Training Camp

The town in front of them was easier to get into then the first one Mark saw. This one didn't have anything special to keep people out, there wasn't even any guards.

Mark came closer, about five of the fifteen meters, to Amelia. There was no gate, just an empty hole in the wall, which made one wander why someone would even put a wall there. They could see inside before entering, and they saw thousands upon thousands of people just within their view. Strangely enough, even with that many people, the streets weren't crowded. This city must have been built with the number of people that would come here in mind, because the streets were wide enough to fit all of those people comfortably.

They entered without any trouble, but Mark had to get even closer to Amelia, as to not get lost, but he was still a meter behind her.

"Where are we going?" Mark asked Amelia. Over time, Mark got comfortable enough to speak properly to Amelia, although he didn't speak much on their journey.

"To find a caravan," Amelia answered. 'Why is it that every time he speaks, it's a question? If only he would speak without it having to be a question,' Amelia complained in her mind.

As they walked down the street, heading wherever it was that Amelia thought she could find a caravan, they listened to the conversations around them.

"I heard the Imperial nation wasn't happy with humanity constantly losing, so they decided to host a training camp all around human territory," a passerby said.

"Even if they do, I don't think it will matter. Humans are just too weak compared to the other races," another passerby replied to the other passerby.

"We humans really are weak. I heard that Aerock, one of the Fallen Embers'(Fire Nation) most technologically advanced cities, was destroyed by a beast attack," a different passerby started gossiping with the previous two.

There were only a few conversations that Mark listened to. He was pretty sure that Aerock was the city he found while looking for protection. Imperial training camp was mentioned several times by the passersby, so he took note of it. It might be a way for him to get stronger.

Some time while they were walking, Amelia changed directions, so Mark asked, "Why'd you change directions?"

"To find a quicker way to Heaven's Wind," Amelia replied, promising herself that she would get Mark to speak without asking a question. She ignored any further questioning from Mark, and continue on her way.

She stopped somewhere in the center of the city. In front of them was some sort of circle diagram colored white. In diameter, it was probably twenty meters.

"What's this?" Mark asked.

"It's a teleportation diagram. I heard someone from earlier say that anybody was allowed to enter it. Normally there are strict requirement for using one. There's one in every human city, so this one can be used to go to any of them," patiently explained Amelia.

"What requirements are there normally?" Amelia would definitely have to try harder to get him to speak without it being a question, because, normally, the only time he wants to speak is when he needs information.

Amelia once again explained to Mark, "Well, the only one I know of is strength. I didn't learn the other requirements yet, because I didn't need to. The minimum strength requirement is being able to use a rank three spell, someone who can do that is considered an apprentice spell user. People below that aren't given a title, because their strength doesn't even count as an ant when war happens." Amelia continued, "Right now I can cast a rank two spell, just barely."

They walked around and asked people if they knew how to use the teleportation diagram.

"To use that you need to pay the apprentice spell user who helps others use it. He's right over there," the passerby they asked pointed toward a young looking man, probably in his early twenties, who was sitting on a bench next to the diagram.

"Do you know how much you have to pay?" Amelia asked the passerby.

"That depends on how far you want to go. The closest place he can take you to cost one hundred grade one Mana stones, or one grade two."

Amelia thought that there couldn't be something as nice as free teleportation, but she didn't expect it to be so pricey. She wasn't rich by any means, but she had worked hard slaying grade one beasts, which were the equivalent of a rank one human, so she had forty one grade one Mana stones. She hadn't fought a grade two beast because it would be too hard for her.

With the amount of money she had, she was a long ways away from even teleporting to the closest destination, let alone the capital of Heaven's Wind.

"We'll have to go with our original plan, I can't afford to use the teleportation diagram," Amelia seemed a little sad about being poor.

"Then let's earn enough," Mark stated as if that was only common knowledge, because it was.

"Hah! I knew it. You can speak without asking a question," Amelia exclaimed, her mood visibly brightening. Mark just looked at her like she was a weirdo.

Amelia's face became slightly red from embarrassment. "*cough cough* Anyway, I wish we could do that, but it would be faster to just travel the normal way," Amelia denied Mark's suggestion.

"Why?" Mark asked. He didn't understand why earning would be slower, after all, the teleportation was almost instantaneous.

"Because we're too weak. Killing the beast would be slower than the travel with our strength, so its better to just go by caravan," Amelia's face went back to normal as she explained.

"So we just need to get stronger," Mark stated once again, this time he was starting to doubt Amelia's intelligence.

"I'm on a roll! *cough*, I meant getting stronger isn't that," she remembered about the imperial training camp in the middle of speaking, "Okay, let's get stronger then," Amelia stuck her hand out to shake hands with Mark, but he moved away. She felt awkward throughout most of the conversation, and this just made it worse.

A small, almost imperceptible smile formed on Mark's face, "Yes, let's get stronger together."