Freedom Jumper-Chapter 118: Home Sweet Home

A thick smooth wooden door softly closed after Elijah had walked through the entrance. Richter's flat was on the second floor of a duplex located on the southern side of Tavenas and sat directly on the edge of a steep cliff. Soft orange and slightly beaten single couches sat in front of a wooden coffee table with what looked like a map resting on top. A sizable balcony stretches the entire backside of the flat giving a perfect view of a dense number of extremely tall trees, and glimpses of the buildings that lay below the cliff.

Niko quickly asked the question while pressing his fingerprints onto the map. "Is this a map of the kingdom?"

Richter finished taking off his gray jacket and laid it on top of a small countertop that signified the start of the kitchen. "Yes, a map that cost me a great sum but has repaid me in ways I can't imagine. I don't know if you can tell, but the Kingdom of Gion has what they call 'cities' inside the kingdom. Tavenas is known as the city of hunting and mining." Richter continued to point at the different cities of Gion while explaining their functions. Sefrah, the capital, is where you can do absolutely everything with it being in the center of the kingdom. The buildings are all bright white with blue roofs, including the noble, royal, and king's quarters. Ostand is home to the ocean as they call it, where most people retire after they have accumulated a mass amount of wealth. Coriad, the peninsula city, is far away as Richter had explained, but mostly has everything Gion has to offer but in similar quantities.

What truly made Elijah interested in this kingdom was not the layout, but the natural water spout in the centermost point of Tavenas. A water spout that shot water almost sixty feet into the air until creating a steaming waterfall, later creating a river. Richter explained how the water of this river was almost boiling when exiting from the spout, and created many of what these people called hot springs that were layered down the staggered waterfall. Also, while walking within the range of the spout, the warm and hot drops of water are felt on your skin.

Thanks to the map Richter has obtained, Elijah had a good idea of his plans for tomorrow. Using the runes of invisibility, he would fly over the kingdom for as long as possible to get a lay of the land. This would also be an opportunity to figure out the truth of his mana.

Whether the environment has truly changed his capabilities or not...

"These soft chairs have a function that allows them to recline, so you can sleep there comfortably. There is a bathroom with a flushing function after you relieve yourself similar to our kingdom. I won't be making dinner tonight as I have a good chunk of food in the fridge and freezer. Grab what you want and remember you have to pay me back in six days, the end of the fortnight."

Just as Richter was about to walk into his room, Niko asked one final question. "What quarter and fortnight are we in again?"

"Quarter one, fifth fortnight, day four. Also, Elijah... How is your father doing?"

Elijah's head was sent to the ground. "He is good. He talked about you a lot, you know? Especially during the times before I escaped. He told me he accepted the idea of you being dead..."

"I see... Maybe we can see them again."

Suddenly, Elijah's mental state took a quick turn, resulting in him lashing out. "How can you be so happy?!! HOW?! Our kingdom was full of lies and deceit! And here you stand! Content with your situation!"

Elijah took a couple deep breaths and realized he might be having a panic attack. Still, he persisted...

"For all we know, everyone we once knew is dead!!"

Niko has just been staring into the corner of the room, where the most darkness lies. Eventually, he found the courage to try and calm him down. "Please Elijah, give yourself time..."

Niko's situation is vastly different from Elijah's. While Niko had not a single person who believed in him, besides maybe his older brother, Elijah had everything. Relationships he had nurtured, a love for the simplicity and ways of life in Astraea, and a goal to chase – even after the calamity.

Now, he was drifting between two different personalities.

The Hopeless Depressionist

And...

The Candid Butcher

Dusk had arrived after small amounts of food were eaten. Richter and Niko had saved the conversation by talking about the good times he had with his friends back in Astraea – giving Elijah a couple of laughs but also necessary tears.

...

Memories of Elijah' journey to the Kingdom of Gion kept on replaying in his head, as well as the many conversations of truths that led him to the theories in his head about the "why". This all ended when a loud sound was created in the small and simplistic kitchen, directly behind the ears of Elijah and Niko.

Richter bent down to the floor, carefully picking up broken glass. "Uhhh... Hahaha... sorry I dropped a glass jar."

"This guy..." Elijah muttered under his breath while standing up. "Do you make potions?!"

"Ah. Yes, it's one of the ways I can make money. Just simple healing potions with an assortment of herbs that I find while walking around during the day. I am taking after your father in this aspect." Richter explained.

"Elijah, since you have a water affinity again, you should help Richter!" Niko suggested while uncovering himself from the thin blanket.

"Unless you want to help with grabbing me herbs that you find, I don't need your help. Quantity is the only issue I have because of the lack of materials."

"I guess we can grab whatever we can find." Elijah said before stretching his body and putting on a shirt.

Elijah's body has come a long way since the fall of the wall. His body was not overly huge for his size, but provided him with a significant amount of strength and mobility from his refined joints and muscles. Elijah's assumption has always been that the change in his body from the torture he endured increased the potential when combined with mana. Literally, his DNA was changed to accommodate the uniqueness and potential of mana coursing through his physical body.

Before Elijah and Niko left for the door that would lead them down the wooden and metal stairs, Elijah told Richter the truth of Astraea, or at least what he knows, would be revealed tonight when they came back. Without a single genny in their pockets, Elijah and Niko were determined to hunt a few beasts and sell their cores.

While walking down the stairs, Elijah signaled to Niko to begin putting the loose items he didn't want revealed inside their spatial storage rings. Both of them had bracelets that could barely hold the extra spatial rings and gear they had picked up from the bodies, including Amaris' ice revolver which Elijah decided to name, "Icebreaker".

"So Niko, where to?"

"The wall... It's time to have some fun."

...

Hidden behind a building in a secluded area next to the wall stood Elijah and Niko waiting for the right moment. Originally, their plan was to use the invisibility runes to ease their way over the wall, but after remembering the suspected lesser mana density, they opted for the quick plan of flying discreetly over the wall.

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"Now!"

Whoosh!

Not a single soul saw two children defying the laws of gravity. However, Elijah and Niko sighted guards on the pathway above the wall that connects the upper-layers of the towers spread evenly across the wall.

Before moving forward, the familiar sight and smell of a jungle filled with all sorts of greenery rushed into their senses. Large overgrown bushes, colonies of different insects, and vines that wrapped around some of the trees gave them a superstitious feeling that at any moment, a magical beast would pop out from the god knows where with a poisonous attack.

Venturing to the right of the wall they had flown over led them to a massive river flowing in between the towering trees of the jungle.

Elijah set his hand across Niko's chest and signaled to look across the river.

Over eight feet long, was a scaled alligator whose breath was seen creating a hot mist in the temperature of the early morning – likely from its magic. However, there was not just one of them visible to the eye, but seven. Patiently waiting for their meal, they stared into the clear and rapid waters.