Learning

Zain watched as Brayden took out a notebook from his backpack, one which was labeled ‘Spirit’.

“The best explanation I got for how spirit works is: ‘to think of it like creating constructs out of your life energy’…” He began.

Constructs? I feel like I’ve heard that before…

Brayden flipped through his notebook and turned to a particular section marked by a blue post it note. Inside was a crude illustration of a figure surrounded by energy.

“It is said that your soul takes the shape of what most suits your personality. Back in our own world, it is like having a spirit animal. It’s the same concept here - I think. Your life energy more easily takes the shape of certain things so they can manifest into something tangible if you ‘will it’.”

So, is that how the girl and her mother have jellyfish in their hair? They constructed it?

“Woah! So if I wanted to, I could give myself some dragon wings!” The temptation to start mastering spirit powers was overwhelming, but all of that came crashing down in an instant when Brayden spoke next.

“Sorry dude, don’t think so…From what I’ve heard, you only get one animal that your soul can easily take the form of, and most of the time, they are not all that useful. Unless we had that animal in our world, you probably won’t be able to.” He flipped forward a few pages, which highlighted certain facts. “Oh, yeah. And making constructs takes a lot of energy depending on the person. Most people will only opt to use their abilities for aesthetic reasons.”

He gestured generally at the people on the train: There were a lot with coral looking plants sticking out of their hair or fish-like scales glittering on their cheeks.

A sigh of disappointment escaped from Zain, “Yeah, I can understand that I guess... I can’t imagine how a coral would be effective in battle.”

“Battle? Who are you planning on fighting? We’re not in a conflict zone or battle manga…” Brayden trailed off as he began chuckling to himself.

Slight embarrassment ebbed at Zain, but he also started to laugh. A small scoff sounded next to him, followed by someone saying something about being childish under their breath.

Zain looked to his side, only seeing the little girl and her mother minding their own business.

Did I imagine that?

He turned back to Brayden, who was flipping through his notebook again, likely not having heard anything weird.

“Well, I guess you could learn some magic for self-defense reasons. There’s no harm in that. There are some real world applications that I’ve heard being used as well - Ah, here.” He stopped at a particular part within his notebook, folding it in half as he handed it to Zain.

Grabbing the notebook, Zain scanned the contents, which detailed using magic for certain everyday tasks such as cleaning, building, and gardening. There were various blurbs which briefly touched on specialized occupations that used specific attributes and abilities, but these were not as detailed as other paragraphs, likely because Brayden had not had enough time to research these things.

“There aren’t any classes within the college which teach you self-defense, so you’d have to either pay for them or teach yourself. I did briefly research some gyms that offered similar things, but admittedly, I haven’t really gotten the chance to look into those…” Brayden explained.

One of his tangents quickly followed, as he began to talk about certain services offered within this world, referencing notebooks he didn't have at the moment.

Zain tried his best to follow along with the conversation, but there were too many tangents and Brayden was pointing at different pages within the notebook he had brought. It was a couple of minutes before Zain held his hand up after closing the notebook.

“Maybe it’s best we stop here…” He placed his hand over his mouth as he handed the notebook back to Brayden. “I’m a little nauseous….”

Having never been able to read in a moving vehicle, Zain couldn’t understand how others could. Needless to say, out of self preservation, he put the conversation to a stop.

Brayden flashed some sympathetic eyes, then offered an unopened water bottle from his bag as he pat Zain on the back. Grateful his roommate was so well prepared, he accepted the bottle and drank some water immediately. He took a deep breath, trying to still his stomach.

“Heh… skill issue.”

Zain definitely heard someone say that under their breath. It sounded like a little kid, so of course he glanced at the little girl who sat next to him. Her headphones were still on; most other people would assume that she was referring to an opposing player she was now facing, however, she was still waiting in the lobby for her next game. There was no change in her demeanor, as she continued playing.

It was probably easier to ignore this rude child, so that is what Zain did.

The water bottle was nice and cool, so Zain placed it on the side of his neck whilst he stared at the floor. As he stared aimlessly at the floor he started to notice some strange glitterings strewn about. Focusing on the shining pieces, he was able to see that they were what appeared to be iridescent fish scales. He leaned down, picking a few up to observe them better.

Each was of a different shape and size; some had more luster and others seemed more transparent.They were quite beautiful so h fiddled with them in his hand, transfixed by them.

It was as he stared at them, that one of the more transparent ones thinned then shattered, much resembling ice melting in the sun, except there was no trace that anything had been there.

The mysterious phenomenon fascinated him, and his eye glimmered as he turned towards Brayden, who had been watching him.

Without hesitating, he devolved into his explanation, “Those constructs can only last so long, so after a certain duration or at a certain distance, they disappear.” He pointed at another scale in Zain’s hand which fractured then evaporated into dust in the air.

Awesome!

Immediately, Zain collected a few more things from the floor: A few more scales, various shells, and several coral branches. He fixedly stared at them, looking as some disappeared.

“Too bad I can’t keep them. These look really pretty.” They were the type of items that people would collect at the beach as souvenirs, so Zain considered it a shame that they would simply disappear.

“Gross.” The girl next to him again judgmentally added.

Zain glanced at the girl, whose nose was scrunched up in disgust.

He frowned. What was this girl’s problem? She was, frankly, ruining Zain’s sense of awe with her little comments. What was more, her mother did not even seem bothered by her daughter’s behavior; she was probably not even paying attention as she continued to scroll on her phone.

It’s okay, calm down…maybe these constructs are the same as hair or nail clippings? Maybe it's different for the people here because it is an extension of their own body…

Internally, he was able to talk himself down, and only slight annoyance remained.

Continuing his conversation with Brayden (and dropping the constructs in his hand), Zain returned to the original topic. “Do you know what form your spirit takes? Is it something cool?”

“Unfortunately, no. I hear that it is hard for ethereals to know theirs, and hard for them to master them.”

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

That sucks, what if my spirit animal is ,like, really cool?

“How would you figure out what your spirit animal is? Through one of those mediums you mentioned?”

Brayden nodded, “I think that is the only way, but the most difficult part would be finding a legit medium. I tested it once, going to three different ‘mediums’ who advertised their services for low prices. All three gave me three different answers, so I’m pretty sure that they were just swindlers.” He had a distant look in his eye, likely lamenting that he had to spend money on his theory. “There are legit ones, apparently- but as for where? I haven’t the slightest clue…”

Everything circled back to money in the end, maybe he really should think about getting a job…

Zain looked out the window, thinking about the amount of money he would have to scrounge up to do all of the things he wanted to do. His brows furrowed in thought. Worrying wasn’t his style, but there was so much piling up that even he was unsure of at that moment; he couldn’t help but ruminate for a bit.

A quizzical look flashed on Brayden’s face, “What’s wrong? What are you thinking about?” His eyes narrowed as he tried to read Zain’s expression, “I hope you're not thinking about spending all of your money on one of those mediums…”

“N-no…I wasn’t thinking about using my money for that…yet.” He averted his eyes.

They both began to snicker to themselves.

“Idiot.” The little girl added, under her breath.

Zain stopped, a severe frown now on his face. He looked over to the girl’s mother, who was still unbothered by her daughter’s comments. Hoping to possibly telepathically communicate with her, he placed two fingers to his temple.

Control your damn child, Lady!

“Ah. This is our stop. Let’s go, it's not that far now.” Brayden interrupted his train of thought, and he quickly began to gather his things to leave.

Zain likewise followed, huffing as he made his exit.

----------------------------------------

The store they went to was right in front of the subway entrance at a nearby plaza, so they made it there in no time. It was rather small, some would maybe call it a convenience store, but it had fruits and vegetables so calling it a grocery store was more appropriate. There was only one person on duty, a white haired old man who wore more casual clothing; it would not come to Zain’s surprise if he was the owner of the place because he looked like he was falling asleep.

He must make good money if he can take naps so freely.

This area did not look so run down, so it was likely that security was decent enough. The man leaned in a chair near the door, his walking cane leaning on his leg. There was no doubt in Zain’s mind that the plaza’s security would handle any shoplifters that may pass through.

Now inside the small grocery store, Zain closely inspected all of the things he wanted, and he was stuck staring at the cereal he was eating before.

It wasn’t that he didn’t know what he should get, or that he was being indecisive. There was a different problem.

It’s so fucking expensive!!

He looked at the prices of the cereals, ranging from 7-10 credits. Bread was 6 credits. How the hell was he supposed to afford most of this crap?!

Shaken, he turned towards Brayden with sadness in his eyes.

The teen nodded knowingly, understanding what his friend was thinking. “It’s hard shipping things underwater, so a lot of stuff is expensive. We have a meal plan at the college, so that helps a lot. For now, just focus on getting things like shampoo and other stuff that you use on the weekend.”

“Okay…but aren’t there cheaper stores…”

“Maybe but they are really far away.” Brayden took a more serious tone as he straightened his back, “I have shopped at multiple stores and this store has the best pricing for its location. Not only that, it offers discounts and coupons on a regular basis for its regular customers.”

His phone was already out as he pulled out a shopping app, showing Zain all of the deals they had for that day.

“I even made a spreadsheet on the regular items I bought from different stores, and this store had the most consistent pricing and discounts.” His eyes were intense, and he looked ready to burst into passionate flames at any moment.

“You even made a spreadsheet, but why-”

“Because I’m hella poor.” Brayden immediately answered, completely serious as he adjusted his glasses.

A nervous laugh escaped from Zain. It was all he could do because, admittedly, he was not used to this level of intensity from Brayden.

Brayden kneeled down, going for one of the brands on the lower shelves. “You’ll have to settle for cheap name brands for now, especially if you want to save up your money.”

“Yeah…” Even though he was okay with this, he couldn’t help but pout.

In the end, they only got the bare necessities, no more than 20 items. However, even with that, Zain had used up about a quarter of his funds.

Brayden bought some things himself, and was already at the self checkout, ahead of Zain. There were fewer items in his basket, but he had more expensive items. It wouldn’t be surprising if he had more spending money since he had been here for much longer.

“I guess I should start working as soon as I can.” Finding employment did not seem as if it would be fun, but what was he to do?

Gathering his items after paying, Brayden placed what he could in his backpack. “Hmm, yeah. It would be a good idea if you’re willing. There’s a job board nearby that many people go to. It has a lot of cameras nearby, so not just anyone could make a listing there. It’s the most secure for those with no prior job experience.”

“A job board, huh…Maybe I should look for adventurer jobs?” Zain joked. He couldn’t help it, the mention of job boards reminded him of animes that had guild job boards.

“Oh? Sure, you can. But maybe stick with small stuff first, Mr. Hero.” Brayden responded sarcastically as he chuckled.

“Hey! I totally could! You said that there were dragons! I crave adventure! It’s my destiny!” Zain committed fully, as he animatedly made his declaration.

Brayden shook his head, amused. He looked at the items Zain was scanning, then began to consider things for a moment. “You’re getting more stuff than I expected, I’m gonna rent a collapsible cart so we don’t have to carry this stuff. Wait for me.” And like that, he quickly left out the store doors.

Oh, that’s handy. I should ask where those are… Zain thought as he finished paying for his things.

There were quite a few items, so he was slightly encumbered by the bags at his sides. He began to head towards the door, however, the old man’s cane fell in front of him.

Zain dutifully placed a few of the bags he held on the ground as he picked up the cane. To his surprise, the man had awoken and he was now looking at Zain.

“Oh. Sorry sir, you dropped this.” He handed the cane back to the old man. The man leaned forward, reaching out his hand. However, instead of grabbing the cane, he grabbed Zain by the wrist.

“Um-”

“I heard you boys talking earlier…about adventurer's work…” He interrupted Zain before he could ask him to let go. With his hand not lessening its grip, he looked up at Zain. “I’m here to tell you to forget about that. Do something else with your life.”

It would’ve been easy to simply shrug him away, by saying that they were just joking. Yes, that would’ve been the way to go, but Zain let his curiosity get the better of him.

“Why should I do that? What is wrong with the work of an adventurer?” He didn’t even know that it existed in the first place, but if it did, he had to admit that he wanted to know more about it.

But the man shut it down right away, simply shaking his head in response. “It is not real. Do not believe that crap. I’ve met boys like you, the dumbasses who think they were taken here for a reason. Lemme just tell you…it never ends up good, so just stick with what ya know! Do not pursue that path!”

In the face of this dogged man, Zain chose not to back down, he pressed further. “And what happened that was so bad, huh?”

Silence followed for a few seconds; Zain thought that he may have pissed off the store owner, but the man tightened his grip and began to speak once again.

“There was a boy. Maybe 9, maybe 10. I don’t remember exactly, but what I do remember was his eyes. How bright and excitable he was. Believing that he was in some comic book or some crap like that. ‘It’s my destiny!’...he would say crap like that while waving his stupid sword around. I would tell him to be careful. I would tell him that he shouldn’t expect to go on some adventure, and he should just focus on living, but hell if he ever listened ta me!…He was too naive, too stupid! The magic amazed him, and he was convinced that he would become a hero. Do you know what happened to that boy?” His face was grim, and he fixed Zain with a haunting glare.

Zain didn’t utter a word, simply shook his head in response, swallowing any words that he had previously. The man tightened his grip, then drew Zain in closer, so they were face to face. His voice lowered to a gruffer tone, as if he was filled with the most pure hate and vitriol.

“Some bastards took advantage of his naivety, told him that they had ‘hero’s work’ for him. They made it sound so fun. Told him that it was something that only he could do. That boy had no one ta tell him, warn him, about the danger. Hell, if his foster parents even gave a damn!…Well, they took every valuable piece of him, and cut up the rest of what they didn’t fuckin need. Scattered him every which way…” A slight tremble sounded in the man’s voice, his pupils vibrated ever so slightly. “I should’ve been clearer…I should’ve beaten it into him if I had ta… Well, I refuse to make that same mistake again.”

He grabbed Zain by the collar with his free hand, shaking him as he continued, “You are not special! There is no greater purpose for why you are here! You. Just. Are. Live a normal life! If anyone tells ya otherwise, run!”

There was slight desperation on the man’s face, regret staining every syllable. It was a few moments before Zain silently nodded in acknowledgement. Slowly, the man let go, then grabbed the cane that Zain was still clutching.

Without a minute passing, Brayden came back. “I’ve got the cart, we can go now…Oh, hello Mr. Carter. I see you're awake now.”

Mr. Carter turned towards Brayden with a neutral expression on his face, any trace of maliciousness completely wiped away. “Oh. It's the future teacher.”

“Yeah, hopefully, but not quite yet.” Brayden chortled. “Sorry, I didn’t say hi earlier, but I didn’t want to wake you.”

The previously indignant man shook his head, “It’s alright. You boys probably have a lot of things to do, so I won’t keep you. But take these before you go.” He rummaged through his pockets and pulled out some candy.

“Aw, thanks, but like I said before, I’m not a kid so you really don’t have to…” Is what Brayden said, but he still took some candy nonetheless.

The man smiled sweetly, “Ah, but for me, you both are.” He glanced at Zain as well, then politely waved them goodbye as he hobbled his way to the back of his store.

“Mr. Carter is so nice.” Brayden grinned as he unraveled some chocolate and placed it in his mouth. His eyes scanned Zain before looking at him quizzically. “What did you guys talk about, you look like you’ve seen a ghost…”

Zain snapped out of it. His mouth was slightly open, so he closed it and shook his head.

“Nothing.” He said, as he stared at his wrist.