Chapter 34 – A foundation is set

Yuki stood In front of a completely charred magic tool stove. She was in the kitchen of the lodge.

A fire had just broken out a few seconds ago due to the negligence of the girl who was in charge of the now burnt stove.

Through good fortune, no one was hurt in the incident and the girls had put out the raging fire very quickly. They were all experienced and would not panic.

This was something that happened quite often when they had just begun working at the Lodge. So this was not unusual to them.

With time these incidents had decreased dramatically. It was the unforeseeable circumstances of the day that had created too much of an overload, which led to this outcome. The girl in charge could not be completely blamed.

Yuki was currently lecturing the girl in question at her station while all the other girls were bustling around them. They worked as if even if lightning struck a hole in the ceiling it would only be a minor inconvenience.

The lodge served as a restaurant as well and catered to the locals during mealtimes. The lodge was a bit pricier than other places in the city and people were also to uphold a certain level of manner when they attended.

The Lodge was a place where the refined artists would congregate. The atmosphere in the place could be imagined.

It was a high-end establishment in the eyes of the locals but no one would call it snobbish as all the girls who worked there were the friendliest people they could find. This was the balance that Yuki had created.

Due to this nature, people would visit occasionally but not often.

Today the lodge was full to capacity with a line of people waiting outside for an open seat.

Adam had come over to check on Yuki when he saw the spectacle.

"What's going on here?" He was rightfully surprised.

Listening in on the bustling conversations that went on the dining hall for customers, he was quickly able to figure out what was going on through the snippets of conversations that he was able to overhear.

A wry smile overcame his face.

Everyone was here partly in favour of him. Through what he heard, he understood the mindset of the people that had come today.

To the locals of Two Fang city, almost all of whom were immigrants from neighbouring lands as well, Yuki's family (including the lodge) was also an immigrant who had now become a part of the city.

Yuki's accomplishments had awed the people into giving her the respect she deserved.

However, respect and liking or accepting someone is a completely different concept.

Yuki had a very high an mighty demeanour to outsiders. If they treated her well she would do the same but if they treated her any different she was not obliged to be nice either. She did this to protect what she cared for as this was the only way that conformed with her personality.

Her personality of not being questionable by anyone for her actions had created a huge rift in the people's mind.

Respect and fear usually went hand in hand. She was someone who they had grandiose imaginations of. In their minds, she had become someone they could not offend but also someone unreachable.

She and everything around her was mysterious and she would not give out any information about herself either. Why should she ingratiate herself just to create a good rapport with the people?

The fear of the unknown was the easiest to be frightened by. Unintentionally the people had created invisible barriers and had distanced themselves from the lodge even if they did not realize it themselves.

The thing that tore down these barriers was Adam's recent trips to Blue Lane street, Fang street and the guild. He was very noticeable and his various antics at the food stalls with Fen had completely shattered the imaginations of the locals.

His quirkiness and silliness had made them all realize the similarities they shared even if they acted slightly differently. They had quite easily normalized the behaviour of everyone at the lodge as a result.

'That's just the way they are.' Is what all of them thought.

When he saw this drastic change in the attitude of the people here Adam instinctively related this to the cultures from his previous world.

People travelled the world for a multitude of reasons but what they would all end up doing eventually upon arriving at a new place is experience that unique place's unique culture.

Through this experience, they would understand and once you understood you would come to see how different environments could facilitate different behaviours and how to them what they do is completely normal.

As long as something was not too out there it could be accepted. Sometimes even things that are a little too quirky are accepted.

Learning and understanding these things is why so many people travel the world hoping for that growth in their character.

The ability to normalize something once you can categorize it is the most fearsome ability of humankind. It seemed the myriad races of this world was not any different.

After a short moment of contemplation, Adam regained his purpose for coming here and had a short chat with Yuki.

He realized how busy she was because of the unexpected crowd from what she told him and what he saw.

He then let her know that she can take her time and that he would begin his training for the day. The girls would wait for her and update her on the events of the day.

Walking back he could not help but sneak a few more glances at the long line of people that were still waiting to enter the lodge.

The Four Ways Melody Lodge had become a true pillar of Two Fang city on this day.

….

After his training for the day, Adam was walking toward the dining hall after a quick clean up.

Fen was walking behind him at a leisurely pace. She had already returned in the evening from the guild.

Adam had already briefed her about the two sisters enlightenment earlier today and of course, he had clearly stated how Luna was of the Air element.

This had led to a joyful clap from the usually calm Fen. No matter what was said and done, they all still held reservations against the dark element. The fiend's cruelty and dominance had engraved a deep scar into the minds of the people of this world.

Walking up to the sliding doors of the private dining hall that was used only by the staff, his mother and himself, he pushed the doors open.

A smiling Yuki who was hugging the two sisters close to herself greeted him on his arrival. His mother had grown very fond of the two girls yesterday and now when she heard that Luna did not have the darkness element, The little bit of guardedness that she held was completely toppled.

She had still stayed a little guarded before because she knew the dangers her son was undertaking because of the girls. She was glad that he was firm-willed but also worried for him.

Now even that had gone away.

She had been happily joking around and playing with the two girls before his arrival.

A quick dinner was had within which Yuki had explained to Adam the training schedule she had already set up for the girls.

The training was completely similar to his but with a few tweaks here and there. The biggest difference was that Yuki had introduced sparring into their training.

Most of the sparring would be conducted between the two sisters. One had a class that relied completely on physical strength while the other relied on magical power. One had high durability but could only attack in close quarters while the other had a high magic power reserve but would drain very quickly.

The two sisters were like the elements of light and dark. They mutually opposed each other. Making them very good together and against each other.

The last difference to the training program was the once a day spar where the two girls would team up to fight against Adam.

Yuki had intentionally set it up this way because of Adams dual classes which gave him the ability to fight at all ranges. Especially now since he had already trained for a while, he had already crossed the starting line early and gained an advantage over the girls.

She wanted to level this out and slowly get the three at the same level. The best way to do so would be through this spar. She had plans of increasing the frequency of it as they progressed but for now, one spar would test the limits of not only the girls but Adam as well.

She was confident that the girls would be able to give him a good fight in a few days time and might even become a bit overwhelming.

She also wanted to give Elaine a chance to learn how to protect and not just attack. It was a basic and fundamental requirement of tanks to protect the rest of the team.

It would be too late to learn that after entering the dungeon. Adam would be able to handle himself but Luna being a mage could be in a lot of trouble due to her inadequate durability.

Yuki had already learned of the weights the two girls had purchased and surprisingly showed no surprise to their choice. She only gave a knowing smile and imposed the same restrictions on them as she had for Adam.

They had to wear their weights at all times but their weapons could be kept aside while they slept. Unlike Adams clunky, iron weights. He had bought the girls a pricier set of weights that had a black colour and the material looked exactly like Jade.

He thought it would be too distasteful if they were like him who looked like an escaped prisoner.

Yuki praised him for his foresight inwardly and only grew more proud of him. She was surprised that at his age he was able to take things like this into consideration.

He had always been a level headed and smart boy so she was more than happy to attribute his sense on this matter to her great child-rearing skills.

If her thoughts right now could be put into action then she would be physically high fiving herself.

A bright smile was on her face as she put her hands on her hips. Her chest automatically puffed out and her head kept bobbing up and down as if she couldn't agree more with something.

'She is one hundred per cent gloating to herself about something.' Just as Yuki could tell what he was thinking through his actions, he had also spent the same amount of time around her and knew what could be going on in her mind.

He shook his head. His mother would never cease to amaze him.

Putting that aside, the plan to deceive Yuki had worked. Now the only people who knew about Luna having the Ether element were herself, Elaine and Adam.

He breathed out a sigh of relief.

'Things should be a lot easier from now on.' He thought to himself.

'Training with the two begins tomorrow. I cannot wait. I should start practising my attack movesets now that I can handle the weights.' So he brought up the matter with Yuki who was brought back to the real world with his voice.

Together they discussed and tweaked his training schedule as well.

He also brought up the matter of wanting to purchase a few recording crystals.

These crystals had a variety of uses and he could use them for a bunch of reasons. They were capable of storing anything that was seen with one's eyes or memories that were imprinted in the mind as long as they were clear enough.

Whether it was a specific move that he wanted to practice or if he gained inspiration for new moves.

People used multiple crystals for storing specific memories so they didn't have to scroll through hours of footage. With three adventurers under her, Yuki knew that she would have had to buy them anyways.

Their price was also extremely cheap. She did not think twice about it and said that she would make the purchase for him.

All the preparations had been made. 'The only thing left to do is wait for tomorrow.' Adam thought to himself