Icarus was waiting for them on the edge of the bridge. Somehow Vel had gotten word to him about their most recent scuffle. The Light familiar was currently in his battle form. This form was much, much larger than his normal. The bird was 10 or so meters tall. His imposing size made all who saw him think twice about trying to enter the bridge.

Vel rushed Max past the gates and onto the bridge. Max couldn’t help but stare at Icarus. His magnificent size, along with his glowing feathers caused him to pop against the dark night sky.

“Veline what the hell is this?”

“Not completely sure, but Max has been cleared. Just need to hang low until Shatterwind spreads the message that Max is no threat.” Vel said. “You can drop your Battle Bird form. I don’t expect any more fights.”

“Anymore?” Icarus said while reducing his size.

“Wop is a tunnel visioned asshat.”

“Ah. I see.”

Max was slightly stunned that Icarus accepted that as an answer.

They hurried down the bridge to the safety of the island and mansion. Clammy, Reep and Celenia were waiting for them at the second gate. Before their reunion could start, Vel ushered them inside the house. After a round of hugs from the girls, the 7 of them sat in the main den.

“Where’s Goob?”

Clammy and Celenia both turned red.

“He and Mel uhh are together now? He also joined her team.” Reep answered. “I took too long in asking him to join. I am deeply sorry.”

“Reep, we've talked about this. You don’t have to apologize like that.” Max said, causing Clammy to nod in agreement. “And it's not that big of a deal. We can always find other members.”

The conversation started to lull, causing Clammy to speak up.

“So. What is all of this about?” she said, gesturing in the direction of the bridge.

“It is a long story. One I do not know the details of.” Vel said calmly. “But someone does.”

Vel’s gaze made Max shiver. Max slowly exhaled. He began the story about his adventures in the forest with Vel and Domic. He showed the group his new Space Skip spell and got a mixed reaction between his peers.

Clammy was in awe. Reep had her calculating face on, probably already thinking of ways Max’s new ability could be implemented in team strategy. Icarus smiled and mentioned something about “Coming into your own”. Celenia, on the other hand, had the wildest reaction.

“YOU lied to him about the number of Ogres? AND he almost died? IF not for making a Space spell on instinct?” Vel nodded solemnly. “Some fucking teachers.”

“When you put it like that…” Max started.

“Oh no. We have already had this argument. Yes, I fucked up. I can admit it now. Sorry. Move on.”

Max accepted that. Last time they had argued about this, it ended with Max walking out. It must have been weighing on her. Max thought.

Max continued his story. Next was the Unicorn and the quest. As soon as Max mentioned the Legendary Beast, Icarus dimmed. Max showed them the quest and held a vote. Reep and Clammy both voted in favor of taking the quest, just like Max thought would happen. Before the conversation could be sidetracked by discussion of travels and quests, Vel interrupted. She continued the story by arriving through the gate and heading to the Church. At this point Max had to fill in the blanks.

“I waited for a long time for Head Priestess Burk to show up. After a short introduction, she began to Scan me. I found out after the fact that her first scan didn’t work, and she opted to try something stronger. She used a Divine Scan, whatever that means. I could feel it scanning me, it was wrong, like a storm was being kicked up in my being. I had to meditate to try and control the damage.”

“She used a Divine Scan?” Icarus asked. “Without permission? How are you still conscious?”

“It just stopped. Abruptly.” Max decided not to mention Tiodepth in front of the group. “And when I woke from my meditation, Vel and Wop were in the middle of a fight. Emi was unconscious, she had a large hole in her torso that was being healed by Vel, and Burk was unconscious. She was also being healed by Vel.”

As the eyes of the room turned to Vel, she took her que.

“Wop and I were waiting for Max and Burk to finish. It was taking quite a while, but that seems to be a theme with Burk. Suddenly an unfathomably dense power erupted from the room Max was in.” She thought for a moment, gathering her thoughts.

“Wop and I rushed past the guards and Shatterwind. Wop walled off the doorway, just after I made it though. I had to keep dodging his stones as we ran. Emi got in the way protecting Max. She saved his life. I wouldn’t have made it intime, if not for her drawing the first blow.”

Max held the still unconscious Emi a little bit tighter.

“Max woke up after a few more minutes.”

Max began to finish the story, but Vel cut him off.

“It ended with Burk waking up, and clearing Max. We left before she could tell Shatterwind. That's why I said for Icarus to be on alert.”

Max realized that Vel was trying to hide the whole Aura and Ofes situation.

“That is…well...” For the first time since Max had met Icarus, he was speechless.

“I don’t understand. What was this unfathomable power?” Reep asked.

“That is, a question better left unanswered. Especially since it happened in the Church.” Vel’s cryptic statement left the others in varying states of conclusion.

The room was silent for a few minutes before Max suddenly declared he was hungry and left to the kitchen. Reep offered to make him something, but he declined. Celenia tried to follow, but Clammy blocked her path.

“I think he wants a minute alone.”

She was right. Max hadn't had a minute alone since the battle at the Church happened. He stood alone in the kitchen; Emi was floating in a small glob of water in front of him. Max hadn’t felt like he did today since the Denny. Anger and turmoil rushed through Max’s mind.

Emi got hurt protecting me. She would have died if not for Vel. I-I would have died if not for Emi.

Max cried silent tears. Emi was hurt, and his inner being was searched and defiled. Max decided at this moment that this kind of situation would not happen again. He would never be taken advantage of by someone again. It has happened three times in the past few days. First with Nix and the book, then with Vel and the Ogres, now Burk and the scan.

If Max was going to live in this world, he needed to be stronger. Now that he could manipulate Space, he had a few ideas, but most of them wouldn’t be possible until he gained his second class. Max made a mental list of what he needed to do.

Get to level 10.

Level Emi up.

Level Reep and Clammy up.

Raise Manipulate Water level.

Space Spells.

It was a simple list. But it was an important list.

Max took the next few minutes going over what happened in the Burk’s office. Max now knew the location of his aura within his inner self. He remembered exactly where the protected area was, and he would investigate the next chance he got. Next Max thought about how he controlled his Aura to crush Wop. Max remembered very well trying to kill Wop, and in turn trying to crush Vel. Max remembered it all, but he also felt like he wasn’t in control.

Whatever this Divine Aura does to me, I have to be careful. I can’t get that angry again. Not without proper training.

Max also remembered controlling Vel’s water before it turned black. He glanced at Emi.

Just how strong is she going to be, if she and I can out control an [Water Arch Mage]? Max wished he had answers, a lot of his problems could be solved from just a few answers.

Max went back to the others. They were mid conversation with Vel about their newest quest.

“-that means I will be coming with you.”

“Good.” Clammy and Reep said simultaneously.

Vel rolled her eyes, remembering Max’s reply to her deciding to go.

“Well, boy?” Vel said, turning her attention to Max.

Max didn’t know how she knew he wanted to say something, but he accepted it, nonetheless.

“First, I want to apologize to you, Vel. I think you know what I’m talking about.” Max waited for her to nod in acknowledgement, but instead she spoke.

“I wouldn’t be a good teacher if I couldn't handle one of my students trying to kill me.”

Every eye whipped to Max.

“Now just wait a minute! I wasn’t trying to kill you, I just wanted you to drop the shield on Wop.”

Vel took a minute to read the room. “We will talk about it later. In private.”

“Great, now everyone thinks I'm a psychopath.”

“A what?” Clammy asked.

“A psycho- never mind. Forget I ever said anything.” Max shook his head and decided that he should move along. “We need to get stronger. During my brief altercation with Wop, I could see just how far we are from the rest.”

Reep and Clammy looked at each other. They both nodded in agreement. Reep turned to Vel.

“Do you think Mister Bishop would travel to Esmel with us?”

Vel’s eyes widened, and she jumped up from her seat. “BISHOP IS HERE AND YOU DIDN’T TELL ME?” Vel shouted at the Light Owl.

“Oh... Right... I forgot...”

“You forgot?”

“Well, with everything that happened tonight…”

“Uh sorry, who is Bishop? And why do you look afraid of him?” Max asked.

“Bishop is one of Veline and Lester’s old team members. He’s the one Veline asked to train Reep. They have… Similar capabilities after all.” The Owl regarded the old woman before adding, “Bishop has a… Personality that does not mesh well with Veline’s.”

“Understatement of the century.” A voice said coming from the hallway.

A Drake entered the room. His skin was a dark blue green, it changed depending on the angle light hit. He wore the most “casual” clothing Max had seen. Brown shorts with this world's equivalent to a tan T-shirt. The most notable member of his clothing were his flip-flops.

I have to ask where he got those! Max thought.

The Drake had no hair other than a dark green beard. The beard made him look much older than other Drakes Max had seen. Granted that he was a part of Lester and Vel’s team, he probably was old. Last thing to note about the man was his wooden toothpick he had sticking from his mouth.

“Bishop!” Vel said in surprise.

“Surprise!” The Drake said.

A bolt of water suddenly slammed into the Drakes face. As the water slowly dripped down, Max could see that the man still had his smile. If anything, it had gotten larger.

“It's good to see you again Vel.”

“Wh-when did you get here?” Vel asked, flustered.

“The afternoon you left to destroy a Book of Pestilence?” He spoke. “I thought those guys were destroyed.”

“It was Nix.” Vel said.

“Shit.”

“Indeed.”

Max took this break in the conversation to introduce himself. He walked up to Bishop and stuck his hand out, for a handshake.

“Hello, I am Max, a Lost One.”

Bishop regarded Max. He looked between Max’s eyes and his hand; a great smile appeared on his face. He gripped Max’s hand and gave it a great ol’ shake.

“Well met Lost Lord.” Bishop said enthusiastically. “I haven't had the pleasure of shaking someone’s hand since the last time I saw Lester. I say, some of the ideas your and Lester’s world has are great!”

Bishop made a gesture at his flip-flops, making Max smile.

“I was going to ask where you got them. I very much would like a pair!”

“Custom made by a master [Leatherworker] in Salae. Cost me a pretty penny if I’m being honest.”

Max smiled at the Earthen Phrase.

“Great, now Bishop has another Earthen friend. Kill me now...” Vel said.

Bishop’s eyes narrowed at Vel. “You are just jealous that I was Lester’s best friend. And not you, his wife.” Bishop let out a deep laugh.

Clammy and Reep’s eyes widened at the mention of Vel being Lester's wife. Max could only smile, already understanding that Bishop’s more laid-back attitude clashed with Vel’s more militant approach.

“Oh no! We are not bringing this argument back up.” Icarus interjected. “It has been the exact same for two hundred years, and I don’t want to hear it again.”

Both Bishop and Vel suddenly looked embarrassed. Max couldn’t help but chuckle at the thought of Icarus being the parent in their team.

“I take it you are the teacher Vel mentioned, for Reep?” Max asked Bishop.

“Indeed.” Bishop replied, glad to move on with the conversation. “We have a similar combination of classes.”

“Oh? You have lightning and archery classes?”

“Lightning, yes. Archery no, well sort of. I am what is called a [Weapons Master].” He said proudly. “It is a Epic tier one class that evolves into incredible classes later on. I specialized in creating lightning constructs of whatever weapon I deem best for the situation.”

“Oh wow! That sounds awesome.”

“Indeed.” Bishop couldn't help but revel in Max’s praise.

“Max and Clammy both are Epic tier one’s also.” Vel said, bursting Bishop’s bubble.

“WHAT?!” He jumped from his chair. “Please tell me about your classes! I am sort of a class snob. I find information like this very interesting!”

Max looked to Vel and received a confirmation nod.

“My class is [Tidal Mage] if was unlocked by knowing a gravity spell and water -”

The next hour or so was Max and Clammy explaining their classes to Bishop. After Clammy mentioned that Max was the one who taught her a Gravity Spell, Bishop pleaded with Max to teach him. Max agreed, but in return he wanted a pair of flip-flops. Bishop instantly took the deal, and Max couldn't help but feel he could have gotten more.

A little while later Max took Emi and went to bed. She still hadn’t woken up, but she was breathing easy. Through their bond, Max could feel that she was back to perfect health.

Max woke to a wet lick. Looks like you’ll all better! Max said to Emi through their bond link. Emi responded by her equivalent of flexing her arm muscles. “I take it you agree!” Max said aloud. Max got the feeling of substantial hunger.

“Alright, let's go to the kitchen.” Max stood and dressed himself. “By the way, you should thank Vel for saving your life, as well as Goddess Ofes for speeding up your recovery.”

Emi twisted her head, not understanding. “Oh right.” Max spent the next few minutes relaying his memories. At the end of it, Emi floated herself to Max’s shoulder. She gave him a gentle and reassuring headbutt. Max couldn't help but smile.

“I know, I know. But when I saw you almost dead, I had to do something.”

Emi only glared.

“Don’t look at me like that! You would have done the same thing if I was the hurt one.”

She only glared harder.

“Anywhoo.” Max left for the kitchen. “We need to level you up. I’m not sure what happens as you level, but I think it will be well worth it.”

The way Max understood it was that unless a God or Goddess gives Emi’s race their blessing, she wouldn’t get the same system Max had. She had an abridged version that relied on the creature's natural instinct to dictate what stats they wanted to improve. Max assumed that intellect and wisdom would be where her stats went.

Max and Emi were up earlier than they normally would be, due to Emi’s hunger. Thus no food was made, Max decided he would make breakfast for everyone. He started making latkes, a potato pancake. Max had found that Emi would try any food put in front of her, but her favorite was raw fish.

The first person awake was Bishop. He entered the kitchen sniffing the air. His eyes were dilated, and his scales almost seemed to shine.

“Ar-are those latkes?”

“Uhh yeah? Did Lester make them before?”

“Yes, yes yes! Lester made them all the time! Once he found potatoes, he made all sorts of food with them. Baked, mashed, twice baked… Do… do you know how to make frenchy fries?”

Max noticed his hesitation on the word potato.

Islop Root.

Huh. I like potato better. Max thought. “Yeah, I can make French fries. It's pretty easy, do you want me to teach you?”

A wild grin sprouted on Bishop's face. “That would be wonderful! Lester never taught me how to make food from your world. “You would ruin the memory”, he would say.”

Max chuckled a little.

“I see. Well for French fries, you cut the potato into strips and fry them in oil or lard. If the fat is too hot, they will burn so be careful.”

For the next several minutes they talked about different foods Bishop wanted to know how to make. Their conversation was interrupted when Emi floated on top of the table they were sitting at. She had finished hunting and eating her meal. Raw meat was hard to keep in the house, even with this world's equivalent to a refrigerator. Emi took it upon herself to always get her meals fresh, so she would hunt in the river.

“Well, hello there, little one. I’m Bishop. I saw that you were hurt last night, are you feeling better?”

Emi nodded her head.

“Oh? You understand my words?” Bishop was honestly confused.

“Oh, Emi is my bond. She’s practically a newborn, but I was under the impression that she will be able to talk once she grows.”

“Your bond? Newborn?” Bishop was flabbergasted. “I thought she was just a familiar.”

“Nope.” Max said, scratching Emi’s back. “I don’t know her race, but as soon as she was born, she initiated our bond.”

“She initiated?” He shook his head. “What the hells. Epic class, another worldly knowledge, and a newborn bond? Kid, how lucky can you be?”

“Do you consider being randomly ripped from my world lucky?” Max said with a slight bite. “Because I don’t.”

“Ah. I didn't mean it like that. What happened to you is certainly not lucky.” Bishop bowed his head. “I apologize for my words.”

“No no. I’m sorry. What happened to me sucks. But it’s about time I accept that it happened. I can’t change it, at least not yet.”

Bishop smiled and leaned into scratch Emi’s neck. He seemed to understand Max’s position better than most.

“You said you don’t know what she is? Could she be a Dragon? More specifically a Water Dragon?”

“Dragon? Not sure, wouldn’t you be the Dragon expert?”

The room went cold. “What is that supposed to mean?” Bishop’s eyes turned to slits.

“I-I uhh. I-”

“I’m just messing with you.” Bishop bellowed. His laughter seemed to warm up the room. “I got Lester with that one too!”

Max smiled, besides himself in relief.

“But no. I’ve never met a Dragon. They mostly hide in their humanoid forms if they need to visit a populated area. Otherwise, they are in their caves or havens.”

“I see. Would one of the Legendary Beasts bow to a Dragon?”

“Bow you say?” Bishop had heard Max’s tale of the Unicorn the night prior, even though he was not in the room. Bishop held the same feelings of contempt as Vel and Icarus towards the Legendary Beasts.

“I wouldn't think so.” He finally said after a few moments of hesitation. “I’m surprised you even held a conversation with one. Normally if they need to give a quest out, they just appear and send the quest. There's no discussion, just a box. I take it the Unicorn was the one who mentioned Emi being able to speak?”

“Correct. She said something along the lines of, “Oh she’s not old enough to speak? Well, we will converse through you.” I don’t think I would have been able to speak otherwise.”

“Tell me Max. During your conversation with the Unicorn, did it not occur to you to, I don’t know, ASK what Emi is?”

Max opened and closed his mouth a few times. He looked to Emi for support. She looked away in embarrassment. Seems she forgot also.

“I’ll take that as a no.”

Minutes of awkward silence filled the room, as the two men ate their pancakes. Max had remembered how to make sour cream, a popular condiment for latkes. It was rather simple, just lemon juice, cream, and milk. Max had spent the first few days scouring the market for ingredients he recognized. He also made a few he couldn’t find.

“Sooo. How’s Reep’s training going?” Max asked, trying to fill the conversation void.

“That girl is a genius.” He said with a prideful look. “I understand her background is… less than savory, but that doesn’t seem to be stopping her. I’ve been teaching her to make lightning constructs. She has moved along faster than others I have taught previously.”

“What about Clammy?”

“I taught her some war hammer techniques. She is definitely slower at learning than Reep, but she is too arrogant to give up.” He shook his head. “Her biggest issue is her timidness. She can easily figure out a way to win a bout after the fact, but her thought process seems to freeze up during that fight.”

Max nodded along. He honestly hadn't seen that in her, but he was also not a combat veteran.

“The girls are progressing very well for their level and experience. What I’m more interested in is you.” Bishop’s eyes for a brief second turned to slits.

“Me?”

“Of course. You somehow grabbed Veline, The Shadow Deluge, as a teacher.”

“Well. I am a Lost One. AND I learned Fisherman’s Friend on the first try.”

Bishop laughed.

“Don’t worry, I will see what really makes you special in Esmel.” He said with a great grin.

“So, you're coming?”

“Of course! I have some new students, and I don’t have anything else going on.”