The Vase moved away from his hand, a barrier of unknown energy surrounding it. As the Essence dissolved inside, the Vase showed changes in its appearance: it became thinner, and the patterns drawn on it changed to completely different ones. After a few seconds, Caelus took it out of the air and refilled it.
Putting the pill back in, the Vase shook and began glowing; it shot the pill out, and Caelus barely caught it.
Putting the Vase into his pocket, he held the pill, now at the Sage Grade, though still the Mid Rank. He didn’t mind it; keeping it tightly in his hand, he released his Mana outward to sense anyone trying to avoid it. A faint signature of Mana was further back to the Empire; he only assumed it was a person going out to find materials or anything similar to that.
"Hm..." A little annoyed, Caelus turned away, heading to the beach instead. He didn’t want any more Chaos and wished simply to stay in silence for a bit. Even if it wouldn’t be the case because of the number of animals on the beach. Still in his human form, he looked to the side, watching the seals sunbathe on the beach... Considering he was closer to the equator of the planet, it was a lot warmer.
"From what Aphro described about the seals from my old world, that would mean these seals are a lot heavier than the ones from Earth." He paused. Staring at the blubbery creature. "Though I think they’re fine by looking like water-filled bags with flippers." A soft laugh to himself, sitting down in the sand, he kept his distance from them. "The atmosphere here is also a lot richer, so that makes sense why they are, and also why Dragons and Wyverns exist."
[Mission Complete!]
[Oooh, you went back to the seals. Also, here are your rewards :3]
Looking at the Creation Essence, Caelus stored it within his inventory. "Start the Mainline Quest you said earlier in an hour. I want to relax a little, at least. Also, how much bigger are the Seals here than from Earth?"
[About... 1.6 times bigger than the ones from Earth, also their barks and honking are louder and actually feel threatening :3]
"Well, wouldn’t know that I haven’t been barked at by a Seal. And I’d rather not. Though I feel like they’d be barking nonstop if they heard you speak Aphro."
[HEY!!! >:( So rude to your companion]
Caelus laughed louder, not hiding his voice from the seals nearby. Which, other than being alerted to his presence already, when he arrived.
Still, he kept his distance, since his body didn’t radiate intense heat right now. He was the same as a normal human. Just this alone, he noticed it felt different. His senses were weaker now due to the change in biology.
Finally, he felt content with the beach; it was only a short time, but he wasn’t worried about how long he took. Or how they would do if they existed in nature: they’re already resilient and able to survive extreme conditions.
Getting up, he turned towards the Empire and launched himself over, a shockwave almost released, only for him to suppress it. The sand under his legs turned to glass, though he was far gone.
A few minutes passed as he was still running. Considering he was at the equator, he was incredibly far from the Tianyun Empire, passing a vast ocean. He finally reached land, yet he wasn’t at the Empire yet. Another minute, as he felt the faint presence of Mana, hence people being here, though they could be of the Hunter Path.
After a total of at least thirty minutes, he reached the Entrance of the Empire, stopping inside, he was still in his human disguise, so no one even took notice of him, though his Draconic Aura was there, it wasn’t classifying the masses as anything to worry, almost being disgustingly indifferent.
"Weird... Why is the Aura treating them like they’re just... Objects. They’re people too." Caelus knew he couldn’t bargain with something like an Aura, so he didn’t care for it. He still believed they were people and nothing would really change that.
Walking over to one of the stalls, Caelus sat down. Looking in his pocket, he saw some change.
[Also, a secret upgrade for your inventory, twenty slots, and you can turn your gold into silver. So you know you don’t get shocked faces for having like fifty pieces of it.]
"Fair enough, might as well use it right now." Moving his hand into his pocket, he could see what was inside it in front of him the entire time, though not visible to anyone else because Aphro was completely separate from this world, at least from what he assumed. Turning two pieces of gold into twenty pieces of silver, he took out the twenty, carrying them by hand so he didn’t accidentally take out gold.
Stopping at a stall, not for food, but for tools, just for everyday things normal people would need. Looking at each one, he thought of what he’d need for a home, especially with decorating it. He didn’t want a small one that wouldn’t fit him, but he didn’t want anything that would make him stand out.
After a bit of looking, he’d seen everything he needed. Get a few ropes and other objects, and get a bag from one of the vendors, like something everyone had.
Leaving the lower district, he finally decided to explore the middle district. "Having a middle class, incredible, I guess the Empire and Nobles aren’t dumb... Sorry, Elysia." He didn’t need to apologize to her since she couldn’t hear, but it was a habit when generalizing.
Looking at the homes, they were perfect for him, and wouldn’t cost as much. Seeing a Church Official nearby, he remembered something from his classes, at least the one covering the Roman Empire and the Medieval Ages, about how someone needed to be considered free. Though he didn’t see any manner of slavery here. He was a little happy with that.
The Church Official, a lady, approached him when she saw him looking at her. As soon as she stopped in front of him, her voice came in a Wispy and even Dreamy voice. "Is there something you need, young lady?"
"Ye-" Pausing, he took a second to register what she just said. Young lady... Did he actually look like a woman? Well, he wouldn’t deny it. "I must correct you, I am a man."
"Oh, my apologies, I didn’t mean it, but I must say you look quite beautiful."
A little flustered, Caelus coughed as he went back to what he was trying to do. "I-I Thank you, but I wish to know how I may get a house since I don’t have any form of Identification right now."
"Oh? You must be a wanderer. Well, it isn’t that hard; it’ll take a few hours, though, since it requires a lot of confirmation, unless you cultivate. Though you need to show proof of what Realm you’re at."
A little hesitant, Caelus shook it off; he’d rather get a house and live a separate identity to continue his experiment on how they treat people. Especially on looks. "Well, what would suffice for Virtuoso?"
"Hm... You would need to show at least one technique, or just show your control in Mana, as in how much you waste from a basic technique or usage of Mana. You can do it right now by creating an object."
"Then, I’ll do that, though it is my first time making something instead of a technique." Caelus held his hand forward, forming a flat square on top of his hand. He wouldn’t think this is enough; he’d change its size to make it taller and give it depth as well. Now that it was becoming a cube, Caelus needed to give it something it was made of; he could’ve just made it sand, glass, rocks, or even wood, but he felt like showing off a little.
It was probably his desire to do so in the human disguise. Carefully changing its composition, he felt the weight: a pure metallic cube of Lead. He would’ve gone with gold, but he felt that doing so would make it counterfeit, and he still wanted to keep it.
"Is that good enough, Ma’am?" Realizing he’d called her Ma’am, his face turned a visible light pink.
"Indeed, you’ll be able to get a home, though right now the only ones available cost up to fifty gold. Since all the ones for the lower district are taken."
"Well, that’s fine, I was going to get one from this place anyway." Putting the two silver coins he had left in his pocket, he took out about fifty-five pieces of gold. Keeping it in his hand, though. "Well, may I see some of the homes, or is that out of the question right now?"
"I would show, but I am going to be busy in a few minutes, since there has been some Mana fluctuation near the Upper District, something which could signify a Rift opening."
"A rift!? It’s like the one where Tellus and I went, but I doubt it’ll be too strong... But I don’t want to jinx it."
"Well, then, whenever you have time, please do come to the tavern if you can, though it feels rude to ask, I will be there residing for some time until I can get one."
"No worries, those who follow the Lord are not Divine themselves. Of course, one can be gifted and guided by the Lord, as are the Holy Mothers and Princess Elysia. It is fine to simply talk to me as an equal; anyone can."
A little surprised by how she spoke, and especially what she believed. "I should really stop assuming everyone is the same. I didn’t do Psychology Class for nothing."
[Didn’t you get a 72 in that class? At least compared to your other classes, that was a twenty-point difference?]
"...Yes." Even if he really wanted to, he wouldn’t, denying something like that when he gained nothing would be useless. "I see, well, I will keep that in mind. May I know your name?"
"Hm? My name is Ophania. What might your name be?"
"It is... Caelus." His voice stayed the same as before. Still calm yet also a little nervous.
"A lovely name, to be named after the Universe itself, your parents must love you." A smile on her face as she heard someone call her. "Well, I shall be going then." Turning away, she walked gracefully, passing the rocky pathway, though not as bad as the ground in the lower districts.
"...Parents must’ve loved me, huh." It was funny, but... He knew she had no idea; he wouldn’t blame her for something she believed was a compliment.
[One hour has passed, Caelus!! Time for the problem I’m making, I mean Mission :3]
[Mainline Mission - ???]
[Reward - ???]
[Failure - Inability to use Techniques for two months.]
[Time Limit - Two Weeks]
"...A Consequence?" Caelus was confused but not worried, still completely still, thinking to himself. He looked up at the sky, noticing the clouds go by. "Well, Fair enough, harsh Consequence for what you call a Mainline Quest."
Teleporting away, Caelus stood outside the Empire walls, his body shifting back to his Dragon body. He’d gathered some Data, but he wouldn’t stay gathering it for too long; he still had to make sure he interacted with Tellus and the Others. "I haven’t talked to Diana in a while, or Minerva, I guess I have to go talk a bit."
Growing taller, his clothing shifted to match it, each scale regrowing onto his arm, though staying just as big as before. The scales didn’t make his hand look weird, just inhuman. His hair grew out, turning black and reaching right to his first rib; horns grew from his body, a light purple color, almost like amethyst. Looking at his legs, the scales were still there, and the nails at the ends of his legs, specifically where his toes are, were like an eagle’s, except for someone his size, the ’talon’ being about seven inches long.