The First Treasure Hunt Begins

  Elanor leaves her fellow disciples with Donna and Wilbur. She gathers the kids back up in the square and says, "with Kendra And Rosie here, there isn't any danger for your parents. You should just leave them to their work."

  Elanor then raises her fist into the air and continues, "now that everyone is out of the way… I mean, now that everyone has accidentally been incapacitated, you all need to step up! If you follow me, you will no longer be the dregs of society. You can gain wealth and power."

  All the children look at each other in confusion by this sudden speech. Franklin steps out and asks, "Elanor, what are you talking about?"

  Elanor pauses with her fist still in the air and glances at Franklin. "Hey, I'm giving my inspiring speech now. Get excited," she says. She then scans the crowd with eager eyes. "Yes, it's time to treasure hunt. The most prestigious and rewarding career imaginable! We will find a treasure to make sure that the tragedy that happened today never repeats," she speaks grandly.

  'Aren't you the reason for the tragedy, though?' everyone can't help but think.

  Elanor frowns at the dumbfounded looks in the kid's eyes. "This is where you cheer…"

  "Ohhohh," the kids cheer limply with a fist that can't even be bothered to be thrown into the air.

  Elanor ignores the lack of enthusiasm and nods triumphantly. "Alright, now go prepare for a trip. I heard there is a cave full of treasure nearby!" Elanor exclaims. She then produces the monthly treasure hunter digest. Within it is a section that said beginner treasure hunter locations in your area!

  Everyone splits up to check on their parents and prepare for a journey. But to their surprise, their parents are no longer in their beds. During Elanor's short speech, they'd already been spirited away. They soon find a large red tent erected on the outskirts of the village.

  "Much better," Kendra praises their work. They set up a medical center in the middle of nowhere. It is worth praise.

  Rosie looks at the patients on the clean beds and a controlled environment and agrees with Kendra, "how could we work in such a contaminated work environment. Even if they weren't wounded, they'd surely have died from improper hygiene."

  Laurel pokes her head through the tent flaps and asks, "are our parents alright? Can we see them?"

  Rosie looks over at the girl quizzically, "Parents?..." The two give each other a perplexed look. "Oh! You mean the practice patients. Yeah, they should be fine," Rosie replies without concern.

  Kendra looks over after hearing the conversation. "You guys are still here? We're going to start the experiments soon. If you want to talk to the patients, hurry up. We want to get to work quickly," she explains to the children.

  As the kids enter to see their parents, Franklin whispers to Laurel, "Isn't there something strange about the way they talk?"

  Laurel nods and whispers back, "I'm a bit worried maybe we shouldn't go…"

  As they are secretly talking, Elanor flops onto them, grabbing both their shoulders. "That's just how they are. It's something they picked up from their master. But all medical cultivators are a bit strange," she informs the two in a whisper.

  "I'll fight you to the death!" Kendra screams, flinging needles towards Elanor.

  Elanor creates a barrier of energy in front of her blocking the needles as Rosie looks over, frustrated at the commotion. "You're Catherine's disciple as well, so any insults you give also fall on you," she reminds Elanor. "Are we here to have a fight or to work?" she asks Kendra in a stern tone.

  Elanor pushes the kids to hurry up, "alright, I can't say too much. Let's get going, guys."

  "Where we go?" Donna asks while pulling on Elanor's dress.

  "We're going to get the treasure to make sure your parents never get hurt again," Elanor replies with force as she pats the girl's head.

  "I want to treasure!" Donna squeals with stars in her eyes.

  Elanor squats down to the girl's height and ruffles her hair. "Alright, we'll bring you back something nice. You have to stay here and take care of all the adults, ok?" she cajoles.

  Donna makes a pouty and bitter face causing her face to crumple up like a raisin. "I want to find treasure," she whines.

  "I know, I understand! We all want to find a grand treasure," Elanor says, squeezing her hand in a guts pose and holding back tears. She then puts her hands on Donna's shoulders as if there was a high weight on them. "But who would feed the bunnies if you're not here?"

  "Fluffies come with!" Donna exclaims as if she'd overcome an enormous hurdle.

  "Alright, I didn't want to say this, but these two are scary. If you're not here, they may turn your dad into a scary creature or switch his arms and legs around," Elanor explains candidly.

  "You really want to die, don't you!" Kendra screeches from her current patient Anna.

  "See," Elanor emphasizes.

  "Daddy would look funny!" Donna exclaims unperturbed.

  "It might be fun for you, but your dad would be sad. Do you want a sad daddy?"

  "No, sad daddy," Donna concedes.

  Elanor claps her hands together to get everyone's attention. "Alright, everyone. Your parents are in good hands. Let's get going!" she exclaims.

  For some reason, the children feel more uneasy after the visit. Still, they gather up some supplies and join Elanor outside the village. They look like a sad bunch with patchwork clothes of fur and broken rusty swords and equipment. Still, Elanor feels proud and leads the procession happily.

  As they leave, their ears twitch as they hear a young girl gleefully tell Kendra and Rosie, "You can't be mean to daddy, but the rest is alright. If you put their nose by their butts, that'd be funny!" Donna giggles.

  As they march through the forest to the "treasure cave," everyone chats casually. Eventually, the topic turns to Laurel's unusual eyes. It is typically taboo, but with the children only having Elanor as a chaperone, they didn't feel restrained.

  The short Douglas curly brown hair energetically bounces as he walks. After chatting for a bit, he finally builds up the courage to ask Laurel, "What's it like to see the future? Did you know our parents were going to get beat up today?"

  Laurel frowns as she thinks about her eyes. She shakes her head. "It's not like I see the future all the time. Also, it's mostly only just a few seconds before anyways, so I don't have time to react," She explains.

  "Oh, well, that still useful. Have you ever changed the future?" Douglas continues questioning.

  "NO!" Laurel yells, causing everyone to look at her. "You can't do that, don't say that," she states while covering his mouth.

  "Why not. Isn't that the point of seeing the future?" Roy jumps in.

  "No, it's impossible," Laurel says definitively. Tears are almost forming in her eye in frustration. She then continues, "you guys don't get it. It's like Deja Vu but not... It's more solid," She looks at her hands as she rings them together as she tries to find the correct words. "It's like this is how it should be or will be, so I do it."

  "What happens if you don't do how it's supposed to be?" Franklin asks with a shrug.

  Laurel looks at him confused and questions, "what do you mean?"

  "Just don't do what you saw. It's easy," Franklin explains.

  "It's not easy," Laurel says in a small voice.

  "What?" Franklin says, straining to hear.

  "It's not easy, idiot! It's beyond hard. It's almost impossible. It's not something a person can decide," Laurel yells in frustration.

  Elanor then steps between them. "Calm down. Time is one of the hardest dao to understand. How can Laurel understand or manipulate it like that? It's closer to a chain that binds her and leads her on the path chosen at this point," she explains more clearly.

  Laurel nods, "Yeah, it's impossible."

  Elanor rejects this though shaking her head, "It's not impossible, just hard. If you're strong enough, anything is possible!" Elanor then picks up a stick off the ground.

  "Watch," Elanor commands. She then snaps the stick in half. Elanor then sucks in deeply, her arms bulging. Energy escapes her body as she unleashes it. Even these inexperienced children feel the power emanating from her. Elanor then grabs forward with lightning speed, causing the area around her hand to become indistinct. When it re-solidifies, an unbroken branch is now in her hand.

  "Is that the same branch?" Laurel asks with wide eyes. For her, the process is beyond heaven-defying. She can see time crack around Elanor's hand.

  Elanor breaths heavily, and her skin seems to have turned three shades paler. "That's right. If your strong, you can do anything," she teaches.

  "Wow, you're a master of the dao of time too?" the tall Louis inquires in surprise.

  Elanor looks at the boy like he's an idiot. "Of course not!"

  "But you manipulated time just now," Louis pushes.

  Elanor then kicks right through a tree sending splinters flying. The tree then falls to the ground, badly damaged. "Now I'm also a master of the lumberjack dao, right? Forcing something with strength and being a master are two different things. While if you're strong enough, you can have everything. It's not the same as having mastery over something. Learning a dao is part of the upper six, so it's not something so easy to master," Elanor elucidates to the children.