Chapter 2: Interesting, they're females too!
"Young beggar, this is Velgrave City, home to big trade guilds. It's by the border, a stop for loads of travelers. You can find stuff from all over," the woman said, proud.
"It's old, maybe five thousand years but still growing, better than most border towns."
"Thanks, miss," Seth said. She smiled, happy to brag about her city, even to a dirty kid. The place wasn't much to big guilds, but locals seemed to love it fierce.
Seth wandered into the crowded market, full of stalls and folks with their own schemes.
Money ran this place, and most people here weren't as strong as in Skyfire's power-mad capital.
But it wasn't weak, Seth bet real experts with aether or aether gears kept things safe.
"Just round this corner's what I need," Seth mumbled, getting close to his goal. On his own now, he had to survive this hard world.
Best way was to master aether and plot revenge from this far-off city while thinking of what the damn author of this book wants him to accomplish before he gets released back into his world.
Tramsmigrating into Leonardo's body came with it's own peck as Seth, now possesses all of the mighty Suns Guild knowledge Loe knows, knew plenty about fighting tricks to get by alone. The only problem with his fancy training in skills and gadgets was his supposed lack of aether sense, or so his family thought.
Aether drives everything, tinkering, boosting strength, crafting, potions, fortune-telling, and more. Everyone soaks up aether from birth, and those who control it are the power rankers.
From Tinker, Apprentice, Adept, Master, Grandmaster, Baron, Lord, King, and Paragon ranks. Each rank's got ten levels. Sometimes folks split levels into beginner, middle, and late, but that's rare.
The higher you climb, the more aether you hold and use. That brings bigger power with each step, and huge gaps between ranks.
Aether's so flexible, it's used every which way. From basic fighters to inventors. Jobs branch out into a messy web of all known trades.
Aether's useless without fighting tricks or tinkering arts for specific jobs. Old-timers made these arts, and new smart folks keep adding new ones, making big changes in their fields.
Big families like guilds got their own secret arts and tricks. For regular folks, they get stuck with basic, weak arts the world hands out. They gotta join guilds or schools to learn better stuff.
Beast tamers got guides for using aether to train critters they wanna raise or control.
Fighters keep it simple, using aether to power up weapons or their bodies.
Aether's got traits too, tied to how it mixes with a person. Traits are about elements—fire, earth, water, shadow, light, and so on.
They set the path for a person's skills. Pure types stick to one element; oddballs mix a few, building on what they start with.
Mixers ain't always geniuses, and neither are pure types. Talent and power decide who's a genius in this wild but risky world.
Seth had a big edge over regular folks, even without his old family guild's backing, thanks to all the manuals Leo had read in the Suns Guild's dusty library. Seventeen years was plenty to outsmart his kin and elders just by memorizing every book he got his hands on.
"Maybe that Aether Seer's talk about me ruining their guild was true," he thought. "If I shared just a bit of what I know, the Suns' power built over ages would fall apart. That vision's a fake they made up, so why not make it real and let 'em taste ruin?"
He grinned, picturing the author cursing his slyness. Even if he acted like he didn't care, letting some fictional family of his walk all over him deep down he wanted to shake them up bad.
"I ain't no saint giving up my pride for them. I'm just a kid who wants payback," he muttered.
Thinking that line made him nod, proud of it like it could be famous if he wrote it down someday.
The world he's in is Tellus, huge and full of unknown places. Only the strongest, almost god-like types could roam its wild lands.
Even though guilds, towns, and empires got a medieval feel, gadgets are a big deal too. Folks use aether guns and steam cannons. Some rich types got screens and ticker machines, but aether runs it all, not some electric spark like in his world.
Gadgets are handy, but they're nothing next to aether treasures or glowing plants that pull folks in this aether-crazy world.
Wagons and airships beat out fancy carts, 'cause they work better for the tricky designs needed. They're practical compared to aether beasts or steam mounts.
Society'd complain about paving endless roads through mud and scrap, with towns spread so far over rough land.
Their old-timers would scoff at anyone dumb enough to try. "Why bother? Get strong and fly with aether! Only weaklings fuss over comfort. Power's hard, so deal with it, you daft lot."
Right now, Tellus is like a mix of old Earth's knights and new Earth's machines. The old ways rule, but gadgets hold their own. Could be Earth turned into Tellus, or Tellus fell to Earth.
He nodded, not pushing for more. He went quiet, thinking over his choices.
He headed to a place to sign up for a house in Velgrave City. He figured he'd stay here a good while.
Right after the airship dumped him, his plan was to find where house agents hung out.
That was the quickest way to learn about homes. Right now, he needed a spot to sleep and wash off the mud caked on him.
He could stay at an inn, but owning a place felt smarter. Even if they turned him down, he'd get good info.
He walked into a building with a sign saying "Green Silk Estates." Inside was kinda empty, not matching the shiny brass outside.
"This is just an info spot, I guess. Makes sense when folks don't care about papers if someone stronger can just take your stuff," he thought, heading to the counter.
The clerk was a slim girl in a neat suit. She was real pretty, better than fancy models. Everybody knew jobs like hers needed good looks to deal with folks.
She saw Seth's ragged, beggar-like coat but didn't judge. Years working here taught her better.
Once, she ignored a plain-looking old man, only to learn he was a big shot her boss bowed to. She thought buyers always looked rich, but that mistake cost her an apology. Lucky for her, the old man didn't care.
From then on, she swore to be careful, not wanting to upset some cranky high-up.
"How can I help you, sir?" she said, all proper, when Seth got to the counter.
"Can you tell me about houses for sale here? Start with cheap ones, then go to pricey," Seth said, keeping it polite. That's how you show respect to strangers.
The pretty clerk knew her stuff and listed every house for sale, using a ticker screen with pictures to match her talk.
From tiny shacks worth five hundred tin coins to fancy homes costing five million galvanic coins. There were hundreds, but she explained them all perfect.
Seth was impressed by her hard work. She even tossed in new listings and still knew their details.
"This girl ain't just good, she's sharp. Bet she could name every building for sale in this city," he thought, half-joking. He noted her smarts in his head.
"Miss, you sure know this city, huh?" he said, praising her when she finished.
"It's my job, keeps my family fed, so I try hard, sir. Thanks for that," she said, smiling pretty, but Seth caught a hint of sadness in her words.
"Miss, any good schools around? If so, tell me about houses near them," Seth asked, trying to change the topic. A school was the best spot to grow his aether skills, using his secret edge. Even if he knew too much already, staying low-key was smart.
"Can't speak for others, but the Aethercroft Academy's top-notch, one of the best in The Dominion of Vexleigh," she said, eyes lighting up, listing houses near it.
She got real excited, spilling extra details. She lived near the academy and couldn't help bragging.
"This house is by a shop with the best tea!" she said, like she knew every spot worth visiting.
"This house" and "that house" came up for every corner. Seth's brows twitched, not sure if he should laugh or sigh at her excitement.
She even let slip personal stuff she should've kept quiet. Like her birthday and her own house near the school as Seth asked, making him wonder if he was just that too handsome that she falls for him and answered all his questions.
From what he heard, she just turned eighteen, a month older than him, and planned to join the academy next term. She had siblings too.
Interesting, they're females too!
Interesting, they're also turning 18 too!
Interesting!