Origin Seeker

Idona spoke to Dream who hadn't fallen asleep.

"Sure."

He didn't ask questions and agreed. They both quietly walked out of the ship.

"How are your injuries?"

After walking across the cold sand beside each other for a bit, Idona finally broke the silence.

"Not bad. I'm already pretty much healed."

"That's good. We'll need everyone at their peak in the coming days."

"Indeed. The number of class 3's that we're encountering is increasing. Though a class 3 demon is generally weaker than a class 3 human, they have the numbers, similar to animals."

"Quantity vs. quality. I usually wouldn't be too worried about it either, but going on this expedition is making me more and more concerned. If they have these numbers on the front lines, I can't imagine what they have in their capital city. I know Ciroc and I are here, but they may actually have more class 4's."

"It's possible. But we're only here for recon. This isn't a search and destroy mission, so we don't have to wipe out the demons ourselves. If we find ourselves outnumbered or overpowered, we retreat. Saving ourselves is more important than chipping away a small portion of their force that they can just regenerate."

"I agree. You know, I'm glad that I listened to you and came here. Many people had told me that these demons weren't anything crazy and that sending me was overreacting. But after hearing what you had to say, it won me over. And now I see that you're right."

"I don't usually lie about things."

"Usually?"

"Well everyone has their secrets. I just try to speak the truth as much as possible. Not only do I not really enjoy lying, but it's not that healthy for the mind. First you lie to others, then you lie to yourself. Do it enough and you'll lose yourself in a delusion which can destroy you from the inside."

"Such wise words coming from such a young person. Are you actually secretly 500 years old?"

"God I hope not. I'm not ready for those wrinkles."

"Hehe, my thoughts exactly."

Idona chuckled beautifully and Dream smiled. They walked in comfortable silence for a little while more.

"...So you're probably wondering why I invited you out here."

"A little. Though it's nice talking with you either way."

"Aww, how cute. I also like speaking with you. And that's actually one of the reasons I brought you out here."

When she said that, Dream could sense Idona getting a little fidgety. He was half confused and half surprised, but just let her speak.

"I have a proposal. I know we've only known each other for about a week, but after having our conversations and seeing how talented and smart you are, I've decided to extend to you a fellowship offering."

"A fellowship offering? What's that?"

"It's sort of like a formal partnership. Two mages who agree to this partnership are ones who wish to develop a closer relationship. There's no rules or anything, but usually the two mages will research with one another, fight together, or just in general help each other. Some even go so far as to share their legacy with the other."

"I see. One question though. Is it okay to propose this partnership to someone like me?"

Dream was confused as to why a class 4 like Idona was extending out this fellowship. An agreement like this was basically saying that they were on equal grounds with each other. And even if Dream was a class 3 like she thought he was, he was still a whole class lower. 

"Well, at first I was actually thinking to invite you to become my student. But I realized that academically, there's not a huge difference between us. There's also not a huge age difference between us. And don't let this get to your head, but I believe your potential makes it so that there won't be a power difference between us in the future."

"You have a lot of faith in me."

"I do. Which is why I'm extending this offering to you instead of a student invitation. I'm hoping that we can develop a relationship with each other. And I also know that you are Riddick's student, so I don't want to undermine him."

"..."

Dream went quiet in thought. 

This definitely wasn't a bad proposal. In fact, this is almost exactly what he wanted. As Riddick said before they left, if a class 4 took him as a student then he wouldn't be at nearly as much risk. And though this wasn't a student contract, it could be considered the next best thing. 

Not only that, but Idona was a good person as well. At least from what he had observed so far. There was nothing that he observed that set of any red flags. If anything, they got along together great. Idona was easy to talk to, they had great discussions, and now she came to him and took the initiative to deepen their relationship. 

This was a win no matter how he looked at it.

"...Alright."

Idona snapped to Dream when she heard that. That small period of silence had made her very anxious.

"I shall agree to your proposal. Though I have one small condition that I think will help us both."

"W-what's that?"

"This offering of yours is indirectly stating that we are equals. And it doesn't take a genius to know that people will have plenty of things to say about it. So, for both of our sakes, I say we keep it on the down-low."

"Down low?"

"Meaning being quiet about it. Unless you had other ideas, it will probably be best not to let everyone know about it."

"Oh? Are you worried about my reputation?"

Idona asked with a smile. Dream also smiled.

"You got me. I mean, you're a class 4 after all. Even the thought about having a fellowship with someone of a lower level will cause others not to take you seriously. And it's not entirely for your sake. Less attention means less risk, and I want that."

"I'm glad you're honest about it. I'll accept your condition. And in that case..."

Idona stopped walking, as did Dream. They faced each other and Idona put up a hand.

"...Here's to a new partnership?"

"To a new partnership."

Dream took her hand and shook while looking into her eyes. He could see joy, satisfaction, and conviction. 

They let go after a while and continued walking.

"So how is this going to work, this new partnership? Are we just going to exchange knowledge? I can't exactly say that I can help you much in fights."

"Hehe, nor will I expect you to. We can mostly just do what we've been doing like with our discussions. And once we get back to the Spire, our discussions can turn into collaborations. But at least for right now, we should build a foundation of trust."

"How do we do that?"

"We tell each other some of our personal stats. It's not everything, but things like level, class, and true name are one."

"True name?"

"Yes. The name on your status. There are some people who give everyone a fake name, and only those close to them know their true name."

"Oh. Well I don't do that."

"Figures since you're an otherworlder. I however do. My true name is Xyla Archana. I made my last name when I became a class 4. And...Well I happen to not be completely human."

"Not human?"

"Not entirely. I'm actually half elf."

When she said that, Dream could sense mana agitation around her head. When he looked, he could see points on her ears. Her face also changed a bit.

The ears weren't anything crazy. In fact, they were very similar to human ears except for slight structural differences and a point on the end. Her face though was a different story. Not only had she somehow become even more beautiful, but her face had taken on designs around the eyes. They looked like some kind of mana tattoo and seemed to glow black, however that worked. 

On top of the tattoos though, her eyes had also changed. They used to be a generic brown but now they were solid black. It gave off a weird sense of mystery but also danger. Whenever she looked at him, he almost felt threatened. 

'Look Sophia! It's an elf!'

[Half elf. But that still is really cool. I wonder if her biology is different.]

'We are not dissecting our new friend.'

[It wouldn't take dissection. You could also just get really close to her. Kinda how you and I do. I'm sure she wouldn't mind.]

'Are you telling me to get with a class 4?'

[Maybe. I can't read her emotions since she's much more powerful than you, but all her body language definitely points to her being interested.]

'I don't really think that's something I can do when I literally have two girlfriends. Though they may be overseas, but still.'

[Well technically you have three including me. One more couldn't hurt.]

'I couldn't even count the number of problems an arrangement like that would pose, so for now I'm gonna say no thanks.'

Dream inwardly shook his head before going back to checking out the cool ears.

"I had only heard of elves before this. Who would've thought that I'd meet one. Does anyone else know or is this a hard kept secret?"

"The other class 4's at the Spire know as well as a few friends. But for the most part it's a secret. It's not hard to hide these ears after all."

"Interesting. Though why would an elf be over at the Spire instead of on the animal continent?"

"Because I wanted to get away from the narrow-minded thinking of the other elves. The majority of elves don't believe in learning about human magic. Even the fact that my parents got together was controversial. I was always looked at with disdain for not being a pure-blood, so after I was old enough and reach class 3, I decided to come to this continent and go to the Spire. And since then I've only gone back to visit."

"I see. Is there really that much discrimination?"

"More so among the elves than among humans. The reason why I found my place at the Spire was because there, everyone valued knowledge above all else. You gained prestige based on your abilities and that's what I wanted. And after working my butt off for decades, I was finally able to reach class 4."

"How long ago was that?"

"I've been a class 4 for about 13 years. I was 55 when I advanced to become a [Death Eye]."

"Deadeye?"

"[Death Eye]. Putting it simply, I'm a ranger. The bow is my specialty, though I'm almost equally proficient in melee combat. The farther a target is, the more damage I can do. I can even hit targets over the horizon, though something like that would be pushing it, so I've only done it a few times."

"Wow."

"Wow indeed. But that's enough about me. I want to hear about you."

"Hmm..."

Dream formulated his thoughts for a moment before speaking.

"I know we're now in a partnership, but I still can't help but be cautious about telling you certain things about me."

"If you really aren't comfortable with it, then I can wait. I know trust isn't built that easily."

"You sure?"

"Yea. We've got lots of time ahead of us. Our partnership needs to be grown and nurtured, not simply established by an agreement. Something like that leads to relationships that can be broken on a whim. And I'm not a girl who makes such shallow and short term arrangements."

"..."

[I'm liking her more and more.]

Dream inwardly agreed.  He was thinking the exact same thing. And now that he heard it, he made up his mind.

"There are three things about me that you should know."

Dream stopped walking, which caught Idona's attention. She stopped and turned around.

"One, I'm also not entirely human despite being born as one. Two, contrary to popular belief, I'm actually a class 2. Three, my class is [Master Artificer]."

"..."

Idona went silent with wide eyes. It took her a second to process all that, but once she did, she already had questions. She took a deep breath.

"...Let's start at one. You're not entirely human, but you were born as one?"

"Yes. The reason I say this is because my body has been modified by myself. I used to be a normal flesh and blood human, but now I am basically synthetic."

"Meaning?"

"Take a look."

Dream put out his arm and got rid of the stealth surrounding it. Idona noticed the change and put her hand on his arm, scanning the limb with her mana.

"Iron? And what is this muscle? And your blood... I'm not even sure what that is."

"They are all different materials that I used to replace the flesh but still retain functionality. Using knowledge from my world and the abilities that came with my second class advancement, I was able to undergo modifications and enhance myself on a fundamental level."

"Amazing... Actually, you aren't the first to attempt this. There have been many mages and craftsmen at the Spire and Enchanted Mountain that have tried to modify their bodies just as you have. Though it almost always ended in failure when put into practice. Even the ones that succeeded didn't gain much, so the practice wasn't popular. But you...you've done this beyond perfectly."

Idona went up and caressed his arm, looking at every detail with her mana. Dream could even feel the wildly dense mana coursing through his arm, and though it wasn't intentional, his own mana was pushed out and he began to lose much of his arms functionality.

"Uhh..."

"Oh, sorry."

Idona hastily removed herself and her mana with a blush when she realized what she was doing. 

"Ahem, anyway. You said something about only being a class 2?"

"Uh, yes. To be precise, I'm level 186."

"Honestly, I have a hard time believing that. Especially taking into consideration your Master class, which is equally as hard to believe."

"Well there's really no way for me to prove it. Though you could go and talk to Riddick. He's seen my growth from level 0 all the way to now."

"In that case, I think I will. Now considering that fact, that also means that you have yet to construct your mana pathways."

"That's correct. And at the rate things are going, I'm going to need to figure out how soon."

"Then this could be considered very advantageous for you. Being your new partner, I guess it's only right for me to help you. Although I myself didn't need to build pathways being an elf, I know the concept and have access to the books at the Spire. So consider the knowledge yours."

"...I'm in your debt."

"Nonsense. This is what a partner should do. Besides, if everything you say really is true, then I could very well be the one coming out on top in this relationship. I mean, I've only heard of having a Master class at your level. If you play your cards right, I dare say you could become another Ruler and lord over the other class 4's with those old monsters."

"Maybe. For my sake and yours, I hope I don't let down your expectations."

Both of them looked at each other for a moment before continuing their walk. They talked about all kinds of little details about themselves, things like Idona's adventures or what Dream's life was like on Earth. This went on for several hours before the sun began to rise. It was only then that they decided to head back to the ship.