Atumi pov

It’s the day that we embark on our journey to the Archipelago nation known as Atlantis.

From what I know, Atlantis is located just to the southeast of Haakuni and is the closest nation to us. Although it is the smallest nation by landmass, it is one of the most prosperous. I had mostly packed the previous day, so I was ready to go by morning.

“Master Shino, auntie Maria, thank you for looking after me,” I did as I hugged Maria and then Shino.

“Oh, bye my little Atsumi, please take care of yourself,” Maria said, waving.

“Take care and keep my teachings in mind.” Shino said.

I gave them a bow and started heading towards the carriage.

We then approached what seem to be some sort of carriage. It differed from what I was used to. What confused me the most was that it was floating. I then realized it was one of those artifacts that was powered by mana.

“What’s that called?”

“Oh, it’s just a Low Latitude cruiser. Wish I could have rented a mid-latitude, but I was short on time.”

I contemplated inquiring how it worked, but before I could ask, the door on the artifact opened.

“Come in patron and young ones,” said a brown skinned man “I am assuming you are Mr. Florin Correct?”

“That’s me yes, Let’s get going, everyone.”

“Bye-bye,” I said, waving one last time before boarding the Cruiser.

Several hours had passed, and we were moving at a decent clip above the forest.

The fact we were flying had me pacing up and down, I looked out the window again, there were many shades of red, pink, purple, and green, which was the reason this place was called the Murasaki Forest .It was a mana hotspot where pure wilderness ruled and mana flowed freely.

Timothy was looking out the back of the cruiser while in a daze. It was almost as if he was falling asleep.

I took a bite from the sugar cane had bought from one of the stall owners near the edge of the village and sat next to Allan; He was immersed in his reading, while simultaneously playing with his emerald green hair.

“Hey, Mr. Florin.”

“Yes?” he answered, not taking his eyes away from the book.

“How long will it take before we get to Atlantis?” I said while looking up at him.

“Not for another 10 days,” he said, as if brushing me off.

“What are ya reading?” I said, trying to take a peek.

“Oh, this, I’m just looking over some runes I came up with. I’m trying to formulate a way to set up your seal.”

“Oh, can I have a look?”

“Sure, have a seat. Are you interested in learning rune lore?”

“hmm, I’m not too sure.”

“Well, give me a chance to change your mind,” he said with a playful grin.

We spent the rest of the afternoon going over different runes and glyphs. I found out that when an inscription was made on parchment or paper, it’s called a glyph, but if it’s inscribed on a Weapon is called a rune. They used different tools for each application. The last type of rune lore I learned was the ones that appear on our bodies. These are called blessings.

It was now late afternoon, and the air had gotten considerably warmer. The trees, now predominantly green, signified that we had long left the Murasaki forest.

“Alright, let’s stop here for today. This should be a suitable spot to set up camp,” Allan said as he exited the cruiser.

The one who was steering the cruiser was the impeccably groomed fellow called Elbir, who remained silent for most of the trip. He then broke his vow of silence and spoke.

“I’ll help unload the materials.”

Timothy, who had succumbed to sleep hours ago, still laid there snoring his life away.

“Hey, get up. We need to set up camp.”

He seemed to be in a deep sleep. Honestly, he’s going to ruin his sleep patterns.

“HEY!” I said as I poked his forehead

At that point, I had given up and decided to just mess with him. Using this chance, I pinched his nose shut and waited silently.

“hghghgm,ghggh,”

He tried breathing through his mouth, which I promptly held shut.

“hfhgfhgfhjg- Aaaaaaaaah!”

He shot up from his lying position, gasping for air.

“Hey what was that for? Are you trying to execute me of something?”

“Hahaha sorry, I couldn’t help it, especially when you slept like a dead fish. I had to do something to revive you.”

I said while walking away

“We’re stopping here for today, so get your lazy butt down here.” I said.

“The faster we finish, the earlier you can go back to sleep, Ms. Sleeping beauty.”

“You little brat, what did you just call me?” he shouted as he chased me out of the cruiser.

“hehe,” I stuck out my tongue while running away from him.

“Hey stop running so much before you hurt your injuries,” Allan said

“Also, after we are done setting up Atsumi, please come to me.”

“Hmm, ok,” I said, still grinning as I tease Timothy.

A few more hours had passed and after settling down, I headed to the tent Allan was in.

“Alright, you’re here. Let me just get the rest of my tools.”

“Have a seat in the meantime.”

He continues rummaging through his bag for the next few minutes

“Alright, turn around. Let’s have a look.”

He placed his hand on my seal, and this time there was no stinging sensation.

“Alright start taking a few deep breaths and circulate your mana and Qi through your body.”

I follow his instructions and agitate the mana within my body.

“I’m just doing somewhat of a diagnostic for now, so relax, just trying to understand how your inner being works.”

“Hmm, as expected, your mana is very pure, but your pool is small. Your Qi isn’t that strong either, which explains your low stamina.”

“The first issue is our mana flow. Mana should flow through the body as blood flows through your veins, but in this case, it’s like flammable acid that burns your veins and explodes once they get to the outside. Interesting.” he said as he

He continues speaking while having me do various breathing exercises.

“Your body type is slightly less tolerant to mana than people your age. If you had a normal Soul Fate, this wouldn’t’ be much of an issue,”

He Continued to fiddle around with the rune until he was satisfied with the information he had gained.

“I have some more or less grasped the state of your body.”

“Before you go, I would like to do one more check.”

“Uhm, ok,”

I had remained mostly quiet through the entire session, as I was pretty anxious through the period of time he was looking through my seal.

“I would like to check what your current abilities are, or at least a more accurate one,”

“Hmm, wasn’t that what you just did?”

“Yes, I did, but just looking at a mountain and saying it is tall or short won’t give me the accurate measurement of its height.”

“I guess,” I answered, unsure of what he was doing

“Have you never measured your cultivation level?”

“Uhm, I don’t even know what that is,” I replied.

“I’m guessing Shino hasn’t mentioned it. I guess she didn’t have Vigilance Orbs.”

“Your Cultivation level is a cumulative measurement of your physical and spiritual statistics,”

“The orb of Vigilance takes all this information and presents it in easier to understand information,” he then turns around and pulls a translucent blue orb from his bag.

“It categorizes you into one of 10 levels that represents your current strength.”

"These ranks are

Basic

Beginner

Intermediate

Adept

Advanced

Venerated

Transcendent

Mortal Divinity

Empyrean

Exalted

“Each is divided into 5 layers, 5th being the lowest and 1st being the highest.

He then signals for me to stretch out my hands and place them on the orb.

“Focus on the orb.”

Following his instructions, the orbs started glowing and within it, a visage of my body seems to appear in it and within that, a single dimly lit point shines on my stomach. a collection of runes I coundn’t read then appeared on the orb.

“Hmm, so you are at basic level 5th layer, you are due for a breakthrough, don’t worry the first breakthrough is usually very easy you don’t even need to go in a meditative state,”

“So I’m guessing a breakthrough is when you move on to the next sage?”

“Correct.”

“Hey what stage were my mom and dad?”

“If I remember correctly, your mother was at the advanced level and your dad was in the 3rd layer of Venerated,”

“I knew they were strong.”

“Yes, believe it or not, they are among the very few humans who had reached such a level.”

“Has any human gotten higher than that?”

Allan shook his head, looking almost disappointed.

“No, or at least none that I know of.”

The conversation Shino had with me about my parents replayed in my head.

“So that’s what she meant,” I said, my head facing the floor.

“Oh, what level is Shino?” I snapped back up.

“Oh, that overly serious half yokai is at the 3rd layer, Transcendent level. You have to be at least such to be a gate guardian.”

“Hmm, I don’t quite know how strong that really but I’m guessing she is very strong.”

Even if I have never seen her go all out, I often found myself unable to gauge her strength

“These measurements are very accurate, but your case is special, as any other orb that is not done with my mana will not show your true strength.”

“Also, don’t think this is the be-all say all. It is not uncommon for people of lower forms to beat those at a higher level, as things like intuition, battle instinct and luck aren’t something you can truly measure.”

“Alright, that’s about it for today. Go get some rest we set out at sunrise.”