“What?” Haemish asked, “What do you mean you used to be able to find it easy? You could walk before, when? And how did you lose the ability?”

Aarav breathed deep and calmed himself. Haemish allowed it. “Nothing, just a dream I had of walking. I think I did so much yesterday. I mean, I fell asleep trying to manipulate my foot, and so my dreams must have been plagued with being able to walk. You know how dreams can feel so real.”

Haemish harrumphed at Aarav, “That is perhaps the most unconvincing lie you have told me so far!” the man said, looking long and hard at Aarav. The Slime gulped, then sighed.

“I haven’t been sleeping well, to be honest. I’ve been feeling a lot of pressure and have been having nightmares. People and creatures chased me, and everything is buried in this fog of mal-intent and darkness.” Aarav’s mind drifted to his previous life, on the run, all the time. A precious friend by his side. His mind, his worst enemy, was broken and dishevelled and looking for an escape. “The darkness, it feels like it is perpetually closing on me, and it does not matter our fast or how far I run, that cloud is always just within reach, I could just reach out and touch it....”

“DON’T! Do not touch the darkness!” Haemish yelled into the vacuum of quiet Aarav left with his words. He seemed unaware of what had escaped his lips. Then he calmed and redness with embarrassment. “Ahem, I mean to say, darkness is usually a bad sign in dreams. Best to stay away, hmm?”

Woah, what kind of reaction was that? Aarav thought, bewildered. If I ever dream of darkness, I will run as far and fast as possible. Then tell Haemish immediately; he might have some experience with it.

“Don’t worry, I didn’t go for the darkness, and I have no intention of letting it touch me. That, I can assure you, Master.” Aarav lightened the tone with the honorific. He was the man’s appointed apprentice, after all.

“Indeed, student, and we have done precious little to teach you Alchemy, more pressing matters keep coming up. I think that your learning to walk should take higher priority, for now. If you were going to take a few months to make it happen, I would say we do both together, but it seems like you will need a week to get up and go on those legs of yours. Just master the Mana Manipulation on your bones, and you might also learn the Skill. That would be very handy for Alchemy and almost all walks of life.”

“If it is Mana Manipulation, wouldn’t it be a Spell and not a Skill?” Aarav asked casually as if just to make conversation.

“No, Mana Manipulation does not use Mana, just move it around, so people generally consider it a Skill. But if you prefer to think of it as a Spell, you can; nothing is stopping you. Your interface is your own, and it will respond to your wishes.” Haemish said. Aarav gaped; the man had just thrown out a profound piece of information like it was trash or, more likely common knowledge. “But you know that everyone does.” Aarav should have known it was another thing that even children knew.

“Yes, of course, I knew that.” Aarav rolled his eyes unconvincingly, and it was Haemish’s turn to turn to the Slime.

“You really don’t know anything, do you?” Haemish said, surprise in his voice.

“Umm, that is a bit of a broad brush to paint with. I wouldn’t say I know nothing. I might be lacking in some areas, but I assure you, I know some things.” Aarav said indignantly.

Haemish waved it off, “You know what I mean, Aarav. Things that every child grows up learning, do you know letters? Numbers? Basic arithmetic? How to learn Skills and Magic most efficiently? Testing for your affinity? Anything?” Haemish grew more flustered with each word. Working himself up. Aarav rested a pacifying hand on his shoulder.

“I know some of what you said, but not all. Also, I have only just learned Darf. Do you expect me to know everything? I can read and write if that is one of your questions, I can speak. I can also check my affinities on my stats page. I am not sure about the rest. Isn’t that what the academy is for, though?” Aarav asked.

“Well, yes. I may have gotten a little carried away with the list of things but honestly. I was not expecting you to be so well-spoken and yet lacking in the fundamentals!” Haemish looked like he was re-evaluating his worldview. “I think we will have to start teaching you some of the basics that you will need. The Academy does assume that you know some things when students join, and we can defer for a time before you join.”

“I thought you said I wouldn’t be joining? That I might be seen as odd?” Aarav asked, a little confused by this sudden one-eighty. “Didn’t you say that it was a bad idea and that you would be teaching me yourself? For the stuff I needed to know?”

“Honestly, since you ate that first bone, I thought about it,” Haemish said. “You are young by this Darf’s standard; you seem barely a child and certainly have the knowledge of one. It might be good for you to interact with peers of your own intellectual equal and get to know people of your own age more or less. It might not be a bad idea, but in your humanoid form, you will blend in seamlessly and see. I promise you it will be worth your while to do your education this way.” Haemish considered again before continuing. “Honestly, even before you started showing signs that you could change your appearance, I was looking to see if there was a way to get you in. This just makes it easier. I promise you it will be good for your development. Also, you won’t be subject to my prejudices of what is useful and what I think is worthless to learn about.” Haemish coughed. Aarav was sure he heard the words “physical training”. Well, now I know why the man is the shape he is. But then again, if he is healthy without losing weight, who am I to judge?

It was an intriguing thing about stats and this world. The same ailments that people suffered from on Earth did not apply here. Cancer, Heart problems like Cholesterol, and so many others just didn’t seem an issue. Like the stats took care of it without a trace. That alone felt like it was worth being here. The numbers were all, and anything that could not be explained with numbers wasn’t a problem.

“Haemish, are there any chronic illnesses here?” Haemish looked at him, confused. “Thanks, that answers my question.”

They finally made it to the lab, were these walks getting longer? I certainly felt like it. But maybe it was just him being mind-numbingly slow. “Very well, I will leave you now to get acquainted with your feet. I must say you are looking a little peppier today, though. Changed something?”

“No, just something that was weighing me down lifted today. I feel a lot better for it.” Aarav said vaguely. “Thanks for the chat. I will be outside, I think. I don’t want to spend any more time in that dusty room if I can help it.”

They nodded to each other, Haemish going off to do some experiments in the lab’s corner. From what Aarav could tell, some type of viscous agar-type substance was halfway between solid and liquid. But Aarav did not hang around to find out more, and he was too busy trying to walk. Also, he figured if the Queen knew he and Haemish were not together, she couldn’t expect him to spy on Haemish. That way, he couldn’t betray someone who could make a good friend in the future. The man would certainly be a good mentor if nothing else.

The last thoughts the Slime had before leaving the lab was where in the world were the three other apprentices, why were they away from their stations so much, and why did Haemish seem perfectly fine with it?