"What's got you so excited this morning, Skyler?" Mom asks as I descend the stairs at a quicker speed than my usual.

"A floatship's coming over!" I tell her. "I overslept!"

Normally, travel between the skybeasts is impossible – the art of making airships was lost a couple thousand years ago. However, when two skybeasts draw near each other, a floatship is able to cross the gap. They're usually able to fly around five hundred feet before needing to land, and the skybeasts usually bring their sides within three hundred feet.

Our particular skybeast doesn't cross paths with others very often – only twice a year. Because of that, we don't get to see new people very often, but when we do, it's a huge market festival. New goods are brought to us, and it's the perfect time to go hunting for certain things to buy. Mom likes to go after the market has begun to settle down a little, but I like to look at the adventurers that come over and examine the prices of the Stat Crystals and Skill Crystals.

Even the cheapest one I've seen on the market is more than twice as much as I've saved up over the last couple of years, but I'm certain I'll be able to afford one within the next year. After Dad died a couple of years ago and I wanted to set off on an adventure, I promised Mom I'd wait to leave until I had one socketed, so that I could gain Levels.

She promised that once I socket a crystal, she'll give me my grandfather's sword. For now, I use the wooden backsword I wear on my right hip and take everywhere with me, the hardened wood barely chipped and scratched at all despite having been in use for three years and only resharpened once. It's more than enough to handle the lesser beasts that can be found outside of the town on our skybeast's back.

"Make sure to actually eat," Mom tosses me an apple.

"Thanks!" I catch it. "See you later, Mom!"

"Have fun!" She calls after me as I leave the house, the door slamming closed behind me.

I take off down the mostly-empty street. Almost everyone is either at work or at the market already, getting ready for the day. It's almost time for the floatship to land at the dock, and I want to be there when its passengers start leaving it.

Running, the trip to the market only takes me about ten minutes, and I breeze past the people already milling about, weaving between those just standing around. A few people call out greetings to me as I run, and I return them before I'm gone.

When I reach the edge of the market, I jump up onto some crates, then onto the wall they're stacked against, before finally sitting on the wall with my legs dangling over it. Past here is just a small part of the beast's back, only about fifty feet of it before it's end. Fixed to the scaly back is a wood-and-steel construction, the dock that hangs over the sea of clouds below.

This is one of the few places we can actually see the scales of the skybeast we live on. Most of the back is covered in islands or water, and the bottom of the rivers and sea that make up its back are stones and sand. The skybeast's back is curved up slightly, just enough that the water generally doesn't slosh off.

Even if it does, it's replaced through the everfalls – waterfalls that pour endlessly from the few mountains on the beast's back. No one knows where the water comes from, nor how the back never overflows. No one really cares, either.

The skybeast that flew close enough for a market is a mountainous one – its back is covered in mountains covered in forests. If I remember correctly, there are four towns on its back, one near its head, one on its right, one near its tail, and one on its left. We're to the beast's left, so that's where the floatship is coming from.

I made it in time to watch the floatship land on the docks, along with a few dozen other people who are here to watch, most of them kids or teens, like me.

A floatship is basically a wooden platform around two hundred feet on each side, with a four-foot-high wall surrounding it to avoid people falling off. At each corner of it is a post twelve feet high, with propellers fixed atop them. At the very center of it is a taller post – this one reaching about sixteen feet in height – with an even bigger propeller atop it.

To be honest, it reminds me of a raft, just one with walls, extra posts, and propellers.

The underside of it is lined with floatstone, though it's not very visible from here, just a one-foot-thick edge of the pale grey stone that I can see around the bottom. To control the direction of the ship, a pilot adjusts things on an orb at the central mast. How the floatships actually change direction, no one knows – they're another relic of the Ancients. Most skybeasts have only one or two, though I've heard there are a couple with as many as ten.

Ours only has one, and I can see it landing on the other skybeast's dock. They're not dropping very many people off, however – they're picking up people who wish to come shop at the market. We almost always host the market unless the other town is significantly larger.

As always, the floatship arriving is packed full of people and crates. The moment the wide entrance is opened up, merchants begin moving their goods onto the carts provided or pulling the carts with their goods.

I munch on my apple as I scan the people arriving, picking out adventurers from those who aren't. For some reason, I've always been able to tell if someone has a Crystal socketed, which makes it really easy for me to spot adventurers. Tonight, I'll no doubt be in a tavern, listening to them regale us of their tales of battle against beasts on the backs of their own skybeast or when they went hunting on another.

Any high-tier adventurer can be spotted without this sense of mine. Why? Because they can afford better gear, though few go for the flashy route. Their armor is better-maintained, made of better materials, and more easily able to resist damage.

Is that an elf? My gaze settles on a woman around 6'5" in height, with long, sun-blond hair and rich green eyes. She's dressed in greens and browns, her body lithe, her skin fair and flawless. What confirms to me that she's an elf is the fact that her ears have a point to their tips.

While she looks to be around thirty or so, Dad always told me that elves age slower than humans once they reach adulthood. If I remember correctly, he said they age about one year for every ten that passes, compared to humans. So if she looks around thirty, she might be nearing a hundred and fifty in actuality.

We don't see many non-human people here, so seeing an elf is definitely a rarity. I can sense the power of Crystals within her, meaning she's not just an elf, she's an elf adventurer. Most adventurers only have one or two Crystals, but what I'm sensing…

She has at least five, and they're all of a good tier. At least Rarity 3 for sure. The last time I sensed someone with so many Crystals socketed, they only had one that good, and it was back when I visited another skybeast when I was eleven. On an occasion that happens once every seventeen years, we'd crossed paths with a skybeast with an immense, wealthy city.

Even there, adventurers with more than three Crystals socketed was rare, and rare Crystals were exceptionally rare. More than ninety-nine percent of all Crystals are Rarity 1.

I examine her a bit more, curious about her presence here. A rapier is sheathed on her right hip, indicating that she's either left-handed or someone who prefers to use a sword with her left hand. My parents taught me how to fight using both, and I've continued to train hard to live up to my heritage even after my dad died.

The elf wears a large, brown-and-green backpack that's secured well, and I can sense Crystals inside of the pack. She's a Crystal Merchant? Even they don't just go and socket their goods, not unless they're corrupt. I can't sense corruption in her, though, which means she probably earned her Crystals.

Walking to her right is a cloaked figure I'd put at about 5'7". I can't make out anything on them, the green cloak hiding them too much. They're wearing a backpack just like the elf, though.

With how close the two of them are walking and the fact that they're keeping in-step with each other, I can assume that they're here together. Why is the elf's partner hiding their identity? They aren't a combat partner, unless they've removed their socketed Crystals. I can't sense any Crystals in them, though I can sense an adventurer's spirit.

Judging by how lacking in showing off the elf is and what I'm sensing from her Crystals, she's probably hiding really good ones in her Inventory, which I can't sense. Over the years, and from what Dad told me, the more a merchant shows off, the less likely they are to have really good products that they'd sell. Showing off and looking flashy is done to draw in most people, rather than those who can afford the really good stuff.

As I can't sense any Crystals in the partner's pack, either they're keeping them all in an Inventory or they're not carrying any. Just an assistant? A friend? A spouse or lover? It's really curious, and I want to find out.

I wait until the two of them draw near, then I hop off the wall, landing in a light crouch. Returning to my feet, I approach them, the elf glancing at me for a moment, probably assuming I'm walking over to help someone.

"Hi!" I greet her, and she actually looks at me this time.

So does her companion, allowing me to see his face. He has the most beautiful blue eyes I've ever seen, his eyebrows and eyelashes white. I can't see his hair due to how deep his cowl is and the fact that it hangs down nearly to his eyes, but I'm betting his hair is white, too. Is he albino? I've heard they're sensitive to the sun, so being cloaked would make sense. Judging by what I can see of his face, he's probably around fourteen or fifteen, so my age.

Whatever he is, he's cute.

"Hello," the elf greets me in response without breaking her stride. Her voice is gentle, light like a feather. Every elf I've ever met had a voice like that. "How are you?"

"I'm good," I answer. "How are you?"

"A little tired," she smiles. "Finn accidentally woke me up early this morning in his excitement."

"Sorry," Finn's cheeks flush red, making him cuter. Now that I think about it, he's not pale enough to be albino. That makes him a curiosity, to have white hair and not be albino. "I didn't mean to fall out of bed."

His voice is soft enough that I can barely hear it over the sounds of the crowd milling about. It's cute, though.

"Do you want a tour around the place after you close up for the night?" I ask. "Or are you returning to the other beast tonight?"

The market will last for three days, then everyone will go to the skybeast they're staying on before the two separate on the third day. Some merchants stay in the town hosting the market for the duration, others ferry back and forth every day, usually to pick up more goods or just because they like their home better.

"We'll be staying here," she informs me. "We actually plan on staying here after the market ends."

"The next skybeast won't cross paths with us for another six months," I tell her. "You want to stay on our isolated, water-covered beast that long?"

"Even longer, if needed," she smiles.

"Well!" I say. "I'll be happy to show you two around, if you want!"

"For a fee, I'm assuming?" Her lips quirk up a little in amusement.

"Of course!" I grin. "Full tours ain't cheap, and I know not just the town like the back of my hand, but the entire back of our great beast!"

"You have a Crystal?" She asks in surprise. "It's rare for one your age to, even among those who have them."

Her surprise at that isn't surprising to me. Outside of towns, there are usually monsters and stuff, and going too far from town usually means running into stronger beasts – ones that usually require having at least one Skill Crystal to take on.

"I'm fifteen, so I'm not that young," I say. "And I can't afford even a Stat Crystal."

"Oh?" She raises an eyebrow.

"Yeah!" I grin. "I'm saving up, though! Hopefully in a year, I can afford one! As for traveling across the back without being an adventurer, it's not that dangerous if you know what you're doing. I know the routes to avoid the more difficult things, and how to be stealthy as I travel about."

"And you use a wooden sword?" She raises an eyebrow.

"Yeah, haha," I chuckle nervously as I scratch the back of my neck. "It's actually a decent sword carved using a technique my dad passed to me before he died. Once finished, it's tougher than steel, meaning it doesn't need to be resharpened as much. It's not as sharp, though, so it does need a little bit more force used to cut. Not much, though."

"Its description," she says. "Says the craftsman was Skyler Kadrix III? Is that your father?"

"That's me, actually," I answer. "My dad had me make it as a test when I was ten."

"It looks nice," she tells me. "And Rarity 3? That's impressive."

"It's nothing compared to what Dad could make," I tell her. "He could make things at Rarity 5 or greater."

"You can make things like that," she indicates the sword. "Yet can't afford to buy Crystals?"

"It's time-consuming," I tell her. "Three months to make a single sword. And I'd feel wrong, selling my ancestral arts like that. It would feel like cheating. I want to actually earn it, so I go out and hunt beasts and gather materials, then sell them here in town. I make about three or four hundred sorukar a month doing that, and give half of it to my mom to help her out since my dad's death."

I also buy some food and stuff with it, too, which is part of why it's taking me so long to save up on top of me giving Mom money. Giving my mom money on top of what she makes from her job isn't really needed, but I want her to have some extra savings for when I do finally leave.

"I see," she says. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Skyler. My name is Sara, and this is Finn."

"Nice to meet you," I say.

"Well," she says. "You seem a nice enough young man. Perhaps I'll take you up on that offer of a tour, after our shop closes this evening."

"Just for the town?" I ask. "Or for the hunting areas, too?"

"Hunting areas would be nice, too," she tells me. "I may not look it, but I do know how to use this sword. We don't know how long we'll be here, but it wouldn't hurt to acquire a few more Levels and see if I can't get some Crystal Essences and Crystals from stronger beasts."

There's a very small chance for a monster to drop either a Crystal or vial of Crystal Essence when slain, though it's almost nonexistent for those who don't have a Crystal socketed, and the chance increases as the power of the beast does.

Even a high-tier beast still has a low chance of dropping either of them.

"You're a merchant?" I ask.

"I am," she indicates her pack. "I don't dress up as fancy as some of the others, and I deal exclusively with Crystals and Crystal Essences."

"I have Crystal Essence," I tell her. "Four vials of it."

Her eyes widen slightly in surprise at that, though her surprise isn't one to me. For someone who's not socketed any Crystals to have Crystal Essences is rare – especially since I said I'm saving up to buy a Crystal. If I sold all four of them, I'd probably be able to buy a Stat Crystal.

"How did you manage to acquire those?" She asks. "You're quite the curious boy, Skyler. Four of those, a wooden sword that can act like a normal one and is of Rank 3, then that ring on your finger?"

I glance down at my ring, which I wear on my right ring finger. It's a golden dragon eating its own tail, with a pair of tiny little golden crystals set in as its eyes. It has a special Protected status, which means that only I can see its item description, since I'm its owner.

If she's a good merchant, then she probably noticed it immediately, and not just when I scratched the back of my neck in nervousness. With the quality of Crystals I'm sensing both as hers and in her pack, she probably knows what the mystery information about my ring means.

"Sometimes," I say. "People find random bits of treasure when exploring on the back. I found the ring about three years ago, and since it was curious, I decided to keep it rather than selling it for money. It doesn't happen as much anymore, so I got lucky with the ring. We actually have a museum of relics that have been found, though. If you find anything good, they'll pay for it."

They've made me offers on the ring a few times, but gave up because I was firm on keeping it. The ring is more than special, and probably worth more than the entire wealth of this town. Keeping the ring will probably help me with my ultimate goal, too.

So no matter what, I'm keeping it.

"As for the other stuff," I shrug. "The sword is something I made through a technique passed down from father to son. As for the vials, I got lucky with some of my kills."

"I'm sure," her gaze is intense. "Your eyes are interesting, too."

It took her this long to say something about my eyes? I'm surprised Finn hasn't said anything, a lot of people tend to comment on them when they first see them, especially people my age or younger. Most of us tend to be impulsive, after all.

Finn, on the other hand, has been relatively quiet. Other than that one comment, he's not said a word.

"Fair hair and golden eyes," I grin at Sara. "Inherited them from my parents! Dad always said our golden eyes meant we'd be lucky in life and were destined for any wealth we went after!"

"I've heard something similar," she says. "About the golden eyes, I mean. Sun-blond hair isn't that rare, though it's not as common among you humans as it is among us elves. I've never met someone with golden eyes before."

"I dunno," I shrug. "My Grandpa moved here with my mom when she was a baby, and my dad came here, oh, awhile back? By himself, though. Where they came from, I don't know, and no one's told me. But I'm sure I'll know one day!"

"You seem energetic," she chuckles. "Since you wish to have a Crystal, can I assume you want to adventure? Explore the more dangerous parts of this skybeast's back, as well as the backs of others, hunting down treasure?"

"No," I tell her. "Well, yeah, sort of. I actually want to look for the Crystern!"

The Crystern is a skybeast believed to be a myth. With a back made of crystal, it's believed to be the origin of all Crystals and the very heart of all adventures. Dad said people have searched for thousands of years, but no one has ever found it.

He told me a lot about the rumors of the Crystern, of what it's like there and how the essence of the Crystals came to be. Listening to the old tales made me want to search it out, and I plan on doing just that one I finally leave here. Some part of me has a need to find the Crystern, even if I know everyone believes it to be a myth.

"That's an interesting goal," she says. "So the sword is more than a decoration, then?"

"It earned those scratches!" I proudly declare.

"Well," she says. "Why don't you show Finn some of your favorite hunting areas nearby? If Finn likes you by the time I close up my market shop today, then I'll ask you to show us around the skybeast's back."

"Master?" Finn quietly protests.

"Could you give us a moment?" Sara asks me.

"Sure!"

I take a few steps away as they move to the side of the road, talking in hushed voices. Finn doesn't look too happy, especially when he looks at me a few times throughout their conversation. In the end, he agrees to whatever it is Sara wants him to agree to, and she pulls something out of his pack, then tosses it to me as they return.

It's some sort of round fruit that's orange in color with an uneven texture to it. Curious, I pull up its information.

Orange Rarity: 0 A type of citrus with a sweet-tart taste. When eating it, the peel should be removed first.

"I've never had citrus before!" I exclaim. "I've heard about lemons, though!"

"It's a gift for you," she tells me. "As thanks for keeping Finn company. And I'll pay you a little for showing him about after you return tonight, okay?"

"Alright!" I say. "Come on, Finn! There are these bunnies that I like to hunt sometimes. Their flavor is just amazing, even when cooked over a flame, no seasonings. Or we could get these fish that go really well when cooked with some herbs that grow near where I catch them. We could do both for lunch, too."

"Help," Finn whispers to his master.

"Go have fun," she puts a hand on his head. "It's not going to be that bad."