After Steve left, Inkshadow also waved one of its massive tentacles in farewell to them, then slipped beneath the sea’s surface, sending large waves rolling under the wistful gaze of the diners. Acher kept his sharp eyes on the octorpus the whole time, drool dripping from his beak.

  Once their meal was finished, the three of them continued strolling through the streets. Night had fallen, and the market was glowing with dazzling lights everywhere they looked.

  As they passed a store with the name Hermesis, Aaron tugged on Luther’s sleeve.

  “Let’s check this out!”

  It turned out to be a store selling electronic devices, things like smartphones, tablets, rings, bracelets … The place gave off the same feeling as those sleek fruit-logo stores from the mortal world.

  Aaron read the product labels and whispered:

  “This is great! These are electronic devices integrated with magic systems, able to connect to the Ethernet!”

  “The Ethernet?” Acher raised an eyebrow.

  “It’s a magical internet that stretches across almost the entire cosmos, Mr. Acher,” Aaron said. “The Messenger created it after studying the mortals’ internet. Through it, we can easily access information about the supernatural world on Earth, and even other worlds, too. Remember when Martin asked for our Etherphone number? I had to lie and say I lost mine and had to use a mortal one.”

  “Let’s buy.” Luther nodded.

  “There are so many different kinds to choose from!” Aaron said in awe.

  There was the Hermesis EPhone 8, the ETablet Grandblue, the ERing 3, the Evision Supreme…

  The two “country boys” were dazzled by the variety on display.

  “These are kinda similar but also different from normal electronic devices,” Aaron commented.

  The EPhone 8 was made of a tough, transparent material that felt like a mix between glass and quartz. To use it, the owner just had to channel magic into it, and it would activate in an instant.

  The ETablet Grandblue was made from the same transparent material, but with a flexible quality, it could be bent or twisted in any way without risk of damage. Within its body, an illusion of deep blue waves rolled and crashed nonstop, as though an entire ocean was trapped inside.

  The ERing was crafted from a single gemstone. There were five varieties: emerald, sapphire, marble, obsidian and ruby. When worn and turned on, a floating screen would appear in front of the user, ready for interaction.

  “Let’s get three EPhones and one Hermesis ETV,” Aaron suggested.

  “Make it two TVs. Acher is addicted. Watching Youtube and Anime. All day. He can have his own,” Luther added.

  The raven let out a pleased caw and said:

  “Good boy.”

  The Hermesis TVs were much more expensive than the EPhones. Even though there were 100 inches, they weighed only two pounds and could be folded down to the size of a book without any problem.

  “Wow, all of these devices can be charged by magic, electricity, magical coins, sunlight, fire, or even ether crystals. That’s so convenient!” Aaron said.

  They registered three phone numbers, also through Hermesis, and left the store with their purchases.

  “This is incredible!”

  This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  With a single button press, the EPhone in Aaron’s hand projected a three-dimensional image of a blazing whale flying through blue sky and white clouds, making both boys stare in open delight.

  “This is quite impressive,” Acher commented. “Projection magic like this used to be fairly complex to perform, but now it’s been simplified so much it can be embedded into a device this tiny. Peace and prosperity are… truly priceless.”

  Luther could sense in the raven’s voice a blend of pride and a trace of sorrow.

  “Don’t be sad,” Luther said, reaching out to stroke him.

  Aaron entered all their numbers into each other’s contact lists: ‘0 - Aaron,’ ‘0 - Luther,’ and ‘0 - Acher.’

  “Why the ‘0’?” Luther asked. His normal phone had been set up the same way by Aaron.

  “So our names always stay at the very top of each other’s contact lists,” Aaron explained with a wide grin.

  Hearing such a simple, almost silly reason made Luther smile as well.

  “You silly boys,” Acher said with a chuckle, shaking his head.

  Continuing their stroll through the seaside market, Aaron tugged Luther into another store when he noticed his eyes were fixed on what was sold inside.

  It turned out to be a garden center.

  The entire place was divided into several aisles, each one overflowing with strange magical plants: moonlit orchids with glowing petals, slumber grass that swayed as if breathing, hawk-eyed oaks with watchful knots in their trunks, gemstone cherry trees whose fruits looked like gemstones…

  Alongside the plants, all sorts of gardening supplies were well arranged.

  “Sunspark stones from Aionios. Just a single piece is enough to keep your beloved plants alive through even the harshest winter.”

  “Buy it!” Luther waved his hand without hesitation.

  “Sneezing Salamander ash. Guaranteed to protect your garden from every type of insect.”

  “Buy it!”

  “A complete set of Spring Weather scrolls, refined from Breath of Nature. They will keep the weather in your garden as fresh and mild as if it were always midspring.”

  “Buy it!”

  Luther loaded item after item into the shopping cart without even blinking.

  “This here is grass-hare manure, and over there is sorrow-oak mud. Both are top-grade fertilizers,” said the shopkeeper.

  He was a short, small-framed middle-aged man with a cheerful demeanor.

  Luther picked up one pellet of grass-hare manure and gave it a sniff, while Aaron clamped a hand over his nose and stood a good ten feet away.

  “Twenty pounds of the manure and twenty pounds of the mud,” Luther decided, intent on trying both.

  “Excellent! I’ll pack them up for you right away!” The shopkeeper grabbed a shovel and began scooping them into woven sacks tied with some sort of dried fiber.

  Aaron quickly pulled Luther toward another section; he just could not stand the smell of that grass-hare manure for another second.

  Luther filled an entire shopping cart not just with gardening supplies, but also several kinds of magical seeds. When he checked out, the shop owner even gifted him an ether-powered cart.

  After that, they left Mariana Market and reappeared on Newbury Street, drawing plenty of surprised and curious glances from passersby at the sight of a cart overflowing with gardening supplies.

  They searched for a while and realized there wasn’t a single Uber or taxi big enough to fit the cart, so they had no choice but to fly. It was lucky that Luther could create a giant shadow hand to grab hold of the cart; otherwise, the whole group would’ve had to walk back to the hotel.

  “Hey Luther, let’s get down there!” Aaron’s eyes lit up as they flew past a building.

  The three of them landed, and Luther saw it was J.P. Licks, a store that sold a wide variety of treats centered around ice cream, coffee, and baked goods.

  “Let’s buy something to eat at night, this place makes amazing yogurt! Luther, Mr. Acher, what do you want?” the brown-haired boy said with a wide grin.

  “It’s pretty great hanging out with this kid,” Acher remarked.

  “Hehehe, besides traveling, food is one of my biggest passions,” Aaron said.

  “How are you. Still so fit?” Luther asked, poking at his arm.

  “I work out at home every day.” Aaron flexed his biceps. “But now it probably doesn’t make much difference; those dumbbells feel like toys to me now.”

  “It’s useless training like that. The more you approach your divinity, the more perfect both your body and soul will become. The path to godhood is the path to transcendence.” Acher said. “Eventually, you’ll even be able to adjust your subform to be whatever you like.”

  “No wonder myths always describe the gods as insanely attractive… oh, except for the god of craftsmanship. I heard he was born so ugly his own mother threw him off Mount Olympus,” Aaron said. “That’s just sad and messed up.”

  “He’s not good-looking only in comparison to other divine beings. If a mortal creature saw that boy, unless he suppressed his aura on purpose, they would love him beyond saving regardless of age, gender, or species. It’s a kind of attraction that comes from the soul itself, something no mortal can resist with mere willpower,” Acher explained.

  “That sounds… kind of scary,” Aaron said with a shiver.

  Before long, the group arrived at the Boston Harbor Hotel. The sight of two boys pulling a cart stacked with gardening supplies was certainly unusual for a five-star hotel. Lucky for them, the young bellhop remained cheerful as he helped them check the luggage without showing the slightest sign of annoyance.

  Once they’d unloaded all the stuff they bought, Aaron shouted out:

  “Let’s see if there’s a mission in this area!”