Kingdom

The village takes quite a while to recover from the attack, and it is a slow process.

The buildings that were destroyed in their entirety had to be completely rebuilt, which took a large amount of time.

The villagers took the extra time to make the buildings out of harder materials, such as stone, so that they would not collapse if attacked again.

The villagers are also able to gather all the supplies that they had lost, and the village seems to have recovered quite well within a mere three days.

Zack is packing his things and plans to head to the kingdom.

He and Akari are leaving the village for a while to take a vacation, and to try new things.

They exit the village in order to go to the kingdom.

The walk takes a while, but eventually they reach the main gates of the kingdom.

The gates are made of solid steel, and the guards there all seem to be armed and ready to defend from an attack at any moment.

There are many guards spread out around the gate, and there are also a couple of heavily armored guards near one of the side towers.

There is a large archway that has the kingdom's insignia above it.

Zack and Akari walk towards the archway.

A guard stops them before going through the archway into the kingdom, and demands to know who they are and what they want.

He has his hand on his sword and his eyes are suspicious of their presence. He also has a very stern and serious look on his face, showing that he will not budge on his stance.

The guard has on a full set of steel armor, and around his waist is a sheathed sword, which looks very sharp and well cared for.

As Zack begin to explain to the guard, a man with long yellow spiky hair comes out of the Kingdom and talks to the guard.

The man seems to have a friendly attitude, and he seems to speak to the guard with a tone that they can both understand.

The guard seems to have his suspicions eased by the man's presence, and the guard nods at the man and says that Zack and Akari are allowed in.

As they enter the kingdom, the guard gives a short bow to the man with the long yellow spiky hair, and then walks off to the side of the gate.

The man with the long yellow spiky hair smiles and bows to Zack in greeting. He then says that his name is Ivar, and that he knows Zack because of Vala.

"Oh! Vala is she here?"

Ivar nods his head in confirmation. He says that Vala lives in the kingdom, and that she also frequently works alongside him.

Ivar then says that Zack must be a great friend of Vala, as she has mentioned Zack from time to time during their conversations.

"Oh really where does she live?"

Ivar smiles and says that Vala is currently living in the northern part of this kingdom, in a small wooden house near the border.

Ivar then explains that he is friends with her because she is very well known throughout this kingdom for her magical prowess.

She is often called upon to help when people need assistance in solving some more difficult or dangerous tasks.

Ivar then asks whether Zack would like him to accompany him to her house.

"Yeah that would be good, lead the way please."

Ivar nods his head in understanding and begins to walk further into the kingdom, leading them towards Vala's house.

As they walk through the kingdom, it becomes very clear how well maintained it is.

The streets are all cleanly swept, and every building they pass looks to be in very good condition.

They can also see people going about their days, going to work or going about their business.

They also see a couple of small kids playing in a sandbox near the side of the street, with a nearby parent watching them.

"Hey Ivar can I ask? why are you not wearing any top clothes?"

Ivar stops and looks confused, and then looks down at his bare chest. He looks back up to Zack and explains that clothes like shirts, robes, cloaks, or coats, can hold his back.

He also says that all his abilities scale with his physical strength, so the more power he can store within his body, the more powerful his abilities become.

"Oh I see... but your muscles are not even that big."

Ivar chuckles and shakes his head, before he explains that he doesn't need large muscles to have a lot of strength.

He then begins to explain that it all depends on how much muscle tension he can generate and how much pressure his body can exert.

Zack, Akari, and Ivar continue to walk through the kingdom, heading towards Vala's home.

Ivar continues to explain to them that muscle size does not equal physical strength, as muscle size only gives him an idea of how much physical strength a person needs to put into using their abilities.

He then explains that it all depends on the individual's willpower and training, as to how much physical stress they can endure when using their abilities.

After a while of walking they finally reached Vala's home. Ivar knocks on the door, and after a few moments, Vala answers the door.

Vala looks surprised to see Ivar, as she seems to be caught off guard. Vala looks like she was in the middle of doing something, as she still has a book in her hand.

Vala gives a friendly look to Ivar, and then sees Zack standing behind Ivar. Vala's eyes seem to light up when she sees Zack, and she begins to smile at him.

Vala smiles brightly when she sees Zack and says that it has been a while since the last time they met.

"Indeed... but I do not come here for that, I came here because I wanted to tell you something."

Vala nods her head in understanding, and invites them inside her house.

Once inside her house, they are able to get a better look at Vala and her surroundings.

Vala lives in a very simple house, and from the looks of things she lives there by herself.

The only things that are in the house are a couple pieces of furniture, such as a bookshelf and a small table, with a few books that are spread out on top of it.

Zack looks around and sees a photo frame on the table, he looks at it and asks Vala who is the kids in the photo.

Vala smiles and explains that the two kids are her and Ivar, and that they had been training together since they were young.

Vala then explains that her and Ivar would often spar against each other, and then train during the evenings together after their training is done.

Vala explains that she and Ivar have known each other for as long as they can remember, and they both grew up together in this kingdom.