"Where's your dad?" Wayna asked upon seeing that Stencil—Yaka—was alone, frowning in response.
"I sneaked out while he was busy with some work." Stencil winked in response, smiling cutely before taking out a piece of metal, "I was just using this as a divination method to locate something interesting. That's how I noticed the Tukkan Crystal before."
"Does that method work?" Wayna raised an eyebrow, curious now.
"Not all the time." Stencil shook her head, "It seldom works. But when it works, I chance upon some interesting things. So, it's worth it in the end."
'So, she's just messing around.' Wayna nodded in response, feeling a mild headache as she felt sympathy for her dad instead, 'It should be hard on Teto to take care of her.'
She then looked at Stencil, saying in concern, "This place is dangerous. Come with me."
"Okay!" Yaka laughed, paying her coachman before boarding Wayna's carriage, whispering once the carriage began to move, "Where are you heading towards?"
"A dangerous place…" Wayna said, sighing in the end, "The moment you stepped foot on this territory, the thugs controlling the place have already put you in their observation. So, don't go alone. At least, with me around, your safety is guaranteed."
"How dangerous are these thugs?" Stencil asked, putting on a curious look when in truth, she was aware of the intention and thoughts of the people keeping a watch on her through the Mental Energy streams directed at her.
"In terms of strength alone, they aren't your match. Even their leader would be hard-pressed to be your match." Wayna said, aware of Stencil's strength as a Grandmaster Metal Mage, "But, most dangers never arise from them."
"Do you mean to say…?" Stencil trailed off, frowning a little.
"Hidden organisations." Wayna said, "We have no idea which hidden organisation is backing this group. Otherwise, with the Xetuka Kingdom's strength, they should have wiped out this group ages ago. Once we are targeted by a hidden organisation, it would be hard for us to have a pleasant life."
Wayna was truthfully conveying this piece of information, feeling a sense of familiarity with Stencil. For a moment, she suspected Stencil to be a System Slayer like her, but as she wasn't able to confirm the detail, she decided to warn Stencil anyways of the dangers involved.
Even she, as a System Slayer was nervous. She was strong. And truth be told, she had enough power to go against any average Kingdom, but that was it.
In this world where deities lived, her strength was insufficient. Things worked at a different spectrum in the Fantasy World than in other worlds.
First of all, no System entered this world to accumulate Mental Energy, for that was hard. What they hoped to gain was the quality of Mental Energy, which was almost at the peak of what a System could obtain in a world.
This high-quality Mental Energy would cause their Core Skill to develop faster. So, Systems typically operated on a loss-making business scheme in this world. Therefore, they didn't stay within one Host for more than a decade or two.
Any more, and the Host would become too strong, becoming capable of affecting matters on the scale of a Kingdom and beyond. When this happened, they would garner the attention of the hidden existences, causing an increase in the danger involved.
Systems that failed to leave on time suffered large losses, having no other choice but to lose all the accumulations they obtained in this world, for their Host was killed.
Moreover, there was also the Mental Energy expense involved in leaving this world and also nurturing the growth of their Host. The losses would be disastrous.
So, any System Slayer that was birthed in this world started as a Pseudo-Saint. And even though a Pseudo-Saint was the strongest existent that took charge of the various matters in a Kingdom or Empire, the true powers weren't them.
And even after a century of being a System Slayer, Wayna hadn't even scratched the surface of the power of the deities existing in her world.
This was why she warned Stencil to not take action heedlessly and endanger them all.
Upon hearing her heartfelt words, Stencil recalled her dad's words that there were indeed existences in this world stronger than him, sighing as she nodded, "Don't worry. I'll behave."
"Thank goodness. I wouldn't have known what to do if you had been stubborn." Wayna patted herself in relief before asking, "Yaka, are you…?"
'Are you a System Slayer?' She wished to ask this before sighing after a moment of thought, "Never mind, it wasn't anything important."
"Lady, we've arrived at your destination." The coachman said, extending his hand to receive his pay. He was in cahoots with the gang that operated in the region, so he wasn't afraid of being here.
"Be here. I'll return in an hour after I'm done with my work." Wayna said, watching the coachman nod in response as she and Stencil alighted.
"This is…?" Stencil muttered, staring at the large mansion that came into view.
A large orchard lay before her, sparkling with plump fruits, ripe, oozing with juiciness. The orchard had a wild nature to it but was still maintained like a manmade plantation. Workers shuttled to and fro, spanning the size of a fist, their tiny wings fluttering in the wind as chirpy giggles resounded everywhere they moved past.
They were draped by what resembled clothes made out of vines, grass, and flowers, a healthy mixture oozing with vitality. Their large heads sported baby faces, almost resembling humans, with the sole difference being a tiny branch protruding on their forehead, with its end sporting a fruit as big as their eyes.
Fruit Fairies!
"Beautiful!" Stencil exclaimed upon seeing the chirpy creatures tending to the orchard that almost resembled a forest.
Her attention was soon focused on the path before her that lead to the mansion at the end. When she stared at the ground, she noticed that it was covered by tree roots, thinking of something as she whispered, "Did the trees move to open this path?"
"Yes," Wayna whispered back, motioning for her to follow, "Don't touch anything. Just follow me.'"
"A legend lives here."
