We continue the standoff for a while, until the shocked Neil and Sarah finally speak up.

"They saved our lives!" "Yeah, they found us!"

Their mom doesn't seem convinced.

"What of that magical beast? Magical beasts are unpredictable, especially ones as strong as that! I don't want it anywhere near my children!" she shouts at Mama Bloodcat while pointing at me.

Mama frowns and stands up, "I understand that you only worry for the safety of your children, but I can assure you that my daughter will do nothing to harm them."

"Daughter?! Just wait until your 'daughter' kills you in your sleep, then maybe you'll realize how dangerous magical beasts are! Please leave, and take your 'daughter' with you!" she says as she points at the doorway.

'Ah, it kinda hurts being told that to my face.'

I get the distinct feeling that I'm no longer wanted here, so I stand up and jump off of the couch on my own volition. Before I leave, I turn back and wave at the kids. Seeing them wave back brightens my mood a bit as I smile and head outside.

"I am sorry."

At some point on the path leading back to the street, I hear Mama's voice.

"Haha, don't apologize if there's nothing to apologize for, right?"

Mama laughs, "Yes, I hate when people do that, I just suddenly felt the urge to say sorry."

"It's ok Mama, she probably just acted that way because she had a traumatic experience or something."

"What is 'traumatic'?"

"Traumatic is like when you have a really bad experience with something, then whenever you see that thing again, you usually get really upset."

Mama nods her head, "Was that experience traumatic?" she asks as she points back at the mansion.

"No, not really, it just makes me sad."

"I see... then, is there anything that will make you happy again?"

"Hmm... this place, didn't Neil call it Orion City? We should explore it!"

Mama picks me up and perches me on her shoulders, "That sounds like a great idea, let us do that!"

As we continue through the high-class residential district, I start noticing something odd. All of the grass is perfectly green. And it's not just the grass, now that I think about it, I can't remember ever seeing a shriveled up, dry plant since coming to this world. Paradoxically, I've also never seen a single cloud in the sky; I've never once seen rain.

"Mama, where does water come from?"

"Water comes from the sky and from the ground."

"But I've never seen it rain."

"What is 'rain'?"

"It's water that falls from clouds."

"What are 'clouds'?"

"A cloud is... wait, have you never seen a cloud? It's a big puffy white thing in the sky that drops water."

Mama thinks for a minute.

"Are you sure you are not thinking of birds? That may not have been water..."

"No! I mean, I've never seen water come from the sky or the ground?"

"I have only seen it happen in certain areas, mostly near mountains or hills."

"Then why are all of the plants green? How are they getting water?"

She looks at me confusedly, "Not all plants are green, some are yellow or red or-"

I interrupt, "No, I mean-"

Mama counter-interrupts, "Lyna, we should look for books on this subject, as I do not know how to answer your questions."

And so we turn our 'city-exploration' trip into a 'library-finding' trip, but we don't find anything even after two hours of looking. Mama finally decides to start asking people where any books are, and after several people refer to a bookstore as the only source of books in the city, we decide to go there.

We stare at the building in front of us.

"I gotta say, I was expecting something... bigger?"

"It is rather small."

Mama makes her way into the small building with me still perched on her shoulder. As we enter, I see many shelves stacked with books lining the edges of the room. This place is pretty small, but it does have quite a few books. Sitting at a table in the middle of the room is a muscular middle aged man in a robe, reading a book. The man has a huge graying beard that covers half of his face and reaches nearly down to his belly. As he's the only person here, I would assume that he's the owner.

The man stands up and smiles at us... at least I think he's smiling? I can't tell for sure since his facial hair is covering his mouth.

"What can I do for the miss and her friend?"

Mama looks the man up and down then nods her head, "You are very strong."

The man squints his eyes, "And I can't tell how strong you are."

They stare at each other for a while longer, until suddenly he bursts out laughing.

"The name's Psar Aklin, but people usually call me Hairy."

"My name is Bloodcat, and this is Lyna."

"Bloodcat? Like the high-tier magical beast bloodcat?"

Mama shrugs her shoulders, "Probably?"

Hairy holds his belly and starts laughing heartily. After laughing for some time, he finally calms down.

Wiping a tear from the corner of his eye, he asks, "So what can I do for Lyna and Miss Bloodcat?"

"We would like to know about water."

"Water? Like cultivation manuals? I don't have any of those, but I do know-"

"No, we wish to read a book on where water comes from."

"Oh, what you're looking for is a book on qi origins! I'm sorry to say that I don't have any of those at the moment. I do however know where you might find one."

"Where might that be?"

"You see, far away, on the other side of the Elemist Continent, there's a country called Estervont. Estervont is run by the Soul Surge Sect, which is devoted to the pursuit of knowledge, and is rumored to have the most extensive collection of books in the entire continent! That's the most likely place to find anything on qi origins."

"What is 'Qi Origins'?"

"qi origins is the study of qi; where it comes from, where it goes to, and how it affects its surroundings."

"I see, thank you for the information."

I suddenly remember something, "Mama, you should ask him if he has a map! A map is like directions to other places in the world."

With an 'ah' Mama asks, "Do you have a map to Estervont?"

After hearing Mama's inquiry, Hairy smiles so wide that his eyes squint... well, he's probably smiling. I can't help but feel that he was waiting for us to ask that question.

"In fact," he reaches into a pocket on the back of his robe, "I have a map of the whole Elemist Continent."

What he pulls out is a small object, about the size of a thumb. It looks almost like a green microchip encased in glass.

"This is called a storage chip. It can store almost any type of visual information, and some storage chips can even store sounds. Do you know how to use them?"

Mama shakes her head, so he explains, "Try holding it in your hand, and then channel your soul into it."

Mama shakes her head, "I have yet to awaken my soul."

"Oh, I'm sorry, how presumptuous of me."

Or so he says, but his eyes are squinting again. This guy is really suspicious...

"You see, to awaken the use of their souls, people usually have to train their minds until they awaken naturally. But there is another way. If somebody has cultivated their soul to a certain level, they can actually awaken other people's souls with their own!"

'And I suppose you just so happen to...'

"And I happen to have a soul strong enough to do just that! If you'll just give me your hand..."

"Mama, could you ask him how exactly he awakens souls?"

"Mister Hairy, how exactly would you go about awakening my soul?"

"Oh, you see, soul levels are much like cultivation levels. First you have to train your mind for years, and eventually you will be able to feel your soul's existence. Of course, your mind will naturally grow as you become smarter and wiser, so older people don't usually have to train their mind. Afterwards, some people will experience Soul Awakening, which is much like Qi Awakening. But most people will never experience Soul Awakening in their entire life. After reaching Qi Awakening, people that cultivate their souls diligently for years might reach the Mental Imbuement level. People at this level can use their soul to imprint abilities on certain types of materials, such as this storage chip." he holds out the storage chip.

His eyes start squinting again, "They can also send their soul into somebody else's body, which can stimulate their soul and help it wake up. And as you might have already guessed, I'm at the Mental Imbuement level!" he states as he gives a proud grin. Probably a grin.

I'm about to ask Mama a question, but as if she's reading my mind, she asks him the very same question.

"Is there anything after Mental Imbuement?"

Hairy strokes his beard, "There are stories of people reaching Physical Imbuement. It is said that they can send their soul out of their body without touching anything, to send it freely through the air! I don't know of any living experts of that level, but I hope to one day achieve Physical Imbuement!" I can almost see his eyes sparkle as he talks.

Mama smiles and puts her hand in front of me, "Lyna, would you please?"

I close my eyes and put my paw on her hand, then carefully channel my soul through it. I've never sent my soul through anything living, except myself of course, so I'm a bit unsure of what to do, but everything goes surprisingly smoothly. My soul eventually encompasses her entire body except her head. I cautiously inch my soul up and, seeing that Mama doesn't seem to be feeling any discomfort, finally cover her entire body.

It takes a bit of effort to maintain my soul this way, but it's not that much harder than examining the symbols around the Eggshell. We stay this way for a few minutes, until I finally feel something. It starts in her head and then travels through her body, displacing my soul as it goes. Eventually it covers her entire body, completely expelling my soul.

We both exhale a long breath of air, and I open my eyes.

"Did it work?"

I look at Mama Bloodcat, and she nods her head while smiling.

"In... incredible... your little friend has reached Mental Imbuement and you... you're already at Mental Imbuement?! Just how..." Hairy finally seems to notice that he's mumbling and closes his mouth. He lifts his head up and looks at us wide-eyed. I only wish I could see his expression, now that his plan failed. But contrary to my expectations, he suddenly bursts out laughing.

"Hahaha! Yes, very good! Take this map, it's on the house! And here's an emblem that will help you get into the Soul Surge Sect! Wait, no, I just happened upon it, it's not mine. No, that was supposed to come before..." he stuffs two storage chips in Mama's hand.

"Anyway, hurry to the Soul Surge Sect! I'll be- no, they'll be waiting! No, wait, nobody knows you're coming, of course... anyway, hurry up, I can't- no, they can't wai- no, right, hahaha, nobody's..." he practically shoves us out the door and then closes it behind us, still mumbling and laughing to himself.

"..."

"What a strange person. But he seems nice enough."

"Really? I thought he was super suspicious."

"Maybe a little bit, but I looked at the map, and the Soul Surge Sect seems to be in the same direction as the silhouette in the sky."

"Ugh... I guess we'll just see what happens."

Mama smiles, "I guess we will."