LXIII

  Rushing into his room at the Inn, he tried to calm himself down, confused by his instinctual reaction. For some reason, those eyes of the Crown Prince struck something within him, and he wasn’t sure why. He tried to dig through his own memories, trying to remember if he ever encountered someone with such golden eyes. He shook his head in frustration as he couldn’t remember anyone, just assuming that the Crown Prince was just very strong with mana, and with Kaz’s mana sensitivity, he was affected by being in proximity to the Prince.

  Kaz tried to calm himself down, and eventually fell asleep, sinking deep into the luxurious bed. The next morning, he woke up right at sunrise, and exited his room, heading downstairs. The Innkeeper greeted him and slid over a bowl of small white grains with an egg on top. Kaz ate the new dish, enjoying the new taste and texture in his mouth. He had never seen these small grains, and when he asked, the Innkeeper told him it was called rice, a common staple for their Realm.

  Asking for directions from the Innkeeper, Kaz made his way over to the Mountmaster near the southern edge of town. Thankfully, the streets were somewhat empty, which let Kaz walk around freely. The sunrise cast a golden glow over the city, and Kaz couldn’t stop marveling at the way the city looked. If Kaz had to make a choice, he’d rather stay here in Doria than return to Aros, although he would have to leave everyone he knew behind.

  Shaking those baseless thoughts, he approached another Celestial who was currently grooming one of those deer that he had seen earlier pulling the Crown Prince’s carriage. There were currently dozens of these deer roaming around a large fenced off space, in various shades of brown and red. He took a second just to inspect the new creature, taking in the elegance and hidden strength underneath it all.

  The Celestial, who he assumed was the Mountmaster, approached him with a gentle smile on his face. He softly spoke to Kaz, “You must be new around these parts. Most people who are new to our Realm and have never seen these Swiftrun Deer always look fondly upon them.”

  Kaz just nodded, watching as one of these Swiftrun Deer, as the Mountmaster revealed, approached the duo. The Mountmaster continued speaking, “My name is Bartius, and I am the Mountmaster for this location. How can I help you?”

  Replying back to the Celestial, this time actually looking at him, Kaz explained, “I am trying to get to the Katre Mountains for my Revelation. The Guild Clerk and the Innkeeper at the Merius Inn recommended I come here to find a way to travel to my location.”

  As Kaz finished speaking, the deer that was approaching them stopped before them, and Kaz examined the deer. It was a cream colored deer, easily the brightest color of Swiftrun Deer among the group present, with bright green eyes that studied Kaz just as closely as he studied the deer. It lightly extended its head in Kaz’s direction, sniffing him with its small black nose.

  The Mountmaster remained quiet, which irked Kaz slightly, but then, the deer came right in front of Kaz and dipped its head before him. Kaz looked at the Mountmaster in confusion, and the Celestial had a befuddled look on his face. Kaz instinctively reached out and petted the deer, and to his amusement, the deer pushed back into his head, making a soft noise.

  It was during his adorable interaction with the deer that the Bartius finally spoke, stammering, “She has never approached anyone before, let alone touch her. The Emperor’s Palace sent her to us as it would refuse to take anyone for a ride, albeit a few members of the Emperor’s family, or even pull a carriage.”

  Kaz simply bobbed his head, now understanding the bewildered reaction from Bartius. He himself was slightly surprised by the Mountmaster revealing that information, but he was glad that a creature of this standing chose to be friendly with him. Kaz decided to break the awkward silence, asking him, “So, about the service to get to the Katre Mountains, how does that work?”

  Bartius shook his head, and cleared his throat, explaining to him, “I would give instructions to a Swiftrun Deer, and it would take you to the location for a fee. It would go at a pace which is comfortable for you and will always arrive at the location safely. It recognizes any potential monsters before you could, and they have enough speed to outrun most of the monsters in this Realm. Once it arrives at a location where another Mountmaster is, they will remain at that location until they are called upon again for traveling.”

  It was a very interesting system to Kaz, as it was surprising enough that these beautiful creatures would transport people, let alone do it by themselves without a rider needing to guide them through the process. Kaz assumed it was part of the Mountmaster’s Calling, but regardless, it was very impressive to Kaz. Checking his bag, he brought out his Tokens, and asked Bartius, “How much would it be to go from here to the nearest place before the Katre Mountains?”

  The Mountmaster stroked his small beard while he did some mental calculations in his head. After some time, where he constantly shook and nodded his head, he asked Kaz, “You know what, how about I left you go for free if you take this Swiftrun Deer, named Kika?”

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  Kaz stared blankly at the Mountmaster, not believing his luck. He rapidly nodded his head, telling him, “Of course I’d do that.”

  Bartius grinned at him, explaining, “You know, Kika hasn’t traveled outside the Capital in many years. This would be very good for her, especially since it is difficult to convince her to take travelers. If anything, you would be doing us a service, instead of it being the other way around.”

  With that, Bartius put on the riding saddle, and help Kaz on Kika, who didn’t resist at all. If anything, she shifted slightly when Kaz felt like he was going to fall off, helping him keep his balance. The Mountmaster walked him around the enclosed area, helping him get used to riding in a saddle, as it was Kaz’s first time. He noticed that his deer was very patient with him, even shifting or moving in advance whenever she felt like Kaz was leaning too far or was merely unsettled.

  After the training was done, Bartius approached Kika’s face, and lightly placed his hand upon her head. He glowed green, similar to whenever an enemy buffed themselves and then Kika also glowed green briefly. She made a cute noise, and Bartius backed up, nodding at Kaz with a wide grin on his face. He told Kaz, “Alright, the both of you are good to go now. You will be directed to a small town at the base of the tallest point at the Katre Mountains. The town is named Petrial, and it should take you roughly most of the day, but you should get there before dark. If you need to take a stop for a break, just mentally communicate with Kika, and she will slow down and let you get off. No need to worry about feeding or giving water to her, as they can go on for days without nourishment.”

  After Bartius’s explanation, they set off, Kika bounding across the path towards the Katre Mountains, which he could faintly see in the distance, the tall snow peaked mountains piercing into the sky. Kaz noticed right away that even though Kika was pushing quite hard, it was smooth and comfortable for Kaz. He barely felt any discomfort, and it wasn’t even from Kika, it was just from the wind blowing into his face. He grinned as this sensation was so addicting, feeling so weightless and quick.

  Kaz took in the landscape, filled with green rolling hills, filled with foliage. He noticed that there were little to no trees so far, which was a stark difference to what his home Realm consisted of. The green here was also very vibrant, glowing brightly in the sun, and the air was aromatic, filled with the scents of flowers. He would occasionally run across other people who were traveling as well on Swiftrun Deer, but each rider looked at him in envy, and Kaz couldn’t blame them.

  As the sun was about to begin setting, Kaz finally arrived at the town, Petrial, at the base of the mountains. It was very small, maybe only two dozen or so buildings. It was also noticeably colder here, but thankfully, Kaz’s cloak kept him warm. He wondered if the material was special in order to always match the weather conditions around him.

  Kika and Kaz approached the small town’s Mountmaster, and the Celestial woman immediately ran up to them, gawking at the majestic Swiftrun Deer. She greeted him, “Hello, sir. Welcome to Petrial. Is there anything I can help with?”

  He shuffled uncomfortably, unsure how to respond to the new Mountmaster. Surely she didn’t think he was nobility or something, although Kika did give off that impression. He responded casually, “Hi, could you possibly guide me to the Inn and make sure to take good care of Kika?”

  The female Mountmaster nodded frantically, replying, “Of course I will, sir. She will be very well taken care of. As for the Inn, head for the biggest building, that will be the Inn. It will be near the middle of town.”

  With that awkward interaction, he strode through the small town and approached the Inn. He walked into the Inn, and relaxed when he saw how comfortable it looked inside. There was a roaring fire going, with low lighting and tons of comfortable looking seating. He rented a room for the night and made his preparations for his journey tomorrow. When he was laying in bed, he decided to bring up his Quest from the [ Archive ], and it displayed:

  Quest – First Revelation

  Having reached the base of the Katre Mountains, take the path up to the tip of the Mountain. Once you reach the entrance to the Trial Rift, enter the Trial Rift and begin your First Revelation.

  He was slightly disappointed by this update, as it didn’t provide him with anything special pertaining to his actual Revelation. Although, Kaz was intrigued by the ‘Trial Rift’, as he had no idea what that meant. If he had to guess, it was the name of the area where he would undergo his Revelation, possibly the name of a cave or something that held some significance to the Realm.

  Again, his thoughts wandered as he was falling asleep, wondering why he had to come to this Realm for his Revelation. He was not upset, as he loved this Realm so far, and it scratched his building itch for traveling. Silencing his thoughts, he quickly found sleep and woke up early again in the morning. He bought a quick breakfast from the Inn, and practically ran out the door, unable to contain his excitement for his Revelation.

  He climbed up the mountain, following the trail that many people have taken before him, making a clear path through the terrain. It was not that challenging of a journey, as it was well pathed, opposed to his recent journey for his Epic Quest, which actually proved difficult in traversing though the mountains. It took him around five hours, but he finally reached an area where his [ Archive ] pinged him, pulling him forward towards an entrance to a cave.

  The difference to this cave was that it had an extravagant entrance, triple his height with bulky stones. It was well framed, with elegant looking carvings decorating the stone. As he walked through the frame, a hazy silver mist appeared in front of him, similar to the Gateways. He approached cautiously, and then as he was about to step through, his [ Archive ] rolled open, revealing:

  You have reached your Trial Rift, Echoes of the Mages. Do you wish to enter?

  Upon entering, your First Revelation will begin, with no possibility of exiting until the Revelation is complete.

  With a deep breath, he stepped into the mist.