I woke up the day after learning to breathe properly, with the dawn – it was earlier than I would have liked, the stress of the day before having taken a toll on me. I was not however given much of a choice. The birds populating my new planet were loud – really, really loud, which was in large part due to their freakish size. I saw a rainbow coloured starling the size of a Great Dane flitting from tree to tree and it woke me up fast.

There was also something digging into my side – it was a boot, and it belonged to Walker. Thinking it unwise to ask him to move it, given the fact that he was obviously trying to wake me up, I gave in and sat up, stretching – making sure to Experience it fully in the moment.

I had had some trouble with the whole, “Experience” situation – I came from a world of hard science and even harder cynicism, but it was like a sugar high that never betrayed you and that was hard to argue with.

“I’m up, I’m up.” I looked up at the walking blender that I was hoping to call my teacher, shielding my freshly opened eyes from the bright light of the cresting sun.

“It has been a long time since last I slept - to see a grown man sleep as long as an Unfocused child is strange indeed. It seems like such a waste. Come, boy. I have business in the city.”

“Uh, sure, but I’ll need a few minutes first to... do something... secret. And I don’t suppose you have some spare clothes? I am sort of naked.” In that moment I regretted my choice of abilities – had I gone with my green picks, I would have received Soul Constructs, enabling me to form a robe and armour, instead of having to ask a man I was already in the hole with to clothe me.

He looked at me confused for a second, his jet-black eyebrows bunched together above his blindfold.

“Why... are you naked? And whatever you need to do, you best tell me now – my senses stretch too far for secrecy.”

Well, that was not the best news I could have hoped for – I guessed his senses did not include sight, but he seemed to do well enough without.

“I arrived like this – the... ugh, person... who sent me didn’t give me chance to ask for clothes, I honestly thought they’d provide some at the same time they sent me, but I guess it was never part of the deal... And I need to, ugh, piss. That’s the secret thing.” The expression on Walker’s face changed slightly, his whole head pulling away from me slightly.

“You... really are childlike. We will need to accelerate your cultivation, there will be few places to do... that... in Everwood.” He held up his hand and a swathe of black cloth appeared in his hand. “You will need to make better deals when you are an adult, boy.” He tossed me the stretch of fabric and I examined it. A simple robe of black linen, fit to Walker’s frame, which meant that while it fit about my shoulders, there were more than a few inches brushing the ground.

I quickly put the garment on, and did my best to hitch it up before tying the belt, and while it was certainly better than being naked, I was sure I would look like a kid in his father’s clothes.

A few minutes later, after taking care of my apparently childlike needs, I went looking for water, as I was suddenly incredibly thirsty. I could hear the faint sounds of water on rocks underneath all the birds and followed it to a brook, the bed of which was mostly small green stones. Hesitating only for a second, fearing dehydration more than bacteria by then, I drank deeply before wringing my beard out.

My thirst sated for the moment, I called for my quest tablet, thingy. I spoke Xiournal’s name in a whisper, and there it was, as disconcertingly stationary as before.

Assignment Received... Difficulty E-… Time Limit: 13 days, 3 hours, 48 minutes.

Make your way into Everwood City, locate the creator of the Grand Harvest Body Refining Pill and ensure another cannot be created.

Good Luck, Alex. Make me look good.

Bonus Reward: Do Not Kill the creator, or allow his death within the Time Limit.

There was something off about the time limit – I was sure it had said 15 days the last time I saw it, and that was just under a day ago, right? I waved the stationary rectangle away, finished what I was doing and hurried back to Walker.

“Sir – weird question: How long since I met you?”

“Almost 2 days, which is why I would like to get in to the city – I'm late to a meeting.”

His voice was calm, and in contradiction to his words, he did not seem to be in a rush. I, on the other hand, was dumbfounded. I had always been a heavy sleeper, but I had never missed days.

“Almost 2 days? You seem like a really nice guy, but you should have woken me up sooner, sir. You didn’t need to let me put you out like that.”

“You required time to integrate the Experience I gifted you – it was an abnormal quantity for somebody of your level and required your body’s entire attention.” That made me feel better, a little. At least I would not be sleeping 36 hours for every hour awake. It also meant I could not risk any more huge-ass energy buffs, at least before I got this job squared away.

“Come, boy. And remember to cultivate as we walk – the sooner we can get you out of childhood the better.”

“You know, you can call me by my name. If you want to.” I breathed in an out as we walked, feeling the air flow through me, and the warmth of the sun on my face, the chill of the damp grass under my feet, revelling in the Experience – and the energy rolling through me.

“I cannot call you by your name, boy, as you have not given it.” I blinked and looked at him, going back over our meeting. He was right - I had never given my name, although I gave myself some slack, given the events surrounding that meeting.

“You’re right – and I’m sorry – things have been moving a little faster than I’m used to. My name is Alex Hunter. That’s not a weird name here, is it?”

“Greetings, Hunter. My name is... you may call me Walker. And your name is no stranger than the next – the world is wide and time is deep, room enough for most names.” I almost corrected him on my name, but decided to go with it – Hunter sounded more fantasyish anyway.

*

***

*

I had seen the city walls from my hill when I first arrived, and they had seemed huge even from that distance – enough room to fit a few hundred thousand troops as I had seen – but close up, I was astonished. They had to stand at least a hundred feet high, lacquered in emerald green and golden brown. A gate yawned wide in front of us, 40 feet wide and 50 high, with a line of carts and people stretching along a perfectly even paved stone road leading out of it and into the distance.

Walker, of course, ignored the line. I felt bad for the people waiting, but they did not seem to mind – some of them even going so far as to bow to us – or to Walker at least. All the people I could see were dressed in bright clothing – vibrant colours interposed with whites and browns, and in every style imaginable. It was all much richer than what I would have expected from peasantry, even in a fantasy setting like this.

Some of the people we passed wore armour – some in simple layered cloth and others in glittering mail. They watched with a little more tension in their bodies, which I found oddly irritating – had Walker not saved the city yesterday? Walker simply walked on as if unaware, though I suppose for somebody capable of wiping out an army in moments, a few guards or soldiers were of little threat or interest.

We passed through the entrance without issue – I gave out a few awkward walking bows as the guards all bent as one to my seemingly oblivious mentor. The tunnel of the gate was lit with floating balls of soft yellow light for the entirety of its 30-foot length, and I could see multiple portcullises ready above us, each separated by parallel rows of murder holes – as well as the thick doors at either end.

“I guess you have to take defence seriously around here...” I spoke under my breath as I glanced around, but Walker caught it.

“Indeed. It matters not how peaceful a city may wish to be – to ignore defence is to invite offense. The wise prepare.” That made sense to me, and I decided to ask Walker to teach me to fight as well as cultivate – I would hate to catch up to my age in power only to find out everyone here was also born a blackbelt.

“I know you’re already being super helpful, Sir – Walker – but is there any chance you could give me some fighting pointers? When you have a spare moment? I’m eager to be less of a burdern...”

“That seems to be a good idea, Hunter. The Experience will aid you in your advancement, as well as making you less... clumsy.” I was pretty clumsy – despite a couple of hours practicing in space, I was still not totally used to my new body and had stumbled over nothing many times on our approach to the city.

“I will leave you with a friend while I attend to my meeting – you can begin today. Her students are mostly children, so you should not be too far outmatched, in practice.” I decided then, that if I ever made it to the point where I could meet Xiournal again, I would have some serious words with her about the whole, “no information” policy they had going. I wondered how this was all supposed to work, if every agent came down here as apparently helpless as I was.

We made our way through the streets, and I gazed about in wonder – the buildings were all beautiful, crafted of stone and wood, all carved with art and finesse, and the people matched them. I had not paid too much attention to faces and such on our way in, but here on the streets, surrounded by people it was hard not to. Every person I saw was gorgeous – clear skinned and healthy, universally graceful and –

“Holy shit, that smells good.” I turned my nose to catch the scent that caught my nose – it was meaty and sweet and spicy and it made my stomach rumble audibly.

My teacher came to an abrupt stop in the street, head turned in my direction, surprise written large on his dark face.

“It has been a long time since my own childhood, but I recall that sound. You need to eat?” He sounded uncertain, and the way he had phrased it made me suspect that perhaps he did not need to eat – that adults on this world did not need to eat at all, as crazy as that sounded.

“Ugh, I do... do you not? Eat, I mean?” he began walking, this time in the direction from which I had caught that delicious smell.

“No. Once a Focus is formed, an adult’s body draws its energy directly from Experience. We eat only for pleasure. It is... disconcerting to hear such a sound from an adult. Like seeing a warrior in swaddling clothes.” He honestly seemed a little creeped out, but I tried to imagine what it would be like meeting an adult on my world drinking from a milk bottle with a nipple on the end and thought I could probably see where he was coming from, as strange as it seemed to me that the majority of people on a world did not eat.

I followed Walker to a large windowed carriage to one side of the street, painted in reds and browns in contrast to the city around us, it was the source of the scent. Within the window stood a skinny old man in robes to match the carriage, and the sort of facial hair I was used to seeing on the old, wise men that populated martial arts movies. Before my rebirth on this world, with my awesome new beard, I would have been jealous of the long flowing fall of hair he wore.

My mentor spoke to the old man for a few moments, before Walker handed over a small, faintly glowing coin and took back two paper bowls filled with steaming meat and vegetables, as well as two sets of chopsticks.

Handing one of the bowls to me, as along with a set of chopsticks, Walker moved to stand to the side of the carriage.

“Eat and make sure to savour – to truly Experience – each bite.” I began to eat – slowly getting used to my new hands, and making sure to Experience each bite fully. This was easy, as it was without a doubt the best tasting food I had ever had the pleasure of enjoying.

I had no idea what the meat was, or what the vegetables were, or even what they were spiced with, but if this was the standard for street food, then regardless of whether I was eventually able to stop eating, I would not be stopping. Ever. And if that made me strange, well, more for me.

“Once we are finished in the city, I will take you hunting. An adult should be able to buy their own food – though you may need more than most for a time.” I swallowed a mouthful of the delicious mystery and nodded to him. I already owed my teacher a lot – for starting what was surely the long process of helping me not suck at life, for taking me with him, clothing me. And now, him feeding me. I knew I would have to work hard to pay him back for his kindness. And the money. I did however still have to try my best to complete my task, for whichever god had requested it. I’m sure I remembered Xiournal mentioning killing me...

“Thank you! I’d really appreciate it. While I’m here though, I do have something I need to do...”

“That seems strange, for somebody from such a great distance from here.”

“It’s kind of why I was sent here, it’s hard to explain. There’s apparently something here called the Grand Harvest Body Refining Pill – I’m supposed to find out who made it, and convince them not to make any more... and to prevent their death.” I said it as matter-of-factly – and as quietly - as I could to both try to soften the weird-factor of it all and to hopefully stop people overhearing, but I was not sure I managed the former.

Walker’s voice was low and quiet as he leaned in close to me.

“That pill is why the Sect of the Living Flame came to this city – it is intriguing that it is also what brought you. It is a work of genius, certainly but I had not thought news of its existence had spread that far. That is grim news – it represents too much power in the wrong hands – I had assumed the ingredients rare enough that there would only be one, but your words bring me doubt. Once I am through with my meeting, the two of us will pay the alchemist in question a visit. Come, Hunter.”

*

***

*

If you have never tried to follow somebody topping 7 feet with superhuman strength when they are in a rush, let me tell you, it is not easy. Having to spring into a jog to keep up, I followed him to the base of one of the myriad towers I knew to ascend from the city, and to a large round structure that looked like a miniature colosseum. Above the wide door, hung a wooden sign, lacquered black with gold writing accented with green – it read, “The Steel Splinter – Basic Training”

“This place is owned and operated by an old friend of mine – she is an excellent fighter and a better teacher. You’ll be staying here until I return – do not leave, it is dangerous for one so weak to roam freely about a city.”

“If she’s such excellent fighter, why does she only provide basic training?” The words came out of my mouth before I had time to edit them for shittyness, and I almost stopped moving when I realised what I had said. Not only was it insulting to my soon-to-be teacher, but it risked annoying the fantasy equivalent of a nuclear warhead walking beside me.

“Sorry, Walker, I don’t know why I said that.”

“A person's fighting style will change dramatically as they move between the Focus, Core, Path, Foundation and Pinnacle stages. How would you teach a child to use abilities they do not yet possess?” Walker didn’t seem to have taken offense, for which I was glad, but I knew I would be paying closer attention to my words for a while.

What he had said made sense – if abilities ranged as far apart as fireballs and sword swarms, and there was no way to predict what somebody would end up with, it would be impossible to teach somebody anything beyond the basics, although I had to wonder what basics looked like in a world where the children were multiple times stronger and faster than the strongest humans of my home.

We walked through deep shade for a moment as we passed through the door and the short stone tunnel, before it opened up once more to reveal a vast sand covered arena surrounded by stone and wooden paving, with racks of practice weapons along each side, all open to the endless blue sky.

Within the sand circle maybe 300 children - verging from maybe 9 years to 18 years - either moved together in sync or fought in a clearly controlled manner . Some had empty hands while others wielded an impressive array of wooden weapons. One of the older girls was moving from stance to stance with a line of water flowing about her.

I noticed a woman – older than the kids around her by only a few years, at least on the surface – glance our way before breaking into a run. She wore her blond hair short around her ears, and a sky-blue kimono jacket synched tight around her waist with what looked like a long chain with heavy weights on either end, along with matching pants and no shoes. The fighting instructor – whom I assumed this was – was beautiful, like literally everyone else I had seen since my arrival.

“Walker! It’s been years!” Her voice was melodic, with a slight sing-song accent, each word running liltingly into the next.

I expected her to stop before she reached us, but she threw herself bodily on to Walker’s imposing frame, the jump effortlessly allowing her arms to wrap around his neck as she pulled herself into a tight embrace.

“Hello, Aella. It is good to see you again.” One dark arm rose up to cradle about her waist, and his growling voice found a touch of warmth I had not yet heard from him.

After a long moment, Aella released Walker’s neck and dropped back to the sand, hopping back a couple of steps, hands on hips.

“I heard you took care of the Sect of the Dripping Fear - or whoever they were - for us, but I expected you to come and see me earlier! It’s been days.” Pouting prettily, she looked up from underneath her long eyelashes at my mentor, and for the first time I got a good look at her eyes – they were pink – solid pink, with no sclera or pupil. It was freaky, but not unattractive.

“You have my sincere apologies, Aella – I met this boy outside the walls. I thought him Nadir and sought to question why he wandered so far from Sanctuary, but as it turns out, he was – apparently – intentionally crippled. I was hoping you could show him some basics while I ran an errand? Perhaps you can burn some of the clumsy out of him...”

Intentionally crippled was a bit harsh, I thought, but it was a better – and more sympathetic – explanation than being from another plane of existence.

“Nice to meet you, ma’am. I’m Hunter.”

“Wow, you are just as weak as my youngest! How cruel! I’ll give you some pointers, as long as Walker doesn’t stand me up for much longer...” She winked at me, and a reaction like I had not had in decades came crashing through me, suddenly aware that Aella was not just beautiful, in the way everyone here was, but was really, really, really attractive.

“I’m still pretty strong! Maybe you’ll be surprised.” I knew it was dumb as I said it – I knew that I was way behind where I would need to be to fight on par here, and despite trying to be on the lookout for further verbal stupidity, there I was again.

“Haha, that’s the spirit I expect from youngsters! Children never really learn until that’s been beaten out of them.” The voice which had until now been so warm, turned suddenly cold and for just a second, I wanted to run away.

“Aella, leave the boy alone. He is from far from here and has but the barest understanding of his inadequacy. I will return in a few hours and you and I can go for a... drink. Hunter, we will attend to our other business tomorrow.” I did not mind the delay – that would still leave me with plenty of time, provided the alchemist was not murdered in the meantime, although it did occur to me that that may fulfil the main part of my task, if not the bonus...

“Fine! Come on, Hunter. I’ll pair you with somebody of your... I’ll pair you with somebody so I can assess where you stand. And I’ll see you later, Walker.” There was some clear subtext between my two teachers and I had to grin, despite the continuous reference to how much I sucked. I really needed to get my shit together.

Without another word, Walker turned and rapidly left the arena, his long stride carrying him out in moments.

Aella gestured for me to follow as she walked back across the sand, and it was hard to keep myself on task, because her pants were very well fitted. I once again had to wonder what was wrong with me, I needed to focus on my cultivation, but instead I was acting like an idiot teenager.

“Oh shit.” I spoke under my breath, and began to sweat as it hit me – I was young again, and while my body was not that of a teenager, the hormonal difference between it and my old body was huge, and this body was alien – I had no idea what crazy chemicals were flowing through me. I was – effectively – a teenager again.

Before I had time to unpack all the implications of that, Aella and I arrived at one of the scattered groups, composed of maybe 10 youngsters, the youngest of which looked like a small 9-year-old. I had an uncomfortable feeling I was about to take a beating from him.

“Students, this is Hunter. Fou Shei, you’ll be assisting me in establishing his baseline.”

I had been right, it seemed - the 9-year-old looked me up and down, scorn clear on his tiny punchable face.

“I will be fighting this homeless cripple? I, Fou Shei of the Unceasing Squall clan? This is an insult to my family, Teacher!”

“He doesn’t look like a cripple to me...” The voice came from one of the older teenagers, a young brunette that looked to be maybe 18 and wearing a kimono jacket only slightly longer than Aella, but without the pants. I liked her. “... He has too much Experience in him. Just an idiot maybe? It would explain the robe.” The other kids tittered and the girl grinned.

“Wow, you guys are real brats. Maybe you should keep your mouths shut until you learn to be polite?” My good opinion had not lasted, and my stupid new body replied before my better wisdom could temper my response, a surge of aggression causing me to growl.

“You would dare insult my sister, cripple? Teacher, I will fight him. I will avenge this dishonour!” I saw Aella behind the two now, rolling her eyes at us.

“Yes, yes, fine, whatever. As long as I get a baseline. Don’t kill him, Fou Shei, he is a disciple of the Infinite Blades.” Calling me Walker’s disciple was probably a bit much but it made my chest puff up a bit and I made sure to savour the shock on the little asshole’s face, gulping down the Experience.

The other kids spread out into a loose circle around us and Fou Shei and I moved to stand a little apart. My heart was pounding, despite our vast size disparity, and I knew that even though he could not kill me, he was going to do his best to kick the crap out of me.

I tried to drop into an approximation of a fighting stance, based on long years of watching other people fight, but as I took my eyes off my opponent to check my footing, my instincts screamed. Jerking my head back, I avoided the heel of his foot by the slimmest of margins – I could actually feel the end of my nose scrape against the skin of his foot.

I did not have time to think too much about how close it had been, however, as my opponent was already twisting to bring his other foot to bear. I dodged desperately, the next few moments a flurry of feet aimed directly at my face, able to stay ahead of them only because I was reacting before the kicks. My earlier desire for a different ability set fled in the face of the assault, and I began to think I could - perhaps not win this fight – but maybe I could at least get my own licks in. I just had to look for an opening.

My pre-teen nemesis was accelerating, and I knew that even with danger sense I would not be able to dodge soon, so I held up an arm to intercept this next kick, hoping to interrupt his momentum enough to land at least one blow, but as I shifted my weight to do so, I slipped on the loose sand, dropping under the kick and onto my back.

“That’s enough, I have a baseline.” The foot came from above me in an axe kick that I am certain would have shattered my skull, but at Aella’s command, the foot stopped dead, less than an inch from my face.

“You did well, for somebody with your limitation, Hunter. At least until you tried that block – you're lucky you fell when you did, if you had taken that blow on your arm you may have lost it. Fou Shei, that last kick was a killing blow and I told you to keep him alive – 500 laps, go.”

The little shit glared at me, red-faced like it was my fault he had to run laps, and I knew that this probably was not the last time he would accidentally try to kill me.