The Saga of Eden

Chapter 1, part 6

“Hey pretty boy! How long are you going to make me wait huh?” Lela yells. It is late morning the next day, Lela has already packed all of her belongings and is now waiting for Eden in front of his inn.

“Almost done! Almost done! I’m coming!” Eden shouts out of his window as he hastily puts all of his unfolded clothes into his backpack. It was an exhausting day for him yesterday, so Eden slept more than usual. After a few minutes pass, Eden walks out of the inn, and the two of them are on the road towards Ella.

They walk in silence until the town is out of sight, surrounding them are grassland and forests within sight, with a single road ahead. Eden looks over to his partner and thinks of something to break the ice but stops. His eyes are wide out of surprise as Lela takes off her bandana to reveal her beautiful long flowing hair, takes off her fake teeth to reveal organized white teeth underneath, and wipes her cheeks to erase the freckles that were on her now smooth white face, after they have left town. Her eyes, though, remain unchanged. The plain, below-average girl just now has turned into…

[She’s beautiful...] Eden quickly snaps out of his thoughts. This is not what he intended when he invited Lela to join his team.

“Good-looking women in this profession tend to become prey to hungry males who lack self-control, so I have to do this to protect myself.” She explains.

“Y-yeah. That...makes sense.”

“You know, I’m not a morning person, but I woke up early today just for you. So you better make up for it, alright?” Lela teases him, but Eden is still too dazed at Lela’s change in appearance, so he doesn’t respond.

“Where are we going anyway? You got a plan?” Lela continues.

“The Capital, Ella, of course. I have been here 3 times in the past with my dad to sell our wheat.” 

“Son of a farmer, eh?” She quips. “Well, I don’t judge, you would look down on me even more if you know what my parents do.” Eden just nods, she’s grateful that he doesn’t ask further.

“I heard you took down Fat Jala and his goons yesterday to save Stratta, I’m impressed.” Lela continues. Eden looks at her with wide eyes, he has not shared this news to anyone in town yet to maintain a humble personality in public eyes, yet Lela still knows. “I have my ways when it comes to information.” Lela smiles smugly, seeing Eden’s surprised expressions. 

Eden would love to talk about many topics, especially about Lela herself and her capabilities. Still, he wants to maintain a cool persona who only speaks when it’s necessary. So Eden keeps silent. Besides, talking and asking too much might reveal his ignorance, and he can’t allow that.

“I bet I can take you on in a fight though,” Lela says as she checks him out from top to bottom. “What Level are you anyway?” 

There it is, the thousand-coin question: his Level. Eden never got to ask the bartender how to check his Level and how to check if he’s really Talented or not. 

[Think, Eden! Think!] Eden wracks his brain to try and find an answer. Lying can also be dangerous. If he overshoots or undershoots his real Level, Eden might get them into troubles in future fights that might even be fatal. [Maybe if I close my eyes and concentrate, I can see the answer somehow?] 

Eden then closes his eyes and concentrates. “Am I being annoying or something?” Eden can hear her questions, he needs to find the answer now. Suddenly, he can see many small white circles forming 4 rectangles with 4 circles leftover. [Is the number of circles my Level?] Whether it’s true or not, his time is running out, and he has to give an answer now.

“I’m Level 44.” Eden tries his best to answer calmly. [Is the number too high or too low? If my guess is wrong, the whole persona I’m trying to build will be over!] Eden mentally sweats as he awaits Lela’s response.

“Wow, 44? You have more than just your look, pretty boy.” Lela smirks, yet her face shows genuine surprise. “I’m only Level 41 myself.” 

[Phew! I think I’m saved!] 

“Don’t get cocky. I can still kick your a*s if I want to, remember that.” She continues. “...Anyway, you’re still young...20, I’m guessing?” 

“Yes.”

“Nice, I’m 22. You’re a young boy, and I’m a young girl, so if you ever need to relieve your urges...I’m happy to help.” Lela says in a much friendlier tone than usual while pointing towards a few small potion vials in her pocket. Eden knows what they are: anti-pregnancy potions, he has seen them in his village. Perhaps Lela was joking, perhaps not, but she giggles when Eden looks away, blushing wildly.

“I-I’ll keep that in mind,” Eden answers, trying his best not to show that he’s too interested in this.

“So now that we’ve got that out of the way, care to tell me how you managed to get a bear paw that fast yesterday?”

“Oh, that. I stumbled upon a bear corpse in the forest outskirts, so I just cut its paw and returned.” Eden answers absentmindedly, still staring at the clouds.

“WHAT??”

WHAT?? Oh, man! I should have followed him instead of staying at the bar yesterday!

[Wait, no! I wasn’t supposed to say that!] Oh, so you know, huh? Man, you won’t last a week against Lela.

“You’re serious?” Lela asks in disbelief. “And here I am, thinking that you’re some kind of rare, once-in-a-lifetime genius when all of it was just luck. God, I feel stupid...”

“Well hey, you never specified HOW I had to get the bear paw, right?” Eden smiles awkwardly, trying to turn this tense situation into a funny joke, but Lela isn’t laughing.

“What else are you hiding from me?” Lela shouts and points towards Eden’s sword. “That your main weapon is actually that sword in your hilt?”

“Ummm...yes?”

“Y-you’re serious...” Lela’s face changes color after she realizes Eden is serious. “No, no, no, no, no, this isn’t happening.” Lela squats down and holds her head as she despairs over the reality in front of her.

“Hey, don’t look down on me just because I wield a swo...”

“SHUT UP WILL YOU!” Lela yells at Eden as she stands up and points her index finger right at his chest. “Do you know how useless a sword is in real fights? And how difficult it is to change your main weapon after you’ve reached this age? Am I really going to die just because I made a STUPID promise to this STUPID guy that wields his STUPID sword thanks to his STUPID luck?” 

Lela seems to calm down for a bit after this short outburst. “Whatever, there’s nothing I can do anymore. When we go to Ella, we will have to find a good team to balance this out.” Lela says softly as she continues walking, leaving the still shocked Eden behind.

Then, Lela stops, turns around, and angrily shouts at him: “I’m still going to join you because I promised you so, but remember that s*x is now off the table!” 

Eden is shocked at that last part, he lowers his head down in disappointment, losing any will to respond. So he just slowly walks behind Lela.

------

The two of them arrive at Ella at noon the next day. Lela puts on her disguises as soon as they’re close enough. When the guards at the gate see Lela, they panic and immediately let her through.

“R-right this way, Miss Dandelion!” One of the guards nervously says.

“What did you do to them?” Eden asks after they have walked through the gate.

“Nothing.” Lela shrugs. She’s lying! “There aren’t that many Talented people in the world, after all. Perhaps that’s why they’re scared of me.” During their entire trip here, Lela still talks with Eden whenever needed, but she no longer shows any friendliness towards him.

Ella, the Crown Jewel of the mighty Narn Empire, home to over a million people from many races, but the vast majority are still humans. This is the fourth time Eden has been here, yet he’s still mesmerized by the beauty of its buildings and the bustling sound of people going on with their lives. There are so many beautiful places to visit, but he doesn’t have time for it right now. Eden’s current priority is resupplying and recruiting more members to his team, so he heads to the City Square, Lela sighs and follows him. From what he remembered, City Square was filled with people. It had a market and a building nearby where he saw many strong-looking men and women carrying weapons went in and out, a great place to recruit new members.   

The 2 of them pass through a market before arriving at City Square, so Eden stops and starts buying supplies while he’s here.

-----

“You bastard! 5 copper coins for THIS amount of grain? The town South of here sold it for 3!” Eden uses his haggling skill acquired as the son of a peasant to its best extent.

“Then go buy there! My price will not change!” The grain merchant is also not an amateur in this field.

“Please, sir! Please understand! I’m just a normal man coming to Ella to sell my goods. All I want is a simple meal afterward before my long journey home, and you want to rob it from me?” Eden shouts while his voice breaks and fake tears start forming in his eyes. “Have some heart, will you? 4 copper coins!”

“F-fine! Just take it and get out of here!” The merchant relents as people are starting to look at them.

-----

“Man, prices have really gone up since the last time I was here,” Eden complains after they have left the market.

“They sure have, I was here a few weeks ago, and prices were lower.” Lela agrees. “But enough of that. What are you planning to do next?”

“We’re going to recruit new members of course,” Eden says as he points towards where the building with strong people used to be. “I was thinking that’s where we should start looking, it’s...gone?” Eden continues as he looks to where he pointed, only to see the building no longer exists.