Of course I wanted to spend my XP! This was turning out to be a good day for my mental attributes. Maybe all I needed to do to gain more mental attributes was interact with people more. If I’m right, the village is my gold mine. I was definitely moving into the village despite the weirdness of its people. I am in this weird world now. Time to embrace it all.

  Maybe my improved Awareness could help me figure out what was causing the weirdness. Then again, I might be rushing to conclusions, I had only met six people, after all. But in my defense, everyone else had run away without even acknowledging me. No… I wasn’t being rash. People here were really weird.

  I quickly spend a point each, on my mental attributes and checked my status:-

  Status Update

  Name: Anesu/ maMlilo

  Mutupo: Dragon

  Bonded Companion

  Name : Jena

  Type :Dragon

  level :Locked

  Bonded relic :1

  Name : Jena’s lair

  Type :Dragon’s lair

  level :Locked

  Base attributes

  Strength :4

  Dexterity :4

  Constitution :4

  Intelligence :8

  Wisdom :8

  Charisma :8

  Passive general skills unlocked

  Running :3/10

  Endurance :3/10

  Pain Tolerance :2/10

  Balance :2/10

  Awareness :7/10

  Danger sense 1/10

  Climbing :2/10

  identify :2/10

  Way-finding :4/10

  cooking :1/10

  swimming :1/10

  housekeeping:1/10

  Class : pending awakening

  Abilities :pending awakening.

  Minimum base attributes thresholds required for awakening.

  Just then, I realized Jena was looking at me, waiting. My status had completely distracted me in the middle a very important conversation. I was behaving like a teenager on their phone.

  “Sorry! I was checking my status. I just gained more mental XP.” I shared it with him.

  “Wait… you get XP for thinking?” he said, clearly dubious. “This Awareness ability, it’s like Way-Finding, right? A thinking skill? I’ve never heard of abilities like that before.”

  “Ah, but that’s what makes them interesting. I don’t gain points just for thinking. I gain them when I connect the dots and become aware of some deeper truth. Way-Finding is more about finding solutions. The larger the problem — and the more permanent the solution — the more points I get.”

  “Sounds like thinking to me.” He cocked his head and asked, “So, what’s this truth behind your summoning that you became aware of that earned so many points? We’ve been here a long time and didn’t get any, and now suddenly points are just popping up. What changed? Don’t get me wrong — I’m happy. This is good. I’m just trying to understand so we can replicate it.” Jena said.

  “I think it’s interaction with people. I don’t think I’m meant to hide out in this lair. I have to go out there and meet people. While we were talking, I realized the system needed someone like me an old woman with nothing to prove and a deep dislike of violence. Someone who doesn’t want power, doesn’t enjoy conflict, and has no interest in politics.”

  I took one of the many multi-colored cushions and hugged it. Saying it aloud made me slightly uncomfortable. This whole thing wasn’t an accident. I was here for a reason. What the reason? It was a small consolation to know that at least I don’t have to fight sentient beings. But what about non-sentients? I stopped myself before I could overthink it.

  “I think,” I continued, “I was chosen because of who I am. I don’t like violence or politics, both things which, I think, you and your old mage thrived on. And you were good at it. You built and ran a city that has endured to this day. But that can never be me. I don’t want to run anything. I don’t want to be anyone’s hero. All I want is to retire somewhere and enjoy a slow, peaceful life. The system knew this and deliberately chose to bind us, two completely opposing natures.”

  As I spoke, Jena had gone stock-still. He looked stunned. I think he understood the enormity of what I had said, because he shook his head, as if trying to dispel the truth, and said,“I already knew that about you. I mean, we’ve talked about it many times. I know you value your freedom and how ready you were for what you call ‘retirement.’ But I had hoped that once you fully come into your power, you’ll see the futility of it all. You simply have to fight. It’s very hard to contain the kind of power you’re going to have. And politics cannot be avoided, you’ll have to deal with people.”

  “I can deal with people without getting involved in their politics. And we don’t even know what kind of power I’ll gain. Like you said, you’ve never heard of Awareness or Way-Finding as abilities. Don’t you see, Jena? It’s time we try a different way. We may fight — but we fight my way. No bloodshed. No broken bones.

  As for politics, I survived in my old world without ever getting entangled in them. I think, if we put our heads together, we can find another way. Think about it, Jena — not being responsible for anyone. Free to be and do whatever we want. This is a magical land. We can explore it. Just… think about it.” I implored him.

  Jena looked thoughtful as he said, “I must admit, you are right. And even if I don’t fully agree, it seems the system has already chosen for me.” More than anything, that seemed to irritate him — not having a choice. I smiled inwardly, thinking, Now you know how I felt when you took mine away.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “But what about this?” Jena asked. “If something is within your power to change, isn’t it also your responsibility?”

  “You just want to be a hero.” I smiled to show there were no hard feelings. “We can satisfy your heroic urges by helping those we meet along the way. But what I do know is this — just because you have the power to change something doesn’t mean you have the right to. That’s a slippery slope toward might makes right. I agree, if injustice is being done and it’s within your power to stop it, then yes, act. But human systems are rarely that simple. They’re tangled, messy things that never truly unravel unless the people involved take responsibility themselves.

  What I’m suggesting is that we empower people to solve their own problems, when we can. Let them change their own destiny. And that, my dear dragon… gives us the freedom to simply be.”

  “Hmm,” said Jena. He was really thinking it over. I took my plate back to the kitchen. The magic that cleans up the lair only works when things are in the right place.

  “I admit,” he finally said as I walked back to sit beside him, “this explore-the-world idea sounds appealing, and helping people along the way sounds reasonable too. But I’m not sure how we’re actually going to do that. Especially since Nyajena’s Ishe’s mage is waiting for us outside. Do you think he’ll just let you go? Do you think Ishe will leave you alone once he finds out about you?”

  “I don’t know, but we can try. If the worst comes to the worst, we can always hide in here like we’re doing now.” I smiled, and Jena chuckled.

  Something akin to mutual respect and understanding passed between us. The system’s magic had bound us together out of necessity, and we had both accepted it for our own reasons. For me, it was simple, what else could I have done in this strange new world I had been thrown into? For Jena, the bond was his only path to reclaiming his former power and continuing the work he and his mage had begun.

  Now, however, we were joining our wills not out of necessity, but out of mutual understanding. We now knew where each other’s hard line were, and were going to have to learn to appreciate them. I suspected that would be harder for Jena than for me. He would have to learn to go against his nature.

  For most of his past life, he had lived with a single goal - One he had shared with his old mage, one he had been willing to die for.

  Not so much for me. I like not having a goal, just being. Seeing where the wind takes us and taking great pains to avoid conflict as much as possible. Having the system on my side, to some extent, gave me an upper hand, I realized which I didn’t quite like. In any relationship, the moment you start thinking of having an upper hand, things will start falling apart. I was bound to Jena for life. I want a relationship based on mutual respect.

  So, to try and put us on equal footing, I said, “What should we do now?”

  Jena looked at me incredulously. “You’re asking me? We tried things my way this morning, remember, you ran away.”

  I just stared at him. The glint in his multi-colored eyes told me he was pulling my leg. I gave a small shake of my head but couldn’t stop the slight curl of my lips.

  “Too soon?” he asked.

  I nodded. Though I did find it funny. We had people waiting outside, after all.

  “I think we should go talk to your mage friend. We can figure things out from there. Our goal hasn’t changed, you still need to awaken. And I know you want to go into the village.”

  I brightened. That I did. I really, really wanted to go to the village. At this point, I didn’t think I even needed to stay there, just visiting might be enough to quell the urge. It was beginning to feel like an itch.

  He continued, “I still want to go to Nyajena, if only to see what has become of that city. No violence. No politics. I promise.”

  “Jena, what do you think about us living in the village — not just visiting for a day? Not permanently, mind you, but long enough for me to learn about this world and gain the mental XP I need. I thought that if you can teleport, you could come with me. Since no one can see you, no one would suspect anything… unless I start talking to you. How does the lair work, anyway? Can we take it to the village, or is it fixed to this forest? And if it is… can you teleport to the village?”

  “I don’t know. Both my power and the lair are tied to yours. Until you awaken, this may be all I can do. I don’t think I can teleport beyond the forest.”

  Of course. That would have been too easy.We would have to find another solution.

  Once I started living in the village, regularly coming back to the woods would look suspicious and that was something we still needed to discuss.I gained mental points from interacting with people, so I needed to spend time in the village. But I also needed to be here for my physical training.

  For now, I decided to set the problem aside and talk to Matemai, if he was still waiting.

  “This awakening business is getting frustrating,” I muttered, pushing myself to my feet. I held out my hand to Jena. “Let’s go outside, then.”

  In a moment, we were outside, and the sun was still high in the sky. Matemai and Mhazi were exactly as we had left them.

  I frowned and said to Jena, “Uh… I thought we’d been gone for a long time.” It was more a passing remark than a real question.

  “Time dilation,” said Jena.

  “Say what?” I frowned even more. “What do you mean?” I had a nagging suspicion Jena had used his magic again — for something. What exactly, I didn’t know.

  “I can, for a short period, pull both of us out of time. We were in the lair longer, but its like time outside stood still. ”

  What was this? Jena would have to explain it properly later, after we dealt with Matemai. But seriously, another kind of magic he hadn’t told me about?

  “Don’t look at me like that. I didn’t hide it from you. It just… it’s just…” He stuttered.

  I waved a hand at him to dispel his worry. “We’ll talk about this later. And no, I’m not upset. I just need to know what magic we have at our disposal, that’s all.”

  Jena looked relieved, and I felt a little guilty. Was I the nagging partner in this relationship?

  “Is he here?” Matemai asked, turning slowly as he scanned the clearing. It’s not like he could see Jena, I had already told him how invisible Jena was to everyone.

  Before I could remark on that, a horn sounded from the village, deep and resonant, its booming call rolling across the land like distant thunder. It rose, full and celebratory, then echoed again… and again… until it had sounded seven times, each note swelling with life and promise.

  Matemai’s face lit up. His whole posture changed, energy rushing through him. Even Mhazi looked less of a stone. Curious.

  “Ah!” he said, barely containing his excitement. “They’re going to have the Bira tonight — finally!”

  “A Bira?” I asked.

  “It’s a planting-planning gathering that lasts all night for the whole village. It’s lots of fun. This village, like most, doesn’t have enough awakened farmers, people with the farmer class. Tonight, they’ll make a schedule for when each household will receive help from them. That way, they can ensure proper harvests.”

  “Ah… a planning meeting, then.” I imagined serious people talking for hours. Meetings had never really been my thing. I wondered why Matemai was so excited about that.

  Then again, Matemai was always excited about everything.

  “On the contrary, it’s a festival!” he said, practically glowing. “While they argue over planting schedules and fairness and all that, the rest of us celebrate. There’s food everywhere, music that never quite stays in rhythm, games popping up wherever there’s space and enough drink to make the whole place feel wonderfully out of control.”

  That sounded incredible and just like that, I couldn’t wait to go.

  “Can we go?” I asked. “Anyone can attend, right?”

  “Of course. But what about Jena?”

  I sighed. Matemai barked out a laugh.

  I still had to behave like a responsible human… and Matemai very clearly wanted to see Jena. At least we had the whole afternoon before evening comes.