As Valerius walked through the barren land, he said, "Hey Yelleen, about the gauge system. Can you change it a bit for me?"
Yelleen replied, "In what way?"
Valerius said, "I can already see stars of those equal or stronger than me. I want to be able to see those weaker than me too. And it'd be nice if the stars didn't shift when I get stronger. Also, I want to see my own stars."
He stroked his chin. "So instead of people's stars decreasing as I get stronger, make mine increase. That way I can tell Ziraiah I'm a five-star or six-star. Can you do it?"
Yelleen answered calmly, "I can."
Valerius grinned. "Great. So, what else can you do?"
Yelleen said, "I can do many things."
Valerius kicked a stone ahead of him. "Yeah, you already said that. I want to know exactly what you can do."
Yelleen responded, "If I tell you, you'll rely on me too much. I won't interfere unless it's life-threatening."
Valerius nodded slowly. "Like when you gave me night vision in the ruin?"
Yelleen responded flatly, "I never did that."
Valerius blinked. "What do you mean you never did that? You were screaming in my ear the whole time."
"I have no memory of that," Yelleen replied.
Valerius frowned. "Are you serious?"
"Yes," Yelleen said without hesitation.
Valerius shook his head in disbelief. "You must be having some kind of memory loss or something."
"Why are you helping us anyway? Did someone tell you to?"
Yelleen didn't answer.
"Come on, Yelleen. It wouldn't hurt to know."
"I could tell you everything there is to know about you," Yelleen said. "But where's the fun in that? I'd rather watch you discover yourself—and see the look of surprise on your face."
Valerius narrowed his eyes. "So you know why I heal so fast? And why I get ridiculously strong every time I feel that pain?"
"Yes," Yelleen answered.
Valerius groaned. "Come on, now you have to tell me."
Yelleen said nothing.
"Yelleen. Yelleen. Yelleen!"
He sighed. "Fine, don't tell me. At least tell me what that dark space was."
Yelleen asked, "What dark space?"
"The one from a few days ago. You know? With the bunch of cards? Then one of them glowed."
"You were never in a dark space," Yelleen said flatly.
"Yes I was. There were endless cards. Then one floated from the rest. It happened when I fought that knight."
"You must have been dreaming. Or hallucinating."
Valerius stopped walking. "You really don't remember that?"
"That never happened."
Valerius frowned, thoughtful. Hmm... So Yelleen doesn't remember. Weird.
He kept walking.
Yelleen asked, "You're really going to walk all the way to your siblings?"
"It's not like I have a choice."
"At your current pace—three steps per second—it would take you Ninty days of continuous walking. Without breaks. Meaning no sleep."
Valerius groaned. "Now that you put it like that, it sounds worse... but still. Not like I have a choice."
"In your current direction," Yelleen said, "once you leave the Grekon Kingdom, you'll enter No Man's Land. You'll encounter many, many beasts. And if you think you're strong now—trust me, you're not."
Valerius said dryly, "Thanks for the vote of confidence."
Then he asked, "Can you at least tell me what Yilheim is like? You know, common knowledge stuff."
"Now that," Yelleen said, "I can do."
Night fell. Valerius had made a small campfire and was roasting meat from a small beast he'd hunted earlier.
He raised his hand toward the flames. "Lorde. Lorde." He raised his voice. "Lorde! Come forth, Lorde!"
Yelleen's voice echoed gently. "What are you doing?"
"Trying to contact Lorde."
"Whatever you're doing is clearly not working."
"Come on, can't you help me?"
"I can't help with anything related to Vitalis. I can give you some theory, but that's all I can do."
"Vitalis? What does Vitalis have to do with this?"
"Your seed is powered by something like Vitalis but much more powerful. And as I'm not a living being, I cannot interact with it."
Valerius tore a piece of meat from the stick and took a bite.
---
Yelleen's voice echoed quietly in Valerius's mind. "Time and time again, I've watched you struggle against obstacles you shouldn't even be flinching at. Apart from the man who pursued you in the ruin, none of the enemies you've faced should have outmatched you."
Valerius frowned, brushing his fingers through his hair. "What are you saying?"
"You don't seem sick… but are you truly well?"
Valerius gave a half-shrug. "I've never been sick."
Yelleen's tone sharpened. "Aside from your unusually small size, you're remarkably weak for an elvhein. It doesn't add up. Did anything strange happen to you as a child?"
"Strange how?"
"Something... unnatural."
Valerius tilted his head, thinking. "Let's see... I've been shot, fallen off a cliff, and once got chased through the woods by a rabid zoo animal. That count?"
There was a pause. Then Yelleen replied, "There's something foreign lodged in your body. Just beside your spine. I don't know what it does—but it shouldn't be there."
Valerius stiffened. "Seriously?"
He stared up at the sky, brows drawing together. Did Mom know about this?
---
Two weeks passed.
The terrain had shifted—forests gave way to cracked terrain, and jagged cliffs now framed the horizon. At last, Valerius arrived at the borders of Grekon. And there, stretching across his path, yawned a canyon.
It was vast—an enormous scar carved into the terrain, easily several kilometers long. But what froze Valerius in place wasn't the length… it was the width.
He walked to the edge, peered over, and whistled low.
"Damn," he muttered. "Looks like I'm going around."
Yelleen's voice floated calmly into his thoughts. "You don't need to."
Valerius blinked. "Come again?"
"I believe you can make that jump."
He leaned further out and stared into the abyss. Wind howled below. The other side of the canyon looked impossibly far.
"Do you see how far that is?" he scoffed. "I can't even see the bottom. Hell no—I'm going around."
Yelleen replied, patient but firm, "The other side is approximately eight hundred meters away. And do you know how fast you moved when you fought that knight?"
Valerius raised a brow. "Faster than usual, sure, but—"
"You were moving at Mach Three," Yelleen cut in. "That's over a thousand meters per second. Three times the speed of sound."
Valerius's eyes widened. "Wait… I moved that fast?"
"You were too focused on surviving to notice. But now, you don't have to fight—you just have to jump."
Valerius turned back toward the canyon. He bit his lip, eyes scanning the distant ledge. Then, slowly, he stepped away from the edge. Ten meters. Twenty.
He rolled his shoulders. Cracked his knuckles. Bounced on his heels.
"Alright," he whispered. "Let's do this."
He planted his feet. Took a deep breath. His body crouched, muscles coiling tight like compressed springs.
Then—
Boom.
He launched.
The ground exploded behind him. As Valerius reached the edge, he leaped, soared into the air like a fired arrow. Wind screamed past his ears. His coat snapped violently against his back. For a moment, the world became a blur—sky above, endless canyon below, and the far ledge racing toward him.
Mid-flight, his eyes narrowed. He adjusted his arms, tilted his weight—balancing, aiming.
The wind howled, the canyon gaped, and time stretched.
Then—
Crash!
His feet slammed onto solid ground. Dust and pebbles burst outward in a shockwave. He skidded forward, knees bending to absorb the impact, and finally came to a halt .
Silence.
Then Valerius grinned, breathless. "Holy hell…"
Yelleen's voice was dry. "Told you."
---
Valerius continued his journey at a steady pace, the sound of his boots brushing against dry leaves and dirt. The silence was soothing, but it didn't last.
"You can shorten the journey to six hours," Yelleen said calmly.
Valerius blinked. "Really? How?"
"Simple," Yelleen replied. "Run."
Valerius bounced lightly on his toes, stretching his arms. "Alright then. Let's give this a try."
And then he bolted.
The world blurred around him as he launched into a full sprint, his body slicing through the air like a blade. Trees whipped past on either side, bending from the pressure of his wake. He dashed across glowing blue rivers that rippled violently from his momentum, raced up stony inclines, and leapt across shattered clearings. The wind howled in his ears.
He felt invincible.
Until—
His legs buckled.
Valerius tripped, and the ground rose up to meet him. He slammed into the ground and tumbled violently, his momentum carving a long crater through soil and stone. He finally came to rest at the edge of a wide, slow-moving river, his body half-submerged in mud and moss.
He gasped, chest heaving. "Haa... haa…"
Yelleen's voice returned, unbothered. "Did you really think you could sustain your top speed for several hours? I'm honestly surprised you lasted this long."
Valerius gritted his teeth, still catching his breath.
"You have poor stamina, Valerius. Use this journey to work on that. Run at roughly thirty percent of your maximum speed. Ten minutes on, twenty minutes rest. If you keep that rhythm, you'll arrive in a little over eight days."
Valerius exhaled and rolled onto his back, staring at the sky. "Right. Eight days."
"And relax," Yelleen added. "Your siblings are fine. No one's after you."
---
The next day, Valerius followed the new routine: bursts of speed, strategic rest. He made steady progress, weaving through forests, cutting through rocky terrain, and pacing across quiet plains. By the fourth day, he was stronger—his breath more controlled, his pace smoother.
But peace never lasted long in Yilheim.
During one of his breaks, as he sat beside a low hill drinking from a skin of water, the grass around him suddenly rustled.
A low growl broke the quiet.
He turned.
Behind him stood a beast—lean and feline, its body shaped like a cheetah but longer, more muscular, and armored in bony ridges along its shoulders and spine. Its eyes glowed yellow. Its claws flexed.
And then it charged.
Valerius jumped to his feet and bolted.
He sprinted hard, faster than before, but the beast was built for speed. It tore through the grassland, bounding effortlessly, gaining on him with every stride.
"Yelleen!" Valerius shouted. "Suggestions?!"
"Think," Yelleen's voice echoed. "You can't outrun it—not for long. Outsmart it."
Valerius scanned the terrain as he ran. To the right, a narrow gulch split the land—a sheer drop followed by a short rise.
A plan sparked.
Valerius veered toward it, pretending to flee in panic. The beast followed.
He neared the edge—and jumped.
But not forward.
He twisted midair, rebounding off a slanted rock, flipping backward over the gulch. The beast, charging full force, had no time to react. It leapt—
Too late.
It plunged into the ravine below, snarling as it tumbled into the shadows.
Valerius landed on the far side, panting. "Gotcha."
"Well done," Yelleen said. "That was clever."
Valerius didn't reply—his eyes had caught something ahead.
People.
About a hundred meters off, a campfire flickered. Around it stood armed men and women, leather-wrapped and dust-covered. Their weapons glinted faintly. One looked up and noticed him.
Raiders.
Valerius narrowed his eyes.
And just like that, his journey got more complicated.
The fire crackled softly at the center of the clearing, casting long shadows against the surrounding trees. The scent of roasted meat hung thick in the air, laced with smoke and the ever-present tang of steel.
Around the fire, five figures lounged with a practiced ease—relaxed, but far from unguarded. They were Aurellians: tall, brown-haired, and unmistakably dangerous. Two men. Three women.
The largest among them, a scarred brute with shoulders like a wall, paused mid-bite. He tilted his head slightly, chewing slowing.
"Did you hear that?" he muttered, his voice rough as gravel.
One of the women stood. Towering at 10-foot-2, she was a mountain of muscle. Her long brown hair was braided thick down her back, and a massive axe rested casually across her shoulders. She squinted into the trees.
"I see someone," she said. "Looks like a kid."
The rest stirred.
The second man—tall and sharp-featured at 10-foot-6—adjusted his glasses. His robes were cleaner than the others', and a heavy tome swung at his side.
"Looks like he's from Grekon," he murmured. "Judging by the clothes."
The smallest woman stood as well—petite by Aurellian standards at 8-foot-7. She was robed in simple brown, her short hair sharp around a watchful, intelligent face.
"A traveler? Out here? In No Man's Land?" she asked, her tone soft, but keen-edged.
"Must be bait," grunted the third woman. She stood 9-foot-3, lean and agile, twin daggers already glinting in her hands. "I don't trust it."
Valerius stepped cautiously into the firelight, hands raised just slightly—open, non-threatening. But his gaze was alert, and his posture ready.
"Didn't mean to startle anyone," he said calmly. "Just passing through."
The scarred man stood, cracking his knuckles with a sound like dry branches snapping.
"Passing through where, kid? You're in No Man's Land. There's nothing here but death. No trade routes. No safe paths. No travelers. You wouldn't even know when you died."
Valerius shrugged. "I need to get somewhere. This was the path."
The robed woman took a step forward, eyeing him curiously. "People don't come through here. They go around it. Which means... you're not ordinary, are you?"
Valerius's eyes flicked to her. "You're here. Are you?"
The muscular woman, Mira, gave a low chuckle. "Oh, he's got bark."
The man with glasses raised a hand. "Don't waste our time, boy. Keep walking—if you can get where you're going before something rips you apart."
The dagger-wielding woman rolled her eyes. "Don't be like that, Luthar." She strolled over to Valerius, eyes gleaming with interest. "What's your name, little man?"
Valerius paused. "Lerius."
She arched a brow. "Just Lerius?"
"Just Lerius," he said again, a bit firmer.
The large man stepped forward, towering well above him. "Well, Lerius," he said, voice heavy. "I'm Kurgan. That mountain with the axe is Mira. The quiet one in the robe is Auri. The one with the blades is Zee. And the lovely man who told you to go die is Luthar."
Luthar gave a polite nod. "Pleasure," he said, then immediately deadpanned, "Not."
Mira crossed her arms. "So, Lerius. What's a lone kid doing out here in beast country, sprinting like an arrow with no pack, no gear, and no backup?"
Valerius didn't answer at first. He glanced around, then said simply, "I'm heading somewhere."
"You lose your parents?" Auri asked gently.
Valerius looked at the fire. "My siblings."
The air shifted slightly.
"Long way to go for family," Kurgan muttered. "You heading north?"
Valerius nodded once.
Zee whistled. "You do realize this is No Man's Land, right? Full of things that'll chew on your bones and use your teeth as decoration."
Valerius gave a tired smile. "After what chased me earlier, I've figured that out."
Mira tilted her head. "You don't look like a fighter. You're... tiny."
"Looks can be deceiving," Valerius replied, voice quiet but sure.
Zee grinned. "I like him."
Kurgan dropped back into his seat with a thud. "Sit, then. Fire's warm. We're not bandits—we're raiders."
Valerius stepped closer, then lowered himself onto a rock near the fire. The heat soaked into his chilled bones.
Auri handed him a piece of roasted meat. "Eat."
He nodded and took it. "Thanks."
Luthar's eyes hadn't left him. "Lerius, huh? No surname?"
Yelleen's voice whispered faintly in Valerius's mind: "Careful. Surnames mean nobility here."
"I don't remember," Valerius replied evenly, taking a bite.
Zee smirked. "Convenient."
"I don't want some noble hanging around," Luthar muttered. "Not even a twirp like you."
"I'm not a noble."
Silence followed.
Kurgan leaned forward. "Alright, one rule. If you're camping with us tonight—no secrets. You don't have to tell us everything, but if there's anything dangerous following you—beasts, soldiers, trackers—we deal with it together."
He cracked his knuckles again and grinned. "I want to flex my muscles."
Valerius nodded. "Fair."
Mira laughed, shaking her head. "You're lucky you found us, kid. You wouldn't have lasted another day out here alone."
Valerius looked up at her, eyes calm. "I don't plan on dying. Not here. Not like that."
---
To Be Continued...