goodbyes after their long session. And it was now the Moon's nightshift.

Snow looked down at Amos as she hovered, "She sure likes you, Amos! HAAGHAAAHAHAH!" Her loud obstreperous laugh attracted attention.

"And you were the one telling me to be quiet, " Amos muttered as he walked.

Amos anomalously heard strange voices coming from a huge cave in the distance. As he looked closer, he saw what looked like short green men approaching the village. They had deformed faces, that looked even worse from far, big noses, and sharp teeth. They were approaching the village with burning torches and weapons at hand.

Amos then pointed, "Snow. Look over there."

She looked at the pinpointed location, "Goblins!" Snow shouted, "We must warn the villager!"

Amos then shouted, "Attention Villagers! Some green heads coming in hot, sharp, and ugly!"

"Amplification Magic, " Snow Shouted, "Goblins!"

The villagers immediately started to panic, they all left their stalls not completely packed away, and they locked themselves indoors. Snow and Amos tried to get into a house too, but they were all locked, and no one answered.

"Are they that dangerous? What do we do?" asked Amos.

Snow looked at him, "We can run away!"

"In here!" shouted Miss Jenkins.

Her doors were opened.

Snow then said, "Sorry but, I am leaving the village. Goblins can break into those weak houses."

"Snow, please. Let's go in. Look, there is a goblin already charging us. You can fly, but I can't, so it's best for me to lock myself inside of a house. I'm not sure if I can outrun them."

"Fine, " Snow sighed.

They both rushed to Jenkin's door.

Miss Jenkins looked at Snow. "She is not allowed in here.

"What the heck are you talking about? Why can she not go in? Isn't she a living person too?"

"Did her mother say that when we requested money after being attacked by the goblins in the past?"

"Then, " Amos folded his arms, "I'm not entering your shop unless Snow's in there."

"Urgh! Fine, just come in."

"Why thank you, Miss Jenkins, " Snow bowed, "We appreciate it."

Miss Jenkins locked the door, and kept her eyes on Snow as she entered another room, "Shut your trap door, little girl, I am not doing it for you."

"You can at least show some respect to her, Jenkins. 'Cause as far as I know, she's done nothing to you. I don't know about her mother but…I'm sure Snow wasn't part of that."

Something sounded like a spoon hitting against a glass cup continuously as Miss Jenkins spoke, "Her mother treated us like garbage. Her daughter was no exception."

"Wait, what exactly did your mother do wrong, Snow? What is she talking about?" asked Amos.

Miss Jenkins then walked back to the main room, and gave Amos a cup of tea and a loaf of bread, "She knows exactly what am I talking about."

'Gosh, I forgot how hungry I was.'

"Thank you, Jenkins. Snow can you explain while we're here, please?"

Snow sat down on Amos' shoulder, "Well. I have done nothing to her. They came to our castle asking for goods for the seventh time, but my mother refused to give them even a biscuit this time. Frankly, my mother and I hate Gropesville Villagers. That is because they are all greedy people. One of them even killed my uncle for his riches."

"Really? That's what they did to your uncle?"

"Yes, " Snow looked down at her feet, "That is why my family holds resentment for the villagers of Gropesville. I never really knew my uncle much, but my mother always tells me just how great he was as a brother to her. He was her only brother. And again, that is why we do not like the villagers. I could have told my mother to help them when they came requesting for money, because she would do anything for my sake, but I chose not to. However, I felt really sorry for them. So I come here frequently and purchase random things I do not even need, they charge me double, because of their hate for fairies, I pay huge sums of money—pretending not to know, and on top of it all, I give the things I bought to homeless Gropesville Villagers. Yet still, I am happy that the money would help your people, Jenkins."

"That sounds pretty nice if you ask me."

Miss Jenkins got up, "Those are all lie—"

Suddenly, the goblin's of the Goblin cave unexpectedly broke through the vulnerable front door of Jenkins' shop, taking her, along with everyone else, by surprise.

"Here! Here! Humans! Flesh! I knew I smelt them! My nose never fails me, just like my axe!"