34th of Season of Air, 57th year of the 32nd imperial era

The return to the surface was a torture. Immediately after reaching a safe distance, Dandelion painted a fresh air rune on the rock, offloading the need to work his magic to make the air breathable.

Newt's and Everlast's days passed in meditation. Newt couldn't tell what she was doing, but his time passed in experimentation and attempts to improve his Flame Needle as well as skill with the spear.

As much as he was loath to admit it, Dandelion was right. Spear suited him much better than salamandras' fangs.

"Anyone thirsty?" Everlast asked on the third day.

"No food or water for as long as you can handle it." Dandelion stopped moving their bubble of air and turned towards Everlast, his chest brushing against hers. "For sanitary reasons."

Newt's mouth formed an O, as he realized what the man meant a moment before Everlast understood all the implications.

"I don't think I'll be thirsty," she said, and Newt nodded.

Those were the most words the three exchanged, each focusing on their own magic and realm. Thrice, Dandelion called for their attention and reshaped their nook, lowering the ceiling and making the floor wider so they could sleep before restoring its original form and continuing their snail-like ascend.

Finally, on the fifteenth day underground, the ceiling disappeared. Wind and rays of warm sunlight brushed against Newt's cheek, and he laughed with joy.

"We made it!" he said, and smiles escaped even Everlast and Dandelion.

"Yes, well done," Lady Frostgrave said, right behind Newt's back. His spine went straight, his legs tensed, ready to leap, but Newt had enough composure to stop himself from jumping away. Everlast seemed used to her master's sudden appearances, and Dandelion didn't even twitch. Their calm reactions made Newt feel like a jittery swifttail.

Even as he forced himself to calm, all three of them turned to face the lady valiant and bowed.

"Master, we have made an important discovery." Everlast beamed a smile, the joy on her face liberating her beauty from the frosty prison. She couldn't hold back a moment before she explained the treasure they had found, and Lady Frostgrave smiled, a glint of excitement flashing in her eyes, despite her age and frigid temperament.

"Well done. I will make sure to fetch that core." She shifted her gaze to Newt. "Why is he wearing your glacial uniform?"

Everlast reddened and looked down at the snowy mountain slope.

"It's a long story, Master…" Everlast proceeded to explain what had happened while Newt removed the dress he had been wearing for two weeks straight without realizing it.

"It seems I owe you another favor." Lady Frostgrave frowned while gazing at Dandelion. "And you too, young man. What can I do for you?"

Lady Frostgrave focused on the easier target first, wanting to settle at least one debt she owed.

"Lady Frostgrave, I seek information about my parents," Newt glanced at Everlast, who nodded encouragingly. "And an introduction or a recommendation to one of the highly esteemed orders."

The lady valiant gave a curt nod.

"I'll see what I can do. If your mana was water-aligned, I would have recruited you into our organization and taken you as my ward, even if you are a male." She side-glanced at Dandelion, who shook his head, telling her he was not interested in the offer. "But sadly, we are not a fit. With dual earth and fire affinity, plus talent for runic seals, I doubt I'll have difficulty finding you a slot in any major force which doesn't focus solely on a single element."

Suddenly, Lady Frostgrave's gaze hardened.

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"Even the Blazing Castle would take you, but they would try to force you to discard the earth portion of your talent and focus solely on fire. I can make the introduction, if you want."

Newt had a feeling the valiant wasn't keen on the Blazing Castle. He had never heard of the organization, but abandoning a half of his power seemed like a wrong move.

"Newstar," Dandelion said, "Being a scribe is an advantage in and of itself, and you should not abandon that path. Plenty of orders, even the most powerful ones, would welcome talented scribes."

Lady Frostgrave nodded, slowly. "It's really a shame you don't follow the path of water. As for introducing you to our allies, it can't be considered a favor I'm gracing you with. More likely, they will owe me a favor or a clue about a talented student after my own tastes. As for finding information about your parents, the difficulty of such a task might be incredibly trivial or impossible. There's no way to know before I start searching."

A sense of unease crawled in Newt's gut, chilling his spine. He hoped Lady Frostgrave would find tracking down his parents a simple task, but the woman was right. There were countless possibilities, countless circumstances, which could potentially make locating his parents impossible.

Newt's mind raced, but his thoughts chased their own tail, running in circles. If he could find the information with difficulty, a sixth realm valiant could find it with ease. If the task was impossible for him, it should still be possible for Lady Frostgrave. If the task was impossible for her, it was even more so for him.

"How about," he licked his lips, "How about we say it's my favor, regardless of how difficult locating my parents is? It should be fair, when neither of us knows anything about their situation."

Dandelion opened his mouth, then stopped himself from speaking while Lady Frostgrave considered Newt's proposal. The ancient woman looked up, touching her chin.

"I guess we can call such a vague favor fair." She looked at Dandelion. "As for you, you have trained my disciples, found a resource I need, and saved my granddaughter. A person of my standing cannot owe so many open favors. You have until we reach Thunderbluff to decide what you want and what I can do for us to reduce this to one open favor. I can bestow you with wealth, weapons, armor, treasure materials, rare medicine…"

Newt observed Dandelion, but the man's expression didn't flicker at the promised treasures. His gaze did grow distant for a moment before he spoke.

"Honored elder." he half-bowed. "You claim the favors you owe me are knowledge I imparted to your disciple and resources for you. While I disagree that this was worth as much as I ask, I would humbly request you to share knowledge with me. For one week, I will ask about any topics which interest me, and you provide answers to the best of your ability."

Lady Frostgrave bristled. Dandelion was asking the same thing Newt asked him while they were trapped in the rock-bubble some two weeks ago, but the way he asked it was considerably different, as was his position.

Before Lady Frostgrave could answer, Dandelion kept talking.

"The answers you provide may be 'I do not know', 'I cannot tell you', 'That knowledge will hurt you', and many others. I do not ask you to share everything with me, but I do beseech you to be honest in your responses and the reasons you refuse to share knowledge with me. Even if all your answers are 'I cannot tell you', I will consider those two favors you believe you owe me repaid."

Dandelion raised his head and looked at the valiant with a gaze that shocked Newt. There was fire and determination in those eyes, intellect beyond Newt's comprehension, and an unyielding quality which brooked no argument.

Newt shuddered.

I need to learn to ask things of people like that, and not blurt out what I want like a chattering sharpbeak.

"Your request is reasonable and within my power to provide." Lady Frostgrave spoke the words slowly, as if examining and questioning them even as they left her mouth. "I will stay at Thunderbluff for one week longer than I intended, and you will be my guest. Should you have any topics you wish to discuss, I will accompany you and provide the answers. But you must understand, my answers may be beyond you, even if I spent the entire week explaining them. Your realm is much lower than mine. The speed of your thoughts and your ability to comprehend are likewise slower."

Dandelion nodded. "Naturally, what gains I can make depend on my ability, like with everything else in life. Thank you for agreeing to this. I will make the greatest possible use of your time and do my best not to disappoint you."

The deal sounded odd, Dandelion's concealed elation even odder. The man's mana churned through his body, revealing just how excited he was. And Newt had to wonder just how much was he underestimating education and knowledge. Dandelion had refused riches and treasures in favor of information he might not even be able to use or understand.

Maybe I need to start reading books? Dandelion is incredibly powerful and versatile, while I have hardly scratched the eggshell of what my primary element can do. And I have no idea what earth-attributed abilities can do, save to reinforce and protect my body in a brawl.

Defense and power were not useless, far from it, but they were definitely just a hint of what he could do. Dandelion claimed he was inferior to Newt when it comes to earth affinity, yet he had created a traveling chamber, which is impossible to spot, even if it moved incredibly slowly. Newt could possibly use a similar technique to sneak into a higher realm manabeast's lair, or a bunch of other things.

My only limit is my imagination, and I haven't been very imaginative so far.

Newt didn't know it at the time, but the adventure in the frostworm caves, the conversation he had just witnessed, and the friends and allies he had made on his seemingly random outing would define him as a person, an awakened, and a champion of his world.

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