Freedom Jumper-Chapter 163: Coming To My Senses

"That is amazing to hear! This is just a guess, but do you have a water affinity?" Peter's eyes slowly became entranced by the possibility of this boy having similar interests.

"Yes!"

"Do you like potions?!"

"I do! My father taught me how to make potions some time ago..." Elijah responded on instinct, then dropped into a sorrowful tone.

Suddenly, a taller man with brown hair interrupted their conversation. A man with a broadsword on his back. "Hey! Finish what you are doing and come to the dining hall. Dinner is being served!"

"We really do not want to miss this... They are keen on keeping everything efficient and will not care if a single person missed a meal. Besides the important people of course..."

Peter and Elijah casually walked towards the dining hall, which was just a very large and tall tent filled with tables that line the exterior, and seating areas in the center.

Already, voices were being thrown at each other without a care for how loud they were.

"Ahoy! To another successful day!"

"Hahahaha! You all are celebrating a boring day!!" The voice of a giant silenced everyone, and even brought back the feeling Elijah had received by accidentally bumping into the giant of a man's pelvis.

"Hey kid! Do you mind if we have a talk?!" Songa came from behind while shocking Elijah out of his feared state.

"Songa! Sure."

The beginning of the conversation started off with explaining the minor injuries the group had received. Knowing that Elijah was a combat water mage, they didn't expect him to heal anyone, but still needed his efforts in their areas...

"No! There is no way I will do that!"

Songa had suspected that Elijah had some secret power he wasn't showing to everyone considering the missions he was able to "complete" with Niko. And now had confirmed her theory by Elijah's guard that had been dropped.

"I knew it! What power do you have? Actually, what is your flaw?!" Desperately, she probed and probed, and finally received an answer.

Elijah had decided it was time to not hide his strength, at least to Songa and the adventurers.

"Strength."

"Seriously? But that isn't even possible? Your body wouldn't be able to handle the strength! At least with the power of speed, the individual would be able to use it!"

Boom!

Calmly panning his vision, Elijah shuttled mana into his fist, and struck the open air. The wind moved rapidly, as well as the cloth of the tent that shuddered at his punch.

"That wasn't even 10 percent of my strength."

The truth was, Elijah had no idea about the limit of his strength. Even the end of him falling from the sky was not an accurate description considering he assumed he was overflowing with uncontrolled mana.

"I see..." Songa scratched the brown hair that laid straight down the side of her head — stopping just below her ears.

"Well, like I said before we left, if you get a good night of sleep tonight, you can join us tomorrow... And for tomorrow night."

"What's happening tomorrow night?" Elijah asked with curiosity brimming in his mind.

"Nothing you need to worry about right now. Just get some food, and enjoy the company of the people. I can see you have already made a friend..."

Songa walked back around the corner, and into the dining tent.

Dinner was slow as Elijah had to wait in line for over 20 minutes, and when he did get his large slice of moose meat, he took his time chewing his food.

One aspect that had stuck with him between both his lives was the idea of chewing food properly. The burn of his masseter muscles were very prevalent by the end, and caused him to slowly sip on water until the end of the night.

Elijah desperately took his time away from the stimulation surrounding the multiple campfires. Women were scandalously dressed, and consuming large amounts of alcohol with men who enjoyed their company. Of course, these men and women were either Peacekeepers, Adventurers, or the people who would keep this place running.

"Not a fan of the crowd either. Niko said while following Elijah to the edge of the outpost. Directly next to a tall stone tower that reached a height just above the treeline.

"It's not so much that I don't enjoy the rowdy crowd and debilitating habits, but I honestly just want to go with you guys tomorrow." Elijah said while leaning against the stone tower.

Niko joined, but instead leaned his back against the wall. "What did you do today?"

"Take a guess..."

"You explored the area, likely killing some beasts?"

"You know me so well, Niko..."

"Elijah. I know you realize that there is something messed up in your head, obviously from your past experiences. But I think you should try a little harder to rectify the issue. You are playing the role of a victim perfectly... as if you are okay with whatever happens to you..."

"I know... I just— There is too much going on in my head! I lived a fucking amazing life, and then get thrown into a new one! A life where almost everything wants to kill me! Yea this world is fucking amazing, filled with action and things that were never possible in my past life! But I am still struggling with my assimilation! I can't help but second-guess my actions, make the wrong decisions, and even feel the fear of losing my sensual abilities I took so much time to nurture in my past life!"

"It is like I am no different from anyone else. Just another kid on the street..."

Niko stayed silent for some time, trying to think over what Elijah had said. To be fair, Elijah had it way worse than Niko. Living till the age of over 120 years old, then having to start over again. Then still being at a disadvantage when you have more experience than anyone on this planet...

"I think you just need time, and more friends besides me. I also think you should try to figure out what 'you' are best at. What about that imagination of your's you used to talk so much about?"

Elijah's mood had already been brightened by the novel stimuli of the day, but dropped fairly quickly. Now, it had returned to that previous peak by the reminder of his current strengths. More than ever now, Elijah had far more advantages that may not be able to be shown.

However, he would bet that his power would be far more deadly to someone who would never expect it coming.

The horrible events had caused him to forget the good things in life, as the bad had been all that he saw. But now, this conversation had reopened his eyes, and brought a good feeling into his soul.

The silence of the night came quickly. Elijah took his sleep in a bunk bed right above Niko, and slept soundlessly through the night. Not a single dream was remembered upon waking, but only the feeling of rebirth once releasing himself from his sheets.

The song of the birds, and the clatter of equipment echoed within the clearing. Especially the carriages that moved loudly through the dirt roads.

"Ready?" Songa had a smile on her face as her green eyes glittered in the early morning sunlight. A silver sword was seen sheathed in her waist as a gentle hand reached out for Elijah.

Without protest, Elijah yearned for the physical contact of a human, and grabbed Songa's hand that helped him in the carriage.

Soon after, Elijah had set off with the team of thirteen adventurers, and began making their way to their destination.

The Rind of Godhand...