Austin was shocked at how much time had flown by during his recovery period. He originally anticipated that the day would feel like forever as he sat around. Instead, he got so invested in learning about enchantments that the day flew by. Eventually, he did take time out to look over the book on alchemy, but it did not intrigue him as much as enchantments. His mind was focused on learning as much as he could. After reading through the book, he decided that his best approach was learning about the various characters that made up enchantments. He felt that would be a good starting point for creating enchantments instead of diving straight into trying to learn how to create one with limited knowledge on only a few characters.

  ?

  As Austin’s recovery period came close to its end, Artas approached him. Austin was deeply focused on a page that listed our characters and their meanings. His body was hunched over as he traced the lines of the books with his fingers. Austin started to cover the side of the page that had the meanings of the characters and mouth the meanings before he removed his hand to check if he was correct.

  ?

  “This was supposed to be a recovery period,” Artas commented. “But I see you have gotten very invested in your learning.”

  ?

  Austin’s face jumped from the pages to look at Artas. As if his intense attention switched from the book to Artas. “My body got plenty of rest. I was just trying to use the spare time for something useful.”

  ?

  “I know, I’m just messing with you,” Artas smiled. “As long as you aren't using Essence or doing physical activity, I’m fine with it. Speaking of recovery, how are you feeling?”

  ?

  “I’m feeling pretty good, I think. My body does not feel like jelly like it did before,” Austin said. “You think I’m about done recovering?”

  ?

  “Oh, you definitely are,” Artas said. “I took a look at your Essence, and it seems to be in good shape. Your body seems to be too. You probably just haven’t noticed much since you have been sitting here studying the entire time.”

  ?

  “You’re probably right,” Austin said as he slammed the book shut.

  ?

  Austin set the book to the side before he leapt to his feet. He felt a moment of shock as his jump sent him upward and towards a thick branch that was high off the ground. As Austin approached the branch, he managed to cover his face with his arms before he rammed straight into it. On impact, he wrapped his hands around the branch and dangled from it like a monkey. He did not hang from the branch for long, as he let go of it and allowed himself to gently fall back to the ground.

  ?

  “That was…unexpected,” Austin said in shock. “It feels like my body is way lighter than ever before.”

  ?

  “Something like that,” Artas replied. “Now that your body has acclimated to your change in Essence, you are stronger and faster than before.”

  ?

  “Kinda like a buff to all my stats for leveling up,” Austin commented. “That's nice. I guess I’ll have to be careful until I’m used to my increased strength.”

  ?

  “Strange way of putting it,” Artas raised one of his eyebrows. “But essentially that is what happened.”

  ?

  “Oh, right, you probably don’t understand. We have games in my world where you can level up and get stronger. That’s why I said it like that,” Austin explained.

  ?

  “No need to explain to me,” Artas waved Austin’s explanation off. “Whatever helps you understand. Are you ready to go back? We still have time left, you could stay and study.”

  ?

  “While that does sound nice, I would like to see my family,” Austin said.

  ?

  “Of course, time to send my student back into the wild then,” Artas said before smiling broadly. “With several new gifts. Grab your pack and follow me.”

  ?

  Artas started to walk back towards the shrine. Austin reached down to grab his pack and threw it over his shoulder before he quickly followed behind Artas. Artas led Austin into the shrine and back to the chest filled with various scrolls. He rapidly grabbed one after another and laid them on the ground. It was almost as if he grabbed the scrolls at random with how fast he grabbed them.

  ?

  “Uh, what are all those?” Austin asked as Artas continued to stack scrolls.

  ?

  “Well, I can’t let you go back to eating twigs and berries. You’re my beloved student. These contain various meals for you and your family,” Artas gestured to the pile of scrolls before he placed a black scroll on top. “This scroll has silverware and dishes. That way you can cook and eat like a civilized person.”

  ?

  “Oh, thank you so much,” Austin said with a smile. “I’m sure that they will be happy to eat something different.”

  ?

  Artas walked around the shrine and grabbed a scroll that sat on a shelf before placing it in Austin’s hand. “This contains those enhancement elixirs and stabilization pills. I don’t recommend them for your pursuit of Iron. They are sort of ineffective for that, and I think you’ll be better off in general doing it more naturally. But they will be great for your wife. I don’t recommend using them on your son at his age.”

  ?

  Austin stood awestruck for a moment. He could not believe the gifts that Artas gave him. Then he mentioned his son, and it reminded him. “So when my wife and our companion took the Essence Fruit, the experience was pretty intense. Would the same thing happen if my son ate one?”

  ?

  “That’s a good question,” Artas said as he continued to walk around the shrine as if he were looking for something. “It won’t be nearly as intense. Actually, it probably would not be intense at all. That happened because the Essence Fruit sort of cleanses the body. A young body does not have all the same impurities that an older body would have.”

  ?

  “So it’s okay if I give it to him?” Austin asked.

  ?

  “Definitely, it actually would be advisable,” Artas replied. “Becoming aware of your Essence earlier will allow you greater growth later on in life.”

  ?

  Artas grabbed several more scrolls off the shelves and stacked them in Austin’s arms. Before he could explain further, he moved to grab more scrolls to stack. Soon, Austin’s arms were filled with scrolls.

  ?

  “Okay! I think that’s it,” Artas clapped his hands together. “Several of those scrolls have books stored inside. Plenty of stories, you should continue to read up on those in your free time. Then we have books on Essence, alchemy, and enchantment. They should keep you busy. Finally, those green scrolls on top? They contain some of my techniques. They might not fit your style, but they could come in handy. Several of them contain healing techniques that focus on the growth aspect of my affinity to heal you. I put a Great Tree Glaive in there for you. That one is nice because, as a weapon, it can return to the scroll. Finally, I threw in a Thousand Wood Fist in there in case you need something with a lot of power.”

  ?

  “Whoa, this is so much!” Austin’s eyes grew large in shock. “I don’t know how I could ever repay you.”

  ?

  “You repay me by staying alive and growing stronger,” Artas smiled. “As your master, I want to see you grow and flourish into something wonderful.”

  ?

  “I’ll do my very best,” Austin said as he pulled open his pack to store the various scrolls.

  ?

  “I know you will. You have good reason to get stronger,” Artas smiled. “Now, I think it’s time I sent you back.”

  ?

  “I agree,” Austin nodded as he placed the last scroll in his pack. “Thank you so very much. I don’t know if I can say it enough.”

  ?

  “You don’t need to,” Artas placed a hand on Austin’s shoulder. “You’ll pay me back one day in some way or another.”

  ?

  Before Austin could respond, he felt warmth flow through his body from Artas’s hand. Green wisps of light started to surround Austin’s body like green steam. Soon, the wisps grew thicker and radiated a light. Before Austin knew it, his entire vision was covered in light, and he felt a pulling sensation on his body. It was as if he were being pulled along by something much stronger than him, and he could not resist.

  ?

  The blinding light started to fade just as the pulling feeling left Austin. He found himself back in the Survival Game forest, right outside the cave where Artas’s shrine was located. Austin took in a deep breath as he took in the familiar sight. He instantly could feel a difference in the forest and Artas’s domain. Artas’s domain brought comfort and had a calm Aether to it. The forest was the exact opposite; it radiated a feeling of danger and the unknown. Most noticeable was the feeling of the Aether. Now that Austin was a Copper and had experienced a different Aether, he could tell that the Aether of the forest felt wrong. It gave off a feeling of corruption and danger. It was almost as if it could damage a person if they were not careful when dealing with it. Luckily, Josh and Maya knew to purify it before taking it into their Essence, but Austin wondered about people who did not know to do that. He wondered what the lasting effects would be on the person.

  ?

  Austin pushed those thoughts to the side. That was something to ponder at a later moment. He switched his focus to something more important, returning to his family. He quickly turned his attention away from the cave and started to run through the thick forest.

  ?

  Austin took huge and fast strides as he moved through the forest. As he ran, he avoided any overgrowth by either moving out of the way or jumping over it. His senses had vastly improved with his improved body, and he was able to react quickly to any obstacles in his way without slowing. It was like his body was a strong gust of wind as it flowed through the forest. Exhilaration filled Austin as he moved quicker than ever before. The feeling reminded him of a nice summer day with the car windows rolled down. The feeling could only be described as the feeling of freedom.

  ?

  It did not take long for Austin to return to the ruined building that made up his family’s camp. As he slowed, he did not even feel exhaustion from his run or the need to catch his breath. It was a strange feeling as he had never really run like that in his life. Any time that he did run, he always had to catch his breath afterward. He actually even tried to catch his breath when he came to a stop until he realized that he did not have to.

  ?

  Austin felt his heart beating rapidly as he approached the entrance to the building. He was excited to see his family again. The last week in Artas’s domain had made him aware of how much he valued spending time with them. As he entered, he looked over the group. Maya played with Elliot while Josh was reading.

  ?

  Maya and Josh both looked up to see who entered the building. Suddenly, anger started to fill Maya’s face as she marched over to Austin. Austin was taken off guard by the greeting. He was so excited to see Maya and Elliot that he could not imagine why Maya would be angry.

  ?

  “You were supposed to be back an hour ago!” Maya yelled as she pointed a finger at Austin. “I was worried that something had happened to you!”

  ?

  Austin could not help but laugh. His time away in the forest had not been enough for Maya to miss him, but instead worry about his safety. Then, when he entered, she, of course, was angry that he did not come back on time as planned.

  ?

  “What are you laughing at?” Maya’s voice was still filled with anger. “We have a schedule and you are supposed to stick to it!”

  ?

  Maya paused for a moment and looked over Austin. Because of his ascension to Copper, most of the fat on his body had been burned away. His body had become much leaner and his muscles became more defined. While he still looked like himself, the features on his face became sharper as excess fat was no longer there. Not only did Austin’s body go through a significant change, but he also wore the student uniform from Artas.

  ?

  “Wait…why do you look like that?” Maya asked.