“I believe he headed in that direction.” Shinnya stood still for a moment before leading the way.

  Zalanir had thought that going back to the site wouldn’t do much, since he had already toured the area and only found the hints that led him to meet up with her earlier, but apparently, he had missed the corpse of a queen’s guard, which to his defense, he couldn’t tell the difference because he didn’t even know they existed. Not to mention they happened to have the main color in black, similar to all the burned ants decorating the ground.

  Even though there weren’t that many corpses, lots of them were either queen’s guards or crushers, so this had to be the right track. Shinnya stayed locked in all the way. Except for some quick stops to confirm and adjust the direction, she was on the move all the time without talking to Zalanir even once.

  The track lasted until they found five black ants running in circles. They moved past them but found no other hint, thus returning to observe the ants.

  “This also happened to me back then. I was chased by two striped ants, but without any warning, they just stopped and ran in circles. It was as if something triggered, making them forget their goal,” Zalanir related his experiences.

  Shinnya nodded and was lost in her thoughts while staring at the ants for some time before clapping her hands.

  “I get it. They reach their border and can’t cross it.” She turned to Zalanir. “I have read about this somewhere. Ants are territorial. They won’t go past the edge of the territory marked by their queen. They are running in circles because they are lost and are trying to sense a direction to go back to the colonies.”

  “Cool. Good to know. But what does it mean for us?”

  Her face was deadpan with his question. She didn’t respond, instead sauntering around, continuing looking for traces of either Djaxinz or the queen.

  It ended up bearing no fruit. After a while, despite Shinnya’s efforts, they had to call it a day. The sun was going down, and they needed to take care of Kael.

  ***

  Why did he feel like he was a criminal? Being under the scrutiny of the residents of the mansion sucked. It felt like he had done something wrong and was now awaiting the punishment.

  Ever since he handed Kael, whom he carried on his back all the way, to the butler, both he and Shinnya had been asked to stay in the main room until further notice. They didn’t even get to tell the story, just straight up being kept here, surrounded by six servants and even three guards.

  A woman in a green robe burst into the room, fixing her eyes on both of them.

  “You two went out with Kael? Tell me! What happened?”

  Shinnya reiterated the story that she had told Zalanir again. Zalanir’s focus wasn’t on the story, but on the woman who had just barged in. If she were Kael’s mom, they would be in trouble. No mom would be pleased seeing her son amputated like that.

  Though as the story went on, the woman remained relatively calm. She frowned when Shinnya described the attack of the ant queen that severed Kael’s arm, but that was it. His image of her exploded and unleashed her wrath on them didn’t come true.

  In the middle of the story, Shinnya stopped and lunged herself to the main entrance, where Djaxinz had just appeared and was smiling. He looked gassed out, but still in one piece.

  “We have been looking for you, but the sun was set, so we …” She wept like a baby while hugging Djaxinz’s waist.

  “I have been doing the same. Somehow, we just missed each other, huh?” He patted her head. “I have heard of the situation already. I’m sorry about Kael.” He nodded at Zalanir and then turned to the woman in green, who had stood up from the stone chair.

  “Did you get it?” The woman took a step forward.

  Djaxinz took out a box and gave it to one of the servants, who then presented it to the woman. Her face brightened after seeing the content of the box, and then left after setting a date with Djaxinz.

  “Go back here in two days.”

  With her no longer here, all the servants and the guards also went away, leaving Zalanir confused as hell about what just happened.

  “Glad to see you again. We have been lifting the whole area up to find you.” Zalanir approached Djaxinz.

  “What happened after we got separated?” Shinnya asked.

  “I isolated the queen from her armies and took her out. She was ferocious, but wasn’t that sharp. Well, maybe she was, but not against me. Anyway, took a long time. I saw your flame marks scattered around, but couldn’t find anything, and the night was nigh, so I rushed back here, hoping that you had returned.”

  “How strong was she? My fire wasn’t that effective, and when the guards came to the battlefield, I had no time to focus on her,” Shinnya pouted.

  “Early C-grade, level 54, so a bit too much for you to handle. But good job hanging out there.” He caressed her red hair.

  “Sorry, but there’s something that I don’t get. Is the woman in the green robe Kael’s mom? Why isn’t she upset about Kael’s arm? Also, if it isn’t secretive, can I ask what’s in the box? It seems like her attention is fully there.” Zalanir piped in.

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  “Yes, she’s one of Kael’s moms. Inside the box is a rare flower that grows within the territory of Ethrophia — the ants that we messed with. Their family managed to find a flower bush sprouted right below the mound we targeted, so they got us to do the job. Well, technically, it was Kael who made the suggestion, since I also need one of these.” Djaxinz took out another box and passed it to Zalanir. “As for Kael, the situation isn’t ideal, but I don’t get the part about why should his mom be upset? She got her flower after all.”

  “What? He lost his arm? I will ignore that part about her being one of his moms, but is it the reaction of a mom when her son got mutilated?”

  “Not like he lost it permanently, so why is it a big deal? Getting set back for several weeks isn’t the end of the world,” Djaxinz shrugged.

  “Excuse me! How? We didn’t bring back his lost arm. Are they going to patch another arm in? Any arm? Will it even be suitable?” Zalanir was baffled by how calm Djaxinz was.

  “Why? Is there a benefit or technique that I’m not aware of? Why can’t he just regrow it himself?”

  Now Zalanir felt like the world had been turned upside down. Regrowing limbs? Both Djaxinz and Shinnya are looking eagerly at him, like his friends when he was about to tell them a secret or hot rumor. They talked about it as if it was just one of the natural things to do. Regrowing limbs without finding the exact parts that were cut off? Zalanir wasn’t a medical expert by any means, but he sure as hell had read in a newspaper about a case when a woman needed to preserve her amputated finger in the fridge when waiting for the medical team to come. But here, seemed like it wasn’t needed.

  Letting out a long sigh and looking up at the ceiling, Zalanir burst into a loud laugh that he had been suppressing. What world was this? An omnipresent System; leveling up; beasts and monsters with abnormal sizes; humans with dog ears, three arms, and tails; regrowing limbs; overpowered regeneration; etc., what else could there be? Would he see Devil Fruits, Rings of Power, or rat people launching nukes next? At this point, even they seemed possible.

  “Hello? You alright?” Shinnya’s voice broke Zalanir out of his thoughts.

  “Oh. Sorry. I don’t know that you can grow back a lost limb that easily. Where I come from, we need to preserve the severed limb if we want to reattach it later. I was a tad stupid to assume the same result here.” Zalanir returned the box back to Djaxinz. Inside it was a three-colored flower, but he had no idea what it was. Identify returned the name Trifectorio only. No description. Nothing.

  “Are you perhaps from one of the secluded villages deep inside the jungles? I have heard of them. Different cultures that prioritize natural harmony over anything else,” Djaxinz said.

  Zalanir didn’t want to disclose his situation just yet, even though these two seemed nice. He knew almost nothing about this place, so the fact that he wasn’t a natural inhabitant here had to be hidden at all costs until he confirmed the perception of people toward foreigners or even aliens. Djaxinz had thrown him a lifesaver, and he would gladly take it. To make it seem more genuine, he decided to put on a weak smile. He wasn’t fond of answering the question directly in this situation.

  “Sorry to keep pondering this topic, but how can Kael regrow his arm? Is there any requirement or preparation needed?” Seeing as the other two didn’t show any further reaction toward his origin, Zalanir pushed his luck. They seemed knowledgeable and friendly, so why not dig for some common knowledge here about this world?

  “He needs to get to C-grade first, as I doubt any D-grade would have enough health to do that. Well, unless you are a freak who invests every point into Constitution, or you get an ultra-rare mastery that provides lots of Constitution on level-up. He can borrow a part of it from a ritual, I suppose, but never saw one myself. With enough health points, he can redirect them into the stump to regrow the arm.”

  “Correct me if I am wrong, but it sounds like with enough health points, you can regrow … anything? If an arm is possible, then what about your head? Or organs?”

  “I am sure you can with organs. But for the head, and heart as well, I think you need to learn how to connect to your soul realm first, which usually comes at B-grade. Until then, because your brain and heart are still the main control centers, if they got separated from your body, it would be really hard to reattach. External factors might help, such as having someone or something act as the intermediary to connect them, but it’s just a theory of mine. Too advanced of a topic for now.”

  “What are the grades that you have been talking about?” Zalanir asked. However, he soon realized that he might slip up here, as both Djaxinz and Shinnya were looking at him with squinting eyes and waves of wrinkles on their foreheads.

  “Uhm, is it … weird not … knowing that? I have been pretty much all by myself, so no one taught me anything,” Zalanir tried his best to salvage the situation.

  “Were you raised by a beast? You sure you are a human?” Shinnya was the one to break the silence.

  “Now, don’t be rude.” Djaxinz tapped Shinnya’s shoulder. “You are really a hermit, aren’t you?” He shook his head. “Grades are the natural progression that everyone will get when they level up. With each higher grade, you evolve, getting more attribute points per level, as well as unlocking more skills. For us humans, we start at D-grade, then progress into C-B-A, and end at god. Well, that is to my knowledge, once again. Maybe there is a level beyond god, who knows. C-grade starts at level 50, B-grade at 150, A-grade at 300, and so forth. Assuming that you ask about grades, then you wouldn’t know anything about evolution, correct?”

  Zalanir was pleased with the question and nodded. It saved him from having to poke again, as he certainly noticed that keyword.

  “Well, you gain attribute points retroactively at level 5 when you unlock your first mastery. The same thing happens at the transition level for each grade, where evolution takes place with its quest. Once you fulfill the requirements, you will have options to upgrade your masteries. Before you ask, yes, you will gain a second mastery at D-grade. Back on the evolution quest, it is different for each individual, as determined by the System. However, there is always one option called Self-Fulfillment, in which you will have the freedom to do whatever you want, but it needs to be enough to prove that you deserve to advance to the next grade. No one knows how to convince the System, but some popular options included killing higher-grade enemies, consuming rare ingredients or treasures, and learning powerful skills. You may have wondered, why would anyone do that? Because evolving this way will lead to rarer Masteries being rewarded. As Mastery determines the number of points you get per level, as well as which skill the System will offer, Self-Fulfillment evolution will influence how powerful you can be in the long-run.”

  That was a lot to take in for Zalanir. He was only level 23 now, so only halfway there, but knowing about the progression as well as which options he could take was still great.

  “How many rarities—”

  “Now, aren’t you a voracious one? You have used up all your savings already.” Djaxinz smirked.

  “What do you mean?” Zalanir had no idea what the man was talking about, but based on his tone, it wouldn’t be anything good.

  “Kael promised you two silver coins for this little tour, correct? I already gave you one more for helping my little sister here. No need to thank me for that. I know I’m generous. All the information I just shared cost 30 coins, so you’re welcome. Before you ask, no, I’m tired, so if you want to learn more, come find me at another time. I will give you some discounts. But you better be quick. I’m a busy man myself.”

  With that, he waved his hands and left with Shinnya, leaving Zalanir standing dumbfounded in the room all by himself.