I have been working on other things and wasn't able to get enough time to finish the chapter quick enough. Sorry for the long wait.
What that can not be seen does not mean it cease to exist.
Luminous returns to the clearing. It is still in the morning as he did not walk as long as he thought. He felt it might be a long distance because it took him and Lania quite some time to reach her house yesterday. Now that he has regained his energy, the distance is not long at all, especially with his handy Flash Blink. The monsters wondering around are harmless, minding their own business. He tracks the furthest one he can see and teleports towards it to greatly shorten the time to travel. It is unstable, however, when he is in town or cities because there are no hostile energy to track.
In the clearing, he rummages around the low berry bushes and shrubs. Looking up, he saw the dews on the tree leaves sparkles like crystals reflecting the sunlight. The surrounding is eerily quiet. No sign of monsters are to be found, only the old and aged trees towering above him.
Why are they avoiding this place? Luminous thinks something is amiss but he continues searching for any traces of his Shining Rod.
And he sees it. It is covered in thick mud and dried leaves underneath a thick bush. Luminous can see it easily even under all the attempt to bury it; the Shining Rod is like a bright beacon in his eyes. It is one of his most important tools as a mage. Without hesitating, he starts to dig it up with his bare hands, ignoring the mud sticking onto his light coloured robe, shoes and hands.
"Weapon's master?" A hoarse voice from behind startles Luminous.
Luminous instantly turns around in a defensive pose. He sees a zombie lupin that is bigger than the average ones. He assumes it is the king of the lupins in this part of the woods.
"Magician, yes, expected," It says and bites a bit off a nearly rotten banana in his hand.
Luminous relaxes when he senses no hostility from it. "Yes, I am the master of this Shining Rod."
The zombie lupin continues to munch on his banana. "Careful with that, powerful ancient weapon, bad influence to us. I hide it."
"That explains it all. I apologize for my carelessness."
"I forgive weapon's master. Take and go." The zombie lupin finishes his banana and leaves.
Luminous quickly picks up his Shining Rod and leaves the place as well. The gloominess of the atmosphere is getting to him. Not long later, he reaches the riverbank and washes the mud off the rod. It is heavier than he thought. When the Shining Rod is clean, he raises it and swing it smoothly in a motion that will conjure a Sylvan Lance spell. The water droplets flow in the same direction, glimmering like diamonds and swirl gracefully.
Nothing happened.
He swings again.
There is no reaction from the rod.
Even with the help of his small light orb, he can not make the rod respond to his power. It frustrates him very much and his mood changes from confusion to anger very quickly. Why? What is happening? Am I so weak that I can't use even this basic spell? Is the Shining Rod broken?
He gives up after half an hour, feeling very furious but decides to find his way back to Lania's home by mid-afternoon.
When he teleports right in front of the path to Lania's home, Lania is hanging the freshly washed clothes to dry in front of house. She sees Luminous's legs and pokes her head out between the clothes. "Luminous! Where have you been! You have not eaten anything right? Poor thing, you must be hungry. I'll get to you right after I finish hanging these."
"No, it is fine." Luminous says coolly and opens the door into the house.
Lania looks at his back and senses something is amiss. "Did something happen? Are you injured? Oh, what is that you're holding?" She just realized Luminous's Shining Rod.
"I am fine. This is what I left behind yesterday. Please don't ask any more." Luminous tries his best to not lash out at her, and took a deep breath before walking into the house.
Penny walks up to him when he sits on the chair. "Mrow, fish?"
"No fish." Luminous looks up to the ceiling, feeling empty.
"Mrow! You promised me! You said you will get Penny fish!" Penny gives him a rather displeased stare.
Luminous keeps his eyes fixated on the ceiling. "I know." He puts his Shining Rod on the table. It is still oddly heavy.
"What is this, Mrow? Strange pole." Penny's attention instantly changes to focus on the weapon.
"It is a Shining Rod, Penny. But I doubt you'll know it." He controls his temper to be calmer and it is working.
"Mrow~ Shining? It is really glowing." Penny says.
"You can see it?" Amused, Luminous switches his gaze to Penny. "I guess your senses are indeed better than an average cat. And I guess this Shining Rod is still working."
"I am a talking cat, mrow, of course I am better." Penny raises his head proudly. "Also, fish!"
"Okay, okay, you will have your fish very soon." Luminous suddenly feels much better knowing his only possession is not broken. He stands up, ready to go out and practice until he can get some results.
Lania comes in right when he is walking out. "Where do you think you're going? You're not leaving until you have a hearty meal and recover!"
And Luminous has no choice but to sit back down and have the delicious orange mushroom soup, vegetables stew and soft slime squish. Lania joins him after she has her own portion.
"This stew is delicious. It has such a nice fragrance. The soup and squish is really tasty too! You're a good cook." Luminous praises Lania. The food is comforting and savoury, something he is missing for a long time.
"Aww, that's so sweet of you. Thank you, Luminous!" Lania smiles happily.
They continue eating and chatting about the weather, but avoiding the topic of his exploration early in the day. Luminous realizes there are no meat in the dishes. "Are you a.. do you only eat vegetables?"
"Oh, not really. I eat meat too but I have not left this house ever since I am here and I am kind of isolated from the people in Elinia. Also, I am not a good hunter."
"I see. How did you came here in the first place?"
"Err, that is a great question. I don't think I remember it well enough to say for sure." Lania scratches her head, trying hard to recall the memory. "Penny, do you remember anything?"
"Mrow, Penny is a kitten then, don't know anything." Penny yawns and curls into a ball, uninterested in the subject.
Lania shrugs to Luminous. "It might be a fairy who put me here, or some strange curse? Or aliens?"
"Hahaha, it is fine. I don't mean to pry, I was just curious." Luminous has an idea. "I will go to the town tomorrow and see what is happening."
"Okay. Do you know how to get there?" Lania asks.
"I have an idea of the place from the map. It is quite straightforward, so it will not be a problem." Luminous recalls his map navigation, and it went well. He is still very good with directions and maps.
"Great. To be honest, I don't really like to go to town because like I said, I feel isolated from the people as they have not seen me for a very long time."
"Maybe they might not be as you think they are. Anyhow, I feel it is important to build up relationship with people because we can look out for each other."
Lania giggles when she hear that. "Okay Sir! Actually, for a long time, I wanted some supplies that I can not gather in the forest. Maybe your appearance signifies a change in my life."
"It is not as dramatic as that, but I will try to get you what you want." Luminous is impressed that Lania can live independently by herself (and Penny) for so many years.
"You see, I need to patch up some clothes and create more exciting dishes. I know they have spices that are foreign, so if you could get me some of it and some fabric, it'll be great!"
"Alright, I will remember that."
Lania and Luminous finish their food. After washing the dishes, Luminous takes his Shining Rod and prepares to leave the house.
"Lania, I am going to do some private practice in the forest. I might come back very late, but you don't need to worry."
"Are you a mage?" Lania points her head to the direction of his weapon.
Luminous shakes his head sadly. "I am not quite sure if I can call myself one right now. I've lost a lot of my skills and I have not fully recovered. That is why I will try to grasp whatever that is left of me."
Lania gazes at him quietly. After a few moments, she says, "Then, you have my support, Luminous. I hope what you lost will return to you."
-More to come-