Novaris. Septer. 905. AGC.

  Nodel. Waxing Gibbous ??. Days 11-15.

  After four days of fruitful training, the party decided to head back to the city early on the 11th. Arelion had told them the night before that his weakness period was about to begin, so they figured it was best to allow him to rest. Plus, it's not like it would stop their training since everyone could continue working on various things, even questing if they so desired. They had even discussed staying close to the city so they could continue camping and advancing in the field, but after a few days of training, everyone wanted to spend a day or two resting. Or at least as close as they could come to rest, since they all had plans to continue advancing.

  Still, after spending four days together, the party split up immediately upon arriving in the city; everyone wanted some time to themselves. For Drex, this meant letting the dryads bathe him and then heading straight into Jolly's realm, though only after eating until he could no more. That said, he hadn't told his dad yet, but he hadn’t only seen one drake. The dryad had multiple drakes that she kept as pets or simply as companions, as well as other monsters that Drex had no problems mating with. And if he told his dad, he would no doubt make a fuss about it, so Drex just kept that secret to himself.

  As far as things went for Tesilim and Lili, they actually split for the first time in a while. Sure, they were dating, but even couples had to spend some time apart. So, after giving each other some goodbye kisses, they headed to their respective homes. Not that their time apart would be long, since they were in that early phase of relationships where everything was lovey-dovey and they couldn't help but want to spend all their time together. The reason for their split was mainly Lili wanting to clear out some of her spatial storage, do some cleaning, and generally relax as she thought about things.

  On Tesilim’s end, well, he respected Lili’s desire to spend some time on her own, and he didn't mind doing so either. It even allowed him to spend a little bit of time with Drex before he ran off to Jolly's realm. Additionally, time alone allowed him to reflect on his life so far, the many things that had happened, as well as look ahead to the future. After all, it was always nice to spend some time alone, to clear your head and enjoy your own company.

  Admittedly, his time alone lasted only a couple of hours, and though short, he found he missed Lili's company. Even as he bathed and cleaned, he couldn't help but think about her. This was not only because they were dating, but also because she had been there since the very beginning. Lili had been the first person he had met after falling into his new world. Then, if that wasn't enough, she was just a great person, and he felt like he could be himself around her.

  For Lili, her time alone was spent cleaning and wondering about her future. Her guardian had even passed by to check up on her, but she had dismissed him. He was always watching, well, outside of where he literally couldn’t, like inside Jolly’s and Tesilim’s tree or in Alyx’s room. That said, it didn’t mean he was always there, and he had profusely apologized about the dragon incident, even going so far as to ask for punishment, regardless of what it was. Something that she had taken advantage of before in order to let out her frustrations by both legitimately punishing him and using him as a plaything for her desires. Even if the former was only back when she was less of a good person. As for the latter, well, she was with Tesilim now, and it wouldn’t feel good or be right to let her guardian pleasure her in such a manner.

  As expected, thinking about Tesilim brought her mind back to him. She did miss his presence, which was a bit odd for her, as it was her first time in a relationship in quite a while. Yet, no matter how much time passed, she had come to terms with the fact that even if she could live for 1,000 years, she still had to live day by day, which meant that no matter what, emotions would still get the best of her.

  Finally, after a few hours apart, she went back to the inn, and after a quick tumble in sheets to make up for holding back due to the couple of days of training, they headed out. Their plan was to finally sell the things they had acquired during their training and during the werewolf incident, and use the gold from the sales and their missions to buy a few things for Tesilim’s tree.

  The tree needed utensils and actual cooking stoves, among many other things, that would make it feel like a home. Furthermore, Lili wanted to buy more chemical contraptions and general things that she could put in her room. As a 300-year-old elf, she was used to looking to the future, and even if they didn’t go on the supposed expedition, they would likely head deeper into the island or leave it altogether. And, considering that she wasn't planning to let Tesilim go alone, she would end up shutting down her store, and likely, his tree would be her new home. So, she wanted to ensure she began equipping it from an early stage, ready for whatever came.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  As expected of Alyx, he had reached the temple, and then, after cleaning himself and making sure things were in relative order, he instantly headed to his girlfriend's place. Though this time around, he wasn't going for any lustful reasons, but to spend whatever time he could with her before heading over to meet Tesilim.

  As before, he found her attending to customers who had come to enjoy a nice day on the beach. So, he sat down and got himself a cold sweet treat as they began a calm chat about various things, while she went on about her work.

  Rose’s and Arelion's time off was spent somewhat similarly. After arriving at the places they called home, the two took off their armors, showered, and did some basic gear maintenance. Finally, they went and grabbed a bite to eat before sitting down to rest and enjoy some time to themselves. This involved eating, snacking, and generally napping or thinking about their techniques.

  Mid-afternoon, after having spent some time to themselves, Alyx, Lili, and Tesilim found themselves walking out of the city. Their goal was Tesilim's chaotic spot, where they planned to test out Tesilim’s illusion spell. Testing that they had pushed off until after Rose and Arelion weren’t around, since the two still weren’t happy about the dragon incident.

  Not that Tesilim could fault them, as he was over the entire thing and was annoyed at having to armor up and leave the city after having spent the day relaxing and shopping with Lili. However, Alyx had insisted, and Tesilim had eventually given in, since it was vital for them to know as much as possible about how his powers worked.

  At the very least, getting to his chaotic spot didn't take too long, and they quickly arrived after setting a good pace.

  “Alright, so remember to make something small and non-dangerous,” Alyx stated.

  “Yeah, yeah, I got it,” Tesilim told the gnome for the third time.

  “Actually, what are you planning to make?” The gnome asked.

  “Uh, I am not sure, maybe a spoon? I don’t think that would be dangerous.”

  “Yeah, that’s fine.”

  “Wait, no, don’t make a spoon,” Lili intervened.

  “What? Why not?” Tesilim asked, confused as to why she might have an issue with magical spoons.

  “Yeah, why?” Alyx echoed.

  “Well, it needs to be something that moves, so that we know for sure it can be brought to life. I am thinking it's better to do a doll or something like it,” Lili explained.

  “That’s a good idea!” Alyx responded after taking a moment to think her words through.

  “Okay, a doll it is,” Tesilim told the two and focused on the chant.

  “By mirrored thought and woven gleam;

  I shape the false, craft the dream;

  Let sight be fooled and senses sway;

  The world shall see what I portray.”

  As he chanted, Tesilim thought about making a simple wooden mannequin. It wouldn't be very large, at most the size of his hand, and he made sure not to give it any features, weapons, or anything else. Then, once the image's outline appeared, he dumped a single point of his Chaos Mana into the spell. The mana accelerated the process, and the illusion quickly came to, looking very real.

  “Nope, not real,” Tesilim said as his foot passed slowly through the image.

  “Hold on, we have to wait for the event, maybe that triggers it somehow,” Alyx told him, and Tesilim shrugged.

  ?? Crystal Notice ??

  Warning! Chaos Event Imminent, prepare yourself.

  Rolling d20. 1. Rolling d4. 4.

  ??

  “Alright, it's coming!” Tesilim told his two friends, who went into full alert mode, shields up and everything.

  Then, after a few seconds of looking around, Tesilim heard two thuds and turned to find that his girlfriend and friend had fallen on the ground.

  “Well, that’s not good,” Tesilim told himself as he stared at them before he got worried, “Guys! You okay!?”

  Getting no response, Tesilim began to panic and rushed to Lili, then to Alyx. After carefully inspecting both of them, Tesilim’s panic only increased.

  “Shit! Shit! Shit! This can’t be happening!” Tesilim yelled as he double-checked.

  “This better not be permanent! I can’t have you guys dying on me!” Tesilim shouted at the world, the World Crystal, his friends, and simply to try to keep himself together.

  Luckily, after a few more seconds, he heard Alyx gasp before Lili did the same thing in his arms, her eyes shooting open, and looking around frantically as his tears landed on her cheeks.

  “Thank the gods!” Tesilim said, hugging her tight before calling out to Alyx, “Alyx, buddy, you okay?”

  “Yeah! Just didn’t think I would die so young!” The gnome answered, Tesilim hearing the smirk in his voice.