“It’s splendid, Ms. Fuu. I couldn’t have wished for anything better.”

  Caldoon looked up at the statue with admiration, then down at the little old zaurian woman who carved it.

  “Thank you, young man. Even after all these years, it still warms my heart to see that my works are so well loved.” She spoke.

  “Indeed, it’s quite magnificent.” A voice said from behind. “Makes me wonder where you’ve been hiding such a class all this time.”

  Caldoon spun his head to see Garrett, the leader of the team from Dragon’s Lance.

  “Garrett,” Caldoon growled. “You know as well as I do that icons are to be protected under any circumstance. Though, I do find it disappointing that most of the qualified people have already been recruited by your guild.”

  “Oh, come now, it can’t be helped. Dragon’s Lance is always looking for new talent to help boost the numbers. We need all the capable hands we can get to fight off the tyrants.” Garrett waved.

  Caldoon leveled a steady gaze toward Garrett.

  Capable hands that you’ve sent off with little to no training to be slaughtered. Do you honestly think I haven’t noticed how all those young men that leave never return to the island?

  “But I’m not here to discuss that,” Garrett dismissed. “Tell me, when will you be joining us to search for that dragon? My team and I are just itching to take it down!”

  Caldoon scoffed. “Are you joking? I told you already, didn’t I? The dragon’s just a rumor, and, even if it was real, it hasn’t done anything that would imply we should kill it. Besides, shouldn’t you be taking one of those boats and searching for that tyrant? If any ships get attacked, the blame will fall on you.”

  “All in due time,” Garrett dismissed, then looked over at the elderly zaurian woman. “If you can, let us talk in private.”

  …

  The fish guts piled up as Lukey worked his way through the crate of fish with determined fervor. His arms were braced to his sides, allowing him to control his movements even more as he worked at double speed. His legs were crouched towards the ground, ready to move around at a moment’s notice once the fish he had was gutted. Finally, his mind was entirely focused on the task at hand, set into a tranquil state as the rest of the world became an afterthought.

  This was all done under the guidance of Kiran, who had been teaching Lukey how to improve his moves for the last two days. This made today the third day he was forced to cut fish, the same day the sovereign icon was supposed to be unveiled.

  “You’ve gotten a lot better,” Kiran chimed in from the side. “Maybe you’re already ready to receive the art?”

  Lukey barely heard Kiran speak, as Lukey focused entirely on the task at hand. After the first day, Kiran had begun assigning extra work. On the second day it was filleting fish; today, it was scaling.

  Lukey began running the edge of the knife along the outside of the fish, scraping away the scales with each stroke. He was forced to focus; if he ran the knife too fast, it might damage the flesh, and if it was too weak, the scales wouldn’t come off. Lukey kept the knife in a steady grip as he scraped the scales into the grass below, then went to work on the other side. Once the other side was finished, he placed the fish on the cutting board and went to work on the next one.

  At first Lukey complained, but then he slowly began to realize that the preparation was a form of training, much like hauling Ogoronia. The more his hands worked, the more his dexterity rose to meet his attribute limit. His brain was also changing, as all the focus he used gradually trained his mind toward the upper limit of his focus attribute. Now, Lukey was working at double speed and was even able to consistently prepare the entire crate of fish when asked.

  Lukey finally finished the most recent crate. He looked over at the table and cutting board to see that a mountain of fish had piled up, all thoroughly scaled, with red innards exposed to the open air.

  “Finally,” Lukey breathed. “Although, could you explain something? I received arts like [Insight] and [Whisper] without half this much work. Why is it that I need to train myself to receive this art?”

  Kiran was currently staring down at a grilling grate, set on top of two squared pillars of stones. Below the grate, a raging fire burned, courtesy of his arts. Above the grate, many fish were seasoned or marinated and sat above the fire to grill until they gained a good, charred exterior. Kiran didn’t bother tearing his eyes away from the grill as he responded.

  “Resonance,” Kiran stated. “Much like classes and titles, you obtain arts by resonating with them, changing yourself to the point where you can reflect the art perfectly. Mental arts like the ones you’ve just described are very easy to resonate with, since they only require a change in mindset. Enhancement arts, like the one I’m going to give you, require your body to gain the associated muscle memory beforehand.”

  Enhancement? Does that mean it’s similar to [Wild Trapper]? I guess it would make sense. From what I can tell, the new art is for speeding up the disassembly of carcasses for materials. [Wild Trapper] also speeds up my movements, but it’s for the making and operating of traps instead.

  “The arts received by your class are the same. You’ve obtained them automatically because you resonate with them as a fisherman. You also obtain the class by resonating with the sovereign icon. Are you starting to understand now?” Kiran said.

  “Yeah, I think so.” Lukey nodded. “Speaking of sovereign icons, are you going to be in the park for the unveiling?”

  “Of course,” Kiran said, “I’ll be closing the restaurant soon to open a stall there. In the meantime, you can consider your work finished for the day; however, before I forget.”

  Kiran raised his left hand toward Lukey, and threads of aether shot out his palm before flying toward the young man. The threads whirled around Lukey’s body for a moment before they inserted themselves into his body and spun themselves into two coherent threads that wrapped themselves inside his palms.

  “The art is actually called [Butcher], but I was forced to revise it slightly to suit your class better.” Kiran said.

  “Thank you,” Lukey said. “I’ll be sure to return when I have more time on my hands; I’m anxious to see how it works.”

  The Searing Sea was recently updated with lattice walls just yesterday, and with the help of the botanists guild, it already had plenty of crimson flowery vines crawling up its length. Lukey quickly washed his hands at the bucket of water by his side before running past the tables of patrons and through the archway entrance.

  “I really hope that boy learned something beyond that art.” Kiran sighed. “At the very least, he should have learned how to properly hold a weapon.” Kiran continued to mumble to himself as he stared down at the flames. “Taking down a tyrant this early after obtaining his class. I hope he doesn’t encounter any more trouble, but perhaps that’s wishful thinking.”

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  …

  Lukey ran toward the park with all due haste. As he was running, the hedge walls that ran through the middle of the street came into view. At first, they were quite bare and leafy, but after a while, they slowly became flush with flowers in full bloom. Soon, Lukey reached the end of the hedge, reaching a familiar intersection of the street. On the right was Mr. Potsbury’s shop, but he wasn’t going there today. Instead, Lukey headed straight, which took him beneath a vined archway towards the Tranquil Gardens.

  The scenery was awash in green as he walked through. Below, stone steps created a trail that carved its way through the thick, soft grass. All around the trail were bushels of flowers, blooming in all varieties of colors as they practically assaulted Lukey’s vision. Farther off to the side were also all varieties of fruit trees, including bananas, mangoes, and even papayas and guavas. Fanlike palms, bushes with waxy leaves… It was truly paradise.

  Exactly what Tranquil Waters was supposed to represent.

  Guess I’m still early. Let’s see if I can get a peek at the icon.

  Lukey looked around towards the distance, where a massive figure was covered up using a giant cloth. Beneath it was a hunched-over figure, who stared at the statue seemingly in a daze. They wore an oversized shawl that covered their body, so Lukey couldn’t identify who they were. With a hint of worry, Lukey walked over to greet them.

  “Uh, excuse me,” Lukey waved. “Are you lost?”

  The figure didn’t react, and Lukey walked up to the figure’s base to greet the cloaked person. Upon moving around the side, Lukey was surprised to see that the figure was, in fact, an elderly zaurian woman. She had blue-scale skin, weary eyes, and wrinkled lips, and wore her white hair in a bun that was hidden beneath her shawl. Upon further inspection, the hem of the shawl was decorated with all forms of teeth. While Lukey was inspecting her features, her eyes showed some recognition.

  “What was that, young man? I couldn’t exactly hear you,” the elderly zaurian said.

  In response, Lukey moved up closer to her ear, a pointed thing that led into a hole in the side of her head, and repeated the question.

  “Lost? No, not at all! I’m just admiring my work…” She spoke.

  Your… work?

  Then Lukey looked at the statue covered with cloth before his face lit up in recognition.

  “You made the sovereign icon? Seriously, that’s amazing!” Lukey exclaimed.

  The old woman merely nodded and went back to looking at her work. It was then that Lukey began feeling bad for the woman and made her an offer.

  “Uh, if you’d like, you can sit down,” Lukey said, gesturing to a bench over to the side.

  “Oh, that would be nice,” she exclaimed in a squeaky, unsteady voice. “Can you lead me over there? My eyesight isn’t what it used to be.”

  Lukey didn’t miss that comment and wondered how a half-blind woman could carve an icon all by herself. Eventually, however, he let it go as he guided the old lady over to the wooden bench, taking her tiny hand and walking in step with her the entire way. Once they got there, Lukey boosted her onto the seat and took a place by her side.

  “Thank you,” she said. “This place is just so big. That big fellow, Caldoon, was it? He left me here to take care of some business, and you see, I got a bit lost.”

  “Ah, so that’s it.” Lukey nodded. “Yeah, he’s always running off somewhere. Always insistent on trying to do things himself.”

  “Yes, we talked quite a bit.” She spoke. “I got a feeling for what kind of man he was after a while. Kind and pragmatic, but shrewd enough to see through a liar. It is wonderful that you are blessed by such a great man.”

  “Great, huh?” Lukey mused. “From his looks alone, you wouldn’t be able to tell. He boasts, he laughs, and he gets angry. He seems like an ordinary person most of the time. In fact, I don’t think most people would believe he’s an emperor, even if you told them. From what I heard, the Emperor of the Zaurian Dominion and the King of Avalon handle things a lot differently compared to him.”

  “Don’t confuse pomp and poise for actual leadership, young man.” The woman said. “The emperor and the king can hold all the parades, ceremonies, and coliseum matches they want, but they all do nothing to address the actual needs of people.”

  Lukey quietly listened to her words as a soft breeze blew by. He watched as a rainbow of birds with long fluffy feathers hopped around, looking for seeds. He patiently tuned in to the rustling of the plants as the wind nudged them. Instead of conversing, he just took everything in, enjoying this peaceful moment.

  “This place reminds me of home, you know. A bit calmer, but just as beautiful. It’s such a shame that most outsiders think of people like us as savages. First, it was a declaration that all clans should unite under one banner, then dominion began to assert that we should give up our culture to appease the other races. In the end, only a few clans ended up joining them before they began enforcing their authority over Mesozauria.”

  Lukey was quietly listening, but his mind began to warn of caution after hearing one phrase.

  “People like us?” Lukey questioned. “What do you mean by that?”

  As far as Lukey could tell, the difference between the zaurians and humans was night and day; however, it would seem this woman thought otherwise.

  “The emperor of the dominion decided to erase much of our culture so he could make allies with the human and insectii kingdoms. He built an empire that could stand against the rest of his country, but in order to do it, he had to sacrifice his identity as a Zaurian.” Then, the old woman looked towards Lukey. “I’ve seen enough of this island to know that compared to many human kingdoms, your people would be considered uncivilized. If your emperor didn’t prevent it, it wouldn’t have taken long before outside forces claimed this island as part of their empires and then forced their ways onto the island in the name of making it more ‘civilized.’”

  Lukey audibly gulped as the final part of the woman’s statement sent a shiver down his spine. It was here that he began to recall what Bluefin had said. At first, Lukey had only passively acknowledged his words, but now he was beginning to feel worried that what Bluefin had feared would one day come to pass.

  “Let’s hope it doesn’t turn out that way,” Lukey nervously said. “Everyone is working hard to secure our future, and this icon will be the start of that.”

  “Indeed,” the old woman said, “and now that I’ve made a copy of the aether strings, I can make a copy of the sovereign icon back home. This will certainly go a long way towards aiding the Ryugu clan.”

  Lukey didn’t miss that last statement and instantly became curious. This woman was a bone carver, one of the few classes capable of replicating a sovereign icon. If anyone had a wealth of knowledge about how classes worked, it would be her.

  “What exactly are sovereign icons, if you don’t mind me asking?” he said.

  The elderly woman looked out at the shrouded statue, then began her explanation.

  “Well…” She began. “As you know, thousands of years ago the first sovereign rose above ordinary mortals to reach eternity. To do this, each of them ended up creating what they called their class, a profession that they each specialized in and used to become all-powerful.”

  “Unfortunately, they all became too powerful, to the point where this world had become far too small for them. In the end, they chose to leave this world entirely, choosing to ascend to the heavens and watch our world from above. However, none of them wanted to leave their people unprotected, so they devised a solution.”

  “Now, I believe it was the Scholar and the Sculptor sovereigns who came up with the idea. The scholar had devised a way to impart the ability to absorb aether and grant arts; this became what is known as a class. Meanwhile, the sculptor went to work creating statues of each of the sovereigns, which could store each of their respective energies. These would become the original sovereign icons.’”

  “Finally, with both elements done, the sovereigns each placed their energy within the statues. Now, anytime someone resonates with a sovereign icon, they gain a brief connection to the sovereign in question, granting them their respective class.”

  The old woman waved at the veiled icon.

  “Nowadays, icons like what my class makes are merely copies. They’ll give you a class, but unlike the originals, they don’t have much of a connection to their respective sovereigns.”

  Lukey listened to the entire story with rapt attention and only pulled himself out once he realized it was all finished.

  “Woah,” Lukey gawked. “I didn’t realize that’s what they were; I always thought they were just symbolic.”

  “In a way, they are just that, symbolic.” The elderly woman said. “But what’s important is that these symbols carry meaning. Every symbol that we create must carry the hopes and wishes of the sovereign that empowers it. It isn’t enough to simply look like the original; rather, it must represent the same principles that the class stands for.”

  “I see,” Lukey whispered. “Say, what principles did you feel the fisherman class stood for? Surely, you’d know since you saw the original icon.”

  “Indeed, I do,” the zaurian woman confirmed. “When I felt the energy of the original icon, I saw many things. Above all was a deep appreciation for the ocean's gifts and a profound love of life. It was certainly refreshing, a considerable departure from the fury-filled primalist and the courageous barbarian.”

  Lukey was about to ask another question, but before he could, he heard a soft snoring to his side. A quick look revealed that after all their discussion, the old woman had fallen asleep on the bench. Lukey gave a quick look of disbelief before his gaze returned to the sovereign icon and the distance beyond.

  “Lukey!”

  A shout from behind alerted Lukey, and he turned around to see Caldoon waving towards him. Lukey waved back, and Caldoon ran towards him as he hurried up behind the bench.

  “Phew, that was downright miserable. Those Dragon’s Lance guys wouldn’t stop asking me questions about the dragon.” Caldoon griped. “I tried repeatedly to explain it’s just a rumor and explain that maybe they should focus on the tyrant. Instead, they just insist that ‘investigating the dragon takes priority.’ What a useless bunch.”

  “Is everything ready?” Lukey asked. “Is it finally time to unveil it?”

  “Soon,” Caldoon said. “By the way, I heard word from Triton that you were going to throw a party at Bum’s Break. Great idea, we can continue the festivities there tonight.”

  Only a few more preparations were left, and soon the sovereign icon would be unveiled.