Tyrm Time

Today marked the fourth day since Magnus and Mallow set off for the city. And according to the Personal Trial Scroll, Magnus was supposed to have been back in Thare by today. But he was not.

In fact, Magnus was thankful he wasn't, as he hadn't even met any natives yet.

'It's probably some time difference phenomenon,' He thought, recalling several of such things in the novels he read. 'Even the day and night cycle here lasts only for about 12 hours. It makes sense for a different world to move on a different time scale altogether.'

Tyrm also had nights that are spent half in brightness due to their peculiar moon. Thus, only three hours are actually spent in the darkness of the night. The rest of the nine are spent in brightness.

Now, on this fourth day, Magnus did not have anything planned except for reviewing the memories in Jistill's mind.

He wanted to know how to send rocks flying through the air, in particular.

"So it's some kind of Spirit Manipulation?" Magnus muttered, "It is using the abundant Spirit Energy on Tyrm to move and command the elements. A handful of Spirit Energy can already move an entire square metre of substance, whether it is fire, water, earth, or air."

Magnus placed his focus back in reality, "How magical,"

A stone was currently levitating atop his palm, moving where he wanted it to move.

"Too bad this sort of thing might not be possible on Thare, with its different Spirit Energy density." Magnus sighed as he shot the piece of earth out like a bullet.

Swoosh! Bang!

The stone embedded itself within the trunk of a tree, sending bark flying into the air.

He then tried mobilising even more of his Spirit Energy, as per his acquired memories.

With just a few handfuls of energy, he pulled a wall of soil and mud straight out of the ground.

He then sent some stone bullets flying, testing the strength and integrity of his wall.

Plock plock plock!

The wall served as an excellent shield. None of the stone bullets made it through. They found themselves stuck in the viscous mixture of soil and mud.

It made Magnus smile.

"I can finally involve myself in combat, at least in this world."

Magnus then tried manipulating the other elements, but without the memories he acquired, things proved much more difficult. He couldn't create wind blades or draw enough water from the atmosphere to drink. Only little gusts here, or a few droplets there were all he could make.

"It takes years to master an element, human," Mallow spoke just as Magnus showed signs of frustration.

"The fact that you have practically stolen Jistill's entire life's worth of experience is a feat that I find unimaginable. You should be grateful you have so much command over earth with so little effort."

A wry chuckle escaped Magnus' lips. Mallow didn't know what it felt like to be shackled by a Curse. Just working with Mallow now was already wearing him down. If he stayed with the fur ball for an entire month, travelling together and helping each other out during the trip, Magnus would die even without any threats. He could feel it.

Nonetheless, he replied, "You're right, Mallow. I am actually more than satisfied with my command over earth."

Magnus then clasped his fists in thought, "I just don't know when I will be sent back."

The Trials seemed to exist to torment. It had mentioned the time that would pass in Thare before he was sent back, but not the time in Tyrm.

Without knowledge of the conversation rate, Magnus was close to going mad.

'I guess if I do get sent back too early, I can just grab another Entrance Scroll from that suspicious salesman. Hopefully, he will still be selling.'

As for the troubles that came with that... Magnus would rather not think about it.

Holding all these worries, Magnus continued to follow Mallow as they travelled through a forest that likely spanned hundreds of square kilometres.

If he tried climbing up the tallest tree in the area, all around him was just forest, forest, and more forest. The amount of green was endless.

"It has been eight days, Mallow." Magnus took a bite out of one of Tyrm's more regular fruits as he sighed, "How much further?"

"We're here."

Mallow replied with a squeak and said nothing else.

It took Magnus a few moments to recognize just what Mallow meant.

"We're where...? We're here?" Magnus asked, dazed, as he looked around.

He still saw the century-old trees growing into the sky all around him. His view lacked any man-made constructs that he was expecting.

He spun a 360.

Nothing.

He looked up.

Nothing.

He looked at the ground.

Nothing—

"No, wait," Magnus muttered as he spotted something made out of iron, hidden beneath the leaves and a light layer of soil.

"Underground?" He asked.

"Yes." Mallow promptly replied, "This human city is built underground."

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.

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With Mallow hidden within his clothes, Magnus descended a dug-out staircase. A small flame was lit above his palm, burning with the surrounding Spirit Energy and taking none from himself.

"At least I won't look too out of place," He muttered to himself as he scanned his clothes.

A shirt, jeans, and durable running shoes that we're now worn out beyond imagination. He would need a new pair of footwear soon.

The Spirit Manipulation was the only thing that made him look the part.

'I also have to gauge the proficiencies of normal humans when it comes to the earth element to avoid any suspicions.' Magnus thought to himself as he descended, 'I need to find that thieving human who Mallow mentioned so I can separate with the little guy for good. Having a comrade is going to kill me.'

It didn't take long for Magnus to find himself in a different environment. The staircases ended and Magnus was then greeted by a wide-open underground space.

The space was oval-shaped, with tunnels aplenty littering its sides. Different earthen houses and buildings could be seen built as towers and pillars that held up the ceiling.

A marketplace built as a central square pillar stood tall like a lofty castle keep.

Everything Magnus could see was a result of magnificent architectural insight.

It was the result of perhaps hundreds of earth manipulators' skills.

For this new city, Magnus was ready. He already had something he could sell for some coin.

"Assuming that they even value them in the first place..." Magnus felt for the fruit seeds he had found after eating the fruits from Gadrill's fruit tree.

Thus, Magnus made a beeline towards the marketplace.

He strode with confidence, unbothered by the few suspecting stares coming from the people he passed by.

His orange hair and cyan eyes were still eye-catching in the presence of people with grey hair and grey eyes.

Only their complexions had some sense of similarity, given their time away from the sun.

'I really wish I could shapeshift,' Magnus was eventually bothered upon approaching one of the shops in the city.

"How much are you willing to pay for these?" Magnus spoke with Spirit Energy augmenting his voice. He transmitted his thoughts as per Jistill's memories.

The woman at the shack took a seed into her hands, sceptical of the foreigner. Surprise eventually appeared on her face and her face turned red.

"I'll pay you ten Gold coins for these!" She squealed.

"Just ten?" Magnus, although unaware of how much the natives put value on things, still tried bartering.

He saw it in movies and read about it in books so of course, he was going to try.

"That's already a large price!" The woman switched to a softer tone of voice, as if afraid that she would be heard. "Most I can do is twelve Gold! Please, sell these to me."

"Thirteen." Magnus pressed harder.

Confliction appeared on the woman's face, but she eventually yielded. Her shop wasn't the only shop that centred around botany.

If these seeds went into the hands of her competitors, things would turn out foul for her and her backer.

"Thir—thirteen is a good price." The woman said, although with difficulty.

And that was how Magnus was now a whole thirteen gold coins richer.

He took some time to learn about the prices in the city and discovered that thirteen gold coins were valued at around 1000 USD.

Magnus was hit with belated astonishment. The small shack he had approached had so much cash on it. The botany business seemed to be doing well.

Though it only made sense,

'Since this world is filled with Spirit Energy.'

Magnus decided to first go around the area, looking for things to buy.

He bought himself some clothes from the tailor, a short sword and buckler shield from the blacksmith, and a set of leather gear from the tanner. He was also able to find a few decent Spirit fruits at another botanist's stall.

He ate those as went on by, keeping an eye on the humans around.

Mallow had once explained to him what their target for revenge looked like under his requests.

He wanted to contribute to spotting the target and not leave it all to Mallow's Spirit sense to find a familiar signature.

It was truly a futile endeavour as he suddenly heard a squeak from within his clothes.

"I found him," Mallow said with ill-concealed bloodthirst.

It was now Magnus' actual time to act. He had to act discreetly, something that Mallow could not do as activating its combat abilities required it to transform.

Moreover, there were human experts guarding this city. They could kill Mallow the moment it exudes visible hostility.

"Do what I asked you to," Mallow said in a rather authoritative tone. It was getting agitated just looking at the man that stole its stuff.

"Alright, I will." Magnus tried to soothe the fur ball's anger, "I just need time to set things up."

Klaris and the small Jistill appeared beside him, and Magnus tossed them a fruit. They then ducked into their favourite alleyways and split up from there.

For this mission, it was Magnus acting out the most.

Klaris was only there to unsummon both him and Jistill when the time was right. He was still too injured to fight.

As for Jistill, her job was to cause a distraction and then disappear.

Magnus only needed a window of three seconds to slit their target's throat.

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Laogun was walking home from a busy day searching the forest. He had this seemingly mundane lifestyle for quite some time now:

At least, ever since he experienced the feeling of discovering gold on his first try.

That was a day he would never forget— a day when he discovered essence-filling fruit. A fruit that could supplement both body and soul. A rare fruit that even had its own guardians that needed to be slain before one could even touch the fruit.

But Laogun was lucky enough to encounter a tree in the absence of its guardian.

Stealing had never been easier.

And so, after that, he splurged all that he earned, fully believing that he was born for this job.

But for a year already, he hasn't come across a similar fortuitous encounter. It was a mundane life ever since as if his luck had run out.

He still continued to believe, however.

That was until today... When his luck would truly run out.