Julian's Training Center

Julian's Training Center was a large white building with people walking in and out of it. Jax stood outside the gate for a moment, looking at all of it.

There were large fences built around the building that blocked his view of what went on inside, but even so, he could hear a bunch of shouting and clashes, as if people were fighting inside.

Gemma did say people killed each other easily in this world, so training to survive made perfect sense to him.

"Are you waiting for someone to come and welcome you? Just walk in," Gemma urged.

Jax snorted softly and walked in through the gate. Past the gates, he could see people on either side training against large wooden posts, hitting them with all sorts of wooden weapons.

Some used staff, some used swords, some used bows and arrows.

Gemma moved toward the door of the building and said, "Go there and get registered."

Jax nodded and strode over. After asking a few people along the way, he was led to a room with a few people outside waiting in line.

It appeared that he was not the only person trying to get registered at that moment.

Jax took a glance into the room and saw an old white-haired man sitting behind a desk next to a glowing lamp and a stack of paper. He spoke softly, asking questions of the person trying to register.

Seeing as much, he went to the back of the line and waited.

After a while, it was Jax's turn.

The old man gave one glance at Jax and took one of the pieces of paper from the stack. He dipped a small metal pen into the open ink pot next to him and asked while the excess ink dripped back into the pot.

"Name?"

"Jax."

"When did you arrive?"

"About half an hour ago."

"Which path?"

"Path? Oh, Sorcerer."

"And why do you want to train?"

"To—"

"To go to the next Carriage!" Gemma quickly answered in his ears. "Don't let anyone know you're an Ascendant."

Jax frowned a little. She should have mentioned that earlier. He nearly told the man that he was training to go meet the Navigator.

"To go to the next Carriage," Jax repeated.

The old man nodded. He brought out something from nowhere, something white, and held it in his hands. Then, he held out his other hand toward Jax.

Jax looked at the hand without doing anything. The man gave an exasperated look when Jax didn't grab his hand.

"Hold my hand already," the man said. "Ask your helper. It's nothing suspicious."

Jax raised an eyebrow and turned to the mote of light that was Gemma.

"It's a spell," Gemma explained. "He's trying to make a deal with you. The deal only forms when both of you accept the condition."

Jax thought for a moment and grabbed the man's hand. "What's the deal?" he asked.

"For each week you stay here, you will pay 10 small White-grade Navi Stones."

Jax frowned. "The hell is a Navi Stone?" he asked.

The man opened his palm and showed the white gem he held inside. "This is a Navi Stone. You can ask your helper all about it afterward. For now, do you agree to the deal?"

Jax thought for a bit. "Is this a good deal?" he asked Gemma.

"Very good actually," Gemma answered. "Considering you'll be trained, fed, and given a place to stay while you're here."

"Alright, I accept," Jax told the old man.

"Then, it is a deal."

The man clutched the white stone, and his fist began shining. Then light erupted from in between their held hands as Jax felt something sting his palm.

He took it back instantly and looked at what was inside of it. The name 'Julian' was carved into his palm, as if stamped with hot iron.

"Are you Julian?" Jax asked.

"That's my name, yes," Julian said as he put away the paper where he had written Jax's information and brought out a small slip, handing it over to Jax.

He waved him off next, calling the next one into the room.

Jax took the slip and walked out. On the slip were words that he was able to read, despite never having known that language. It held simple information about where his room was, where he could go to train, what time food was served, what time laundry would be done, as well as where the library was.

Jax folded the paper and looked for a place to put it in his clothes. However, it turned out that he had no pockets. "Where do I keep it?" he asked.

"Did you already forget about your Inventory?" Gemma asked.

"Ah, right."

Jax pulled out the Inventory, which at the moment was completely empty. "What now?" he asked.

"Just imagine that you're putting something into a box before you and place it there," Gemma said. "It's all about visualization."

"Alright," Jax said and tried to do as he was told. He put the slip into an imaginary box in front of him, and it disappeared. Inside of his mind, he could see that there was now a slip inside of his Inventory.

He couldn't read the slip, just that there was one there.

"Same thing to bring it out?"

"Yep!"

Jax put his hand into an imaginary box before him and pulled the slip of paper out. The way it appeared in his hand reminded him of the white stone that appeared in the old man's hand out of nowhere.

"Was he keeping that stone in his Inventory?" he asked Gemma.

"He was," Gemma answered. "All who come to the Celestial Express are provided with their own Inventory."

Jax nodded and thought of something curious. "What about those that don't come to this place?" he asked. "You did mention that the majority of the people living here are descendants of Settlers, correct?"

"Those do not have access to an Inventory or any of the other features like you do."

Jax nodded as he listened to Gemma. After a moment, he looked at the slip and sought out a training ground.

"Alright, let's go see what I'm here to do," he said. "If possible, I want to leave this Carriage in the 42 days we have remaining."