The Special Mentor

Miceter watched as the black cat elegantly searched his surroundings. His sharp ears were standing straight as his wet black nose was slightly lifted in the air, creating a faint aura of arrogance. When the black cat walked, he did it with a grace that was smooth and delicate. His enchanting golden eyes swept across the fallen bricks and burnt pieces of wood.

"Where are we?" The black cat mumbled to himself.

"We"re at the Prosperous Kingdom, Mister!" Miceter eagerly replied. "I can"t take you around to explore right now, due to it being night time, but I can lead you around when the sun comes up! Oh, you"re gonna love it, Mister! There"s stories to hear and sights to see! And the food! The food is amazing! Although, to be honest, we"d have to steal from a vendor before we get to try it." Miceter muttered the last sentence, feeling a bit ashamed of his lack of wealth.

Just by looking at the black cat that stood in front of him, Miceter could tell he came from a higher level of society that neither worried about tomorrow, nor cared about today. Even though Miceter was curious as to why the black cat was walking around without a s.p.a.cial Collar, he didn"t dare to ask in fear of offending a senior Beast Man.

"The Prosperous Kingdom?" The cat"s eyes widened in shock. "That"s really far away!"

"Really far away? Where are you from, Mister?"

The cat slightly frowned. "Well, you see, Miceter, I don"t come from a specific place. In fact, the road is my home." The black cat sighed, his ears drooping. "I was testing out a teleportation magic I had been thinking about recently. Sadly, this caused me to teleport to a place far away from my Apprentices."

Miceter felt his tiny heart pang with sympathy. "Oh that"s horrible! Don"t worry, Mister, you"ll be able to go back to your pupils!" Miceter pumped his fist energetically, hoping to encourage his senior. "I have no doubt about it! A good man like you will definitely return to continue your teachings!"

"Thanks, Miceter." The black cat perked up once more. His chest was puffed up, his ears were back to standing tall, and his golden eyes shined with determination. All of this combined gave him the aura of a proud n.o.ble. Miceter couldn"t help but feel amazed.

"Now, how about you, where are you from?" The cat questioned.

"Oh, me? I"m from a small village called Ravine. You might not have heard of it." Miceter answered.

The cat finally sat down, his proud head lowered in deep thought.

***

Back to Me

I looked around the place, hoping to find something to change the subject. Luckily, I was originally curious as to where we were. As I looked around, I wondered whether I teleported to a burned down building of if the black flames had burned down the building way before I came. Either way, it wasn"t a pretty sight--neither did it smell good. The smell of ash was particularly strong.

"Where are we?" I mumbled to myself, not really expecting an answer.

Surprisingly, Miceter replied to my question, obviously eager to curry favor. He told me we were in the Prosperous Kingdom and then rambled on about stories and food.

"The Prosperous Kingdom? That"s really far away!" I couldn"t help but exclaim aloud.

In my book "Every Cold Winter", the planet was fifty times larger than Earth to make up for the s.p.a.ce that the Dragons, t.i.tans, and other large creatures took. There were a total of five land ma.s.ses, each separated by an ocean. The Prosperous Kingdom was smack dab in the middle of the third land ma.s.s, which was in the shape of a heart. There were of total of six other Kingdoms that occupied this land ma.s.s. To make it easier for me to remember, I called this landma.s.s the Hearts due to its heart shape.

To the west lay the Boots--the first land ma.s.s and the Rings--the second land ma.s.s. Fur Charleston was in Boots. The Boots land ma.s.s had a total of seven Kingdoms. Fur Charleston resided in the Pipers Kingdom as a young n.o.ble about to inherit his parents inheritance.

To the East was Cupid"s Arrow--the fourth land ma.s.s and the Triangles--the fifth and final land ma.s.s. Unfortunately, I wrote that Thomas Hark and his family were wandering merchants. They often traveled to different land ma.s.ses depending on the season and events that pa.s.s. So, in the end, I have to pray to the System that Thomas Hark is near the Prosperous Kingdom.

Just by looking at my prospects, I knew that my future didn"t look too bright.

"Really far away? Where are you from, Mister?" Miceter interrupted my thoughts, his red eyes glimmering with curiosity. I frowned slightly, searching for an excuse. Luckily, I had the perfect cliché to use.

"Well, you see, Miceter, I don"t come from a specific place. In fact, the road is my home." I tactfully lied. "I was testing out a teleportation magic I had been thinking about recently. Sadly, this caused me to teleport to a place far away from my Apprentices."

And there! My excuse is flawless! Experimenting a new spell is something only an expert can do! Not only do I provide an excuse, but I also bring up my pitiful, nonexistent reputation!

I"m a genius!

Miceter decided to generously comfort me. And when he pumped his little, tiny fist I couldn"t help but squeal in my heart about how cute he was.

"Thanks, Miceter. Now, how about you, where are you from?" I asked out of courtesy.

Although I found this little darling to be cute, I didn"t really want to know more about him. After all, if I became too attached to this little angel, I don"t think I"ll be able to let him go. HE"S JUST TOO CUTE! So instead of interrogating him, I decided to ask private questions only if it was polite to do so.

"Oh, me? I"m from a small village called Ravine. You might not have heard of it." Miceter answered as if this sort of information didn"t matter. However, when I heard it, my heart completely shattered.

THIS IS TOO MUCH OF A COINCIDENCE!

HE HAS TO BE HIM!

THE BIG, FAT MOUSE!

NOOO!

My little angel will turn in a big, fat, and ugly monster!

I couldn"t help but sit down in defeat.

Where did I go wrong in life to deserve this cruel fate?