Croff

Aunt and the woman from earlier stared at each other and there were almost sparks between their gazes.

"Stop it, Esir."

"Aunt, calm down..."

Somehow, their leader and I tried to stop the two from getting agitated further at the same time. He then lightly coughed to himself before moving in front of everyone. The woman called Esir stepped back, and Aunt saw that and also stepped back, crossed her arms, and quietly snorted to the side.

It was a bit funny seeing her dislike for another person the first time since Kirllia.

"Greetings everyone, and welcome to Oasis. My name is Tek, and nice to meet you all."

Within the icy blue translucent dome, a hole slowly appeared and gradually increased in size, revealing what was within.

After we entered, the temperature actually cooled down by a notch. Instead of feeling the somewhat hot field from the outside, it felt like we were inside a massive Ice Orb if that was valid.

We were still actually in front of an empty area instead of being near the town. One thing that was noticeable though, was that there were short grasses and trees that looked like coconut or palm near the area.

There was also an unnoticeable pavement that probably led towards the city that was in the distance.

It looked like there was a mountain a few hundred meters away, but it was actuallly a group of houses that surrounded what seemed to be like a castle on the centermost of the place. The houses were mostly colored alike to the surrounding sands which made them look like part of the scenery.

We walked on the sand and as we progressed further on the pavement, the ground started to change into something more harder and firm, as if we were walking on actual earth instead. From how the things were built here, I won't be surprised if it was actually sandstone, considering we're at a desert after all.

We got nearer and there more signs of more people within the vicinity. There were even small farms on the side which raised livestock that I haven't seen before, but they looked cute with the small eyes and all the fluffy white fur they had. I can also see that these animals were also being shaved and somehow expressed joy after that.

After a while there were large mounts that looked like they were small elephants: large frame with a long nose, small ears, long legs, and three tails. The overall look they had was colored white, and each leg had only two thick nails on the front, and one behind. These animals had a saddle on their backs and I could see a few people riding some. There were even a few kids that played around them, which meant these were domesticated.

A large vineyard was grown on the other side, and I could see a lot of people tending to it, cutting or deweeding, and a few watering. If it weren't for the tall fences that were thinly patterned in a crisscross, I would have probably saw better what was inside.

After seeing a few more farms, we finally reached what seemed to be a wide open entrance without any gates, and there were only a few people that stood guard on it.

On the side, there was a writing that was different compared to the letters that I've known.

"A different language?"

One of the guys in front glanced back towards me and smiled as he started.

"We have guys that came from the Unte continent, that's why there's a different writing and language here."

"Unte continent?"

We started to walk further inside the sandy walls while having a conversation.

"Well, everyone here knows that Oasis is a place that's independent from the two continents, Unte and Latis."

This is the first time I've finally heard someone mention of a more larger place at scope, so I was rather interested.

"Where is Unte? And where is Latis?"

The guy chuckled to himself before he happily replied.

"Well, Unte is very far from here. You have to cross the hottest desert while going southwest, where Unte official territory is. This place, Oasis, even though it's considered as independent, we're more closely located to Latis where you folks probably came from."

"How about the Allpeak Mountain? Is it part of Latis continent?"

"It sure is. Ah, you're probably referring to the whole map that contains until Factia, right? Those two places, even though located very far from Allpeak, is still part of the Latis continent. It goes until the vast bamboo forest called Elwo, and I'm not sure what's next after that, but I'm sure it would already be a different part of the world already."

"Actually, Elwo also extends until Unte continent, and they're also an independent place. They have frequent clan feuds there, though."

The boy who was with us suddenly talked which gave us quite the shock. Three gave him a glance before somewhat realizing something.

"You live at Elwo?" She asked.

"It's no secret, and Master didn't really tell me to hide it anyway."

The man that talked to us had his eyes glow with excitement before continuing.

"So that's why your clothes were so different from them! It's my first time seeing someone from Elwo! It's a pleasure to meet you, I'm called Pike."

The guy slightly gave him a bow, and the boy also did with after hesitating a bit. It was unknown what he thought though.

"Once more, welcome and we'd like to thank the young boy who helped us in fending off the Sanuwharl.."

When their leader started talking, this guy Pike hurriedly went back in line, and at the same time they all gave a slight bow towards me.

"It wasn't much, really."

Looking around, I noticed that we were inside some kind of large yard that had people tending to chores as if they were housekeepers.

"This nephew of mine is actually still so humble." Aunt walked near me with her arms crossed, her head slightly lifted upward.

I saw her take a glance at Esir, before placing her hand on my shoulder.

I get it that you really dote on me that much but there's no need to start a fight...

...

After that ceremonious intro, we were told where to stay within the place and finally had a good rest for a while. The room I was in wasn't too bad, it had a bed for an adult or two to fit in and I dropped myself before taking a short nap. Having to travel within the desert was quite an experience, after all.

Finally receiving the grace of having a shade under a roofed house, I closed my eyes without worry and fell asleep until nightfall.

Mom, Ellie, and Aunt were on a different room, which was just in front of mine in case something happens. They also fell asleep within seconds after experiencing the fluffy surface of their own beds.

Three was... still troubled about having a bath as the people here rarely took baths. This place wasn't called the Oasis for nothing, though.

From our special attendance, she was finally given a chance to take a bath somewhere I can't find before returning to us at night in a bath robe with a cold and wet hair. It was only after that did she finally went into her room and went to bed.

The boy was nowhere to be found, but using my Soul Control I felt him somewhere within the air above us.

Tomorrow would probably be the best day to show Mom what I've been bringing all along, after all these times.

Tonight, I plan to roam around the place.

As soon as I went out the door, I was greeted by a man with a spear. It was the one who looked like he didn't like me.

"Good evening... Kaff. I hope you didn't take offense from my words and actions earlier."

"You are...?" I tilted my head as I asked, and pretended the kid that I am to make him at least feel at ease.

"I'm Neter. They call me Net. I just don't like it when things don't go according to plan... which always make me feel uneasy. It's like I'm always balancing on a tightrope."

What does he mean?

"How about seeing this?"

I created four orbs of light and positioned it in front of him, and then made the other one slightly out of place. He frowned and scratched his head as if wanting to say something, so I asked him.

"Do you want to move the other orb?"

"Yes, please..." His voice was even slightly shaky.

"How about here?"

"Could you please do it a little closer?"

"I see."

I balanced everything and he sighed, before I finally saw a faint smile on his face.

I started walking and he followed.

This guy probably has obsession disorder. At least it wasn't too bad to the point where he would wear two spears at once or part his hair equally.

"Is nine your favorite number?"

"Yes, how do you know?"

"Did you join Tek because of the formation you did earlier?"

"Yes and no. I joined because I want to protect lives, and no because I only got invited by Tek himself too. The formation... was actually what led me to feel strange after joining."

You just had to find out you have a certain OCD after joining in his team, so it means it's accidental.

I don't mind him being like this, though; as long as he's not a threat to us.

"Do you know where my aunt and mother are?"

"Your aunt, is the pretty lady from earlier, right? She's actually checking out various stores and is accompanied by Esir. I don't know why Tek made those two together as they are like mutual enemies, but since it was an order we can't really disobey."

"Now that I think about it, what are you all called? From how strong the Sanuwharl was, it looked like you were the only people sent to repel the giant whale away."

"Actually, we're the strongest ones around here after our God Kairi left this place."

"Kairi? By god, you mean...?"

"Kairi is the one who founded this place, and he left a few years ago. He was also the one who led us away from the Unte continent, and established this place. He was also the one who made the large dome that protected us from the heat of the two suns. There are a lot of things that he made and did for us, but I'm not sure if he'll still come back."

"Then that whale earlier, is it just somehow finding its food and happened to appear back then? Or did it have something to do with your god gone?"

"I'm not sure either. We had a meeting once and tried to talk to the Sanuwharl, but besides it blowing out scorching sand from its blowhole, it doesn't seem to be responding to our words which probably meant it was neutral."

Is it really all there is to that whale? From his expression, it looked like there were still more information that he didn't mention.

Oh well, as long as they could protect this place, there won't be any problems. For now I want to go and visit Ellie, so I made my way towards Mom who was currently in the kitchen area.

My room was located on the top fourth floor of one of the slightly large houses within the area, and the kitchen was located at a different building that was on the ground. I only knew that she was there because Aunt most likely went out to buy some spices like she did last time, and knowing Mom she would want to know how to cook various animals as a hunter.

Ellie would be most likely with Mom, so I decided to go there.

After a while we reached the kitchen, and Mom was there...

"Where's Ellie?"

"She's currently being checked by their doctor here, who's said to have healed people that had injuries in the source spirit. The least we could do now is to wait for his diagnosis, so I'm here checking out their Fifo meat."

Seeing how Mom returned to her healthy color and enthusiastic approach in the kitchen, I decided to leave and go visit the other guy that we towed in instead.

I flew towards the skies and found the boy we're travelling with, glancing all around. Net still followed me and we approached the boy in midair.

"Um, it's awkward but you could at least tell me what I could call you, so I won't use the word 'boy' or 'kid' so much."

I know he's probably feeling awkward because we're both almost at the same age, so I asked him for his name before I could get to the main point.

"You could call me 'Croff.'" He waved his hand as if brushing us off as he told his name.

"Thanks, Croff." I let out a faint smile before mentioning what I intended to ask about, but he seemed to have known that already as he continued.

"Your prisoner is still fine, but I hope you try to get your answers soon."

"Why?"

"He's trying to kill himself by depleting his source energy, and using his blood source after his source spirit is drained."

"I don't know what blood source is, but thanks. Where is he?"

He slanted his mouth before flying off towards one of the buildings that had a rooftop, and there we saw the guy that I caught.