Chapter 12

  As promised, the mayor took me back to the shop, where Max gave me another ten refreshers, as well as a few crystals that were supposed to contain provisions, and a tent crystal. Then, the mayor took me back to the gate, the boundary of the town, and paused.

  “Before you leave for your journey,” he began, as if I was about to just up and leave, silly man, “I will go over a few last things, and answer any other questions I can.” He pulled a crystal from his own storage bag, “this crystal is a map crystal. It’s linked to the world itself, and if you hold it in your left hand, and focus on it, a map will appear. Within reason you can zoom in and out on it, and it will always show your location as well.”

  I took the crystal, resisting the urge to try it out right then and there, as he continued.

  “The town closest to us is about a two week journey on foot,” he said, making my jaw drop. “It’s called Iron Springs, on account of the iron deposits that have settled from the rivers that once flowed from the Machine Mountains.”

  “Two weeks?” I asked then. “By foot?”

  “That’s correct,” he said with a nod. “I told you, our little town is very far from civilization, which is why it was one of the places selected to have an outsider summoned.”

  “Still,” I started, not liking that my voice sounded somewhat whiney, “I have to travel by foot, the whole way?” I looked past him, back towards the store, “aren’t there like bikes or anything?”

  He laughed and shook his head, “we don’t have those here. Besides, part of the reasoning on having the summoning happen so far away from other towns, was to give potential saviors, like yourself, the time to get used to our world, and train up your Muns. The stronger you are by the time you reach the first town, the better.” He smiled warmly at me, “besides, Max gave you plenty of supplies, and the tent was especially generous.”

  “Speaking of the tent,” I said, deciding to change the subject before I got too depressed. Like, sure, I was in shape. I was a soccer player after all, but two weeks on foot? I guess it was a blessing these boots he’d given me were also already broken in. “How do I use it?”

  “Just like everything else here,” the mayor said kindly, “hold the crystal in your left hand, and just focus on it. The world’s magic will do the rest. When you’re done with it, just put your left hand on it, and focus once more, and poof,” he smiled as he made a funny hand gesture, as if it were some grand magic trick, “it’ll be a crystal once more.”

  “So, everything in the world can be turned back into crystals?” I questioned once again.

  “If it’s of this world naturally, then most of the time, yes. It can revert to a crystalized form.” He’d of course told me this once before, but I was still having a hard time processing it all. How was it a real world, could feel so much like a video game. It all seemed a bit too convenient. But, that wasn’t for me to delve into. I didn’t need to go about trying to understand the world and break its system. I was just here to capture Muns and train them up.

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  “You haven’t told me anything about augmentation stones,” I said, looking down at my gauntlet and the five empty slots on the knuckles, “nor the Amplifier.” I added, noting the empty space on the back of my hand.

  “You’ll learn more about those at Silver Springs,” the mayor said, “though the basics are easy. Augmentation Stones are special stones you can add to your gauntlet to add small increases or effects to your Mun.” He pointed at the one on his pinky, that shone pink, “this one gives all my Mun’s an extra bit of health.” Then he pointed to a blue one, “and this one gives them an extra bit of speed, to help them evade attacks better.”

  “How do I get them?” I asked. “I saw the option to create and fuse them at the Mun Center.”

  “You can buy basic ones,” the mayor answered, “they can also be found in the wild. Sometimes, defeating Muns will result in one dropping, though its rare, and doesn’t happen until your Tamer’s Gauntlet has increased in Tiers. Additionally, each Keeper will reward you with your choice of one when you defeat them.”

  “And the Amplifier?” I asked again.

  “Amplifiers are different. Don’t worry about them. You can’t even use one until your Gauntlet is Tier 3.” The mayor looked at his nonchalantly, and then back at me, “no need to worry about things so far off, when you’ve already got so much to try and remember right now.”

  I felt myself prickle at that, but said nothing. He was being a tad bit condescending, but honestly, as much as I’d hate to say it, I was pretty used to it. Apparently, even in a completely different world, people were still the same in certain ways. Oh well.

  “Alright then,” I said, keeping my anger in check, “I guess the only other question I have you can probably answer would be related to the Mun around here.”

  “Of course,” he smiled, “ask and I will answer.”

  “What level do Gear Pups, Springers, and Bullows evolve?”

  “Ah, a wonderful question, though,” he looked at the first three gems on my wrist, the three gear pups. “Gear Pups evolve into Cog Dogs at level 20. They’re not terrible Muns, but honestly, not the greatest. I’d recommend you find better Muns later on down the road. Like I said, most people only ever claim a Gear Pup to use it as a pet. Springers Evolve into Coilosus at level 28, and Calfers evolve into Bullows at level 31. Both of those, are much better suited for your quest than Cog Dogs would ever be.”

  I prickled again. How dare he. But, again, I bit back my annoyance. If there was one thing I wasn’t going to let him do, it was let him dictate what I did with my Muns. I was going to train my Muns however I wanted, and build my team out of whatever I wanted. Still, I was kind of annoyed that none of my Muns would evolve before I had to face the first Keeper. I didn’t know much about the world, but I had no doubt pushing my Muns over level 20, before I upgraded my Tamer’s Gauntlet to Tier 1, was probably a risky choice.

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” I said, not wanting to converse with the man anymore. The sun was still high in the sky, but I knew evening would be coming soon, and I had things to do.

  “It was a pleasure meeting you Taylor,” the man said with a smile, as he opened the gate for me, “I wish you only the greatest luck and prosperity on your journey, and on behalf of Cogni, want to personally thank you for undertaking the mission to save our world.”

  I all but snorted at the last part, but hid it under a cough. I waved his words away, and flashed him a smile. “You may still see me around,” I said with half a laugh, “after all, you said I needed time to make sure my Mun were leveled, before I reached Iron Springs. So, at the very least, I’m going to hang around here until my Gear Pups are all level 15.”

  With a grin and a laugh, I strode out the gate, the mayor’s incredulous look on his face making my laughter last for far longer than it was probably polite, but I didn’t care. It was time to grind out levels, mayor’s advice against Cog Dogs be damned.