MEMELAND

Three days passed quietly.

For the first time in weeks—

Kai wasn't fighting.

Wasn't running.

Wasn't falling off cliffs.

It almost felt strange.

---

Most mornings—

He could be found inside Noah's workshop.

Several sheets of old Oheyo documents covered an entire table.

Noah looked exhausted.

Eric looked fascinated.

Kai looked confused.

"...Why are there so many words for the same thing?"

Eric adjusted his glasses.

"Because language evolves."

Kai pointed at one page.

"This one means conduit."

He pointed at another.

"This one also means conduit."

Then another.

"...And this?"

Kai squinted.

"...Mana regulator."

Noah sighed dramatically.

"So they had three different words..."

"...for slightly different pipes."

Kai nodded.

"I think."

"I don't actually know."

Eric laughed.

"I appreciate your honesty."

The lessons continued.

Kai translated what little he remembered.

Some words came naturally.

Others only surfaced after a slight headache.

Noah wrote everything down.

Eric immediately began comparing the written symbols to Oheyo engineering.

"...Interesting."

Kai looked over.

"What now?"

Eric pointed toward one symbol.

"They don't write mana the way we do."

"They write..."

He paused.

"...Flow."

Noah nodded.

"Asphyxia describes energy."

"Oheyo describes movement."

Kai blinked.

"...That's important?"

Both engineers answered together.

"YES."

Kai had learned not to question it anymore.

---

The afternoons belonged to Alice.

This time—

They trained outside the city walls.

Kai created another small flame.

Alice nodded.

"Better."

"It isn't shaking anymore."

Kai dispersed it.

"...Can I ask something?"

"Hm?"

"The fire and wind..."

"I understand those."

"But..."

He remembered the GFR.

The crimson star.

The explosion.

"The spell you used against the Generator."

"That wasn't elemental magic."

Alice smiled.

"...Good observation."

She stepped forward.

"Elemental magic is only the beginning."

She raised one hand.

A small magic circle appeared beneath her feet.

Unlike Kai—

She began chanting.

Not loudly.

Not dramatically.

Just enough.

"...Crimson Star."

A tiny crimson star appeared above her palm.

Barely larger than a marble.

Kai immediately recognized it.

"...That."

Alice nodded.

"Crimson Star Haven Breaker."

Kai stared.

"...That tiny thing destroyed the Generator?"

"No."

She smiled.

"The Generator was destroyed by the larger version."

"This..."

She gently dismissed the spell.

"...is merely the foundation."

Kai looked confused.

"So..."

"What's the difference?"

Alice sat on a nearby rock.

"When beginners learn magic..."

"They borrow nature."

"Fire."

"Wind."

"Water."

"Earth."

She picked up a stick.

Drew several circles in the dirt.

"But eventually..."

"A mage stops asking..."

'What element can I control?'

She looked at Kai.

"And starts asking..."

'What do I want my magic to become?'

Kai remained silent.

Alice continued.

"I created Crimson Star Haven Breaker."

"It isn't something found in a book."

"It isn't something someone taught me."

"It became my magic."

Kai slowly nodded.

"So intermediate mages..."

"...make their own spells."

"Exactly."

"They understand principles."

"Then build from there."

She smiled faintly.

"Every accomplished mage leaves behind something only they could create."

Kai looked at his own hands.

"So one day..."

"I'll have my own?"

"If you survive long enough."

Kai laughed.

"...Comforting."

Alice looked toward the sky.

"You know..."

"Drifters are fortunate."

Kai frowned.

"...How?"

"We don't age."

She shrugged.

"We have time."

"We can spend decades refining a single spell if we want."

"The people born in this world..."

"They don't have that luxury."

"They train knowing they'll eventually grow old."

Kai never considered that.

He quietly nodded.

"...I guess that's true."

Silence settled between them.

Then—

Kai spoke again.

"...Alice."

"Hm?"

"I'm leaving."

"For Muscle City."

She sighed immediately.

"...Again?"

Kai scratched his cheek.

"...Yeah."

"It hasn't even been a week."

"I know."

"And you're already leaving."

"...Yeah."

Alice stared at him for several seconds.

"...You didn't tell me everything."

Kai froze slightly.

"When you came back."

"There were things you kept to yourself."

Kai didn't deny it.

"...Yeah."

Alice sighed.

"...Fine."

She stood.

"If you're going..."

"I'll write a letter."

Kai blinked.

"...A letter?"

"To Taai."

She walked toward the city.

"If you're going to Muscle City..."

"He'll probably try something stupid."

"I'd rather he didn't."

Kai smiled.

"...Thanks."

Without looking back—

Alice casually added,

"...Besides."

"It's been a while since we've exchanged letters."

"Good timing."

---

Three days later—

The city gate bustled with activity.

Raj handed Kai a sealed envelope.

"For Taai."

Kai carefully stored it.

"...I'll make sure he gets it."

Nish stepped forward.

"I've also sent word."

Kai looked over.

"To who?"

"A friend."

Nish thought for a moment.

"...Trustworthy."

Then immediately corrected himself.

"...Mostly."

Kai narrowed his eyes.

"...Mostly?"

"He's..."

Nish searched for the right word.

"...A bit of a wacko."

Kai blinked.

"...That's not reassuring."

"He'll meet you halfway."

"And despite everything..."

"I trust him."

Kai accepted that answer.

Mostly.

---

"Close your eyes."

Kai frowned.

"...Why?"

"Just do it."

He sighed.

Then closed them.

A few seconds later—

"Okay."

Kai opened his eyes.

"..."

"...What."

Standing before him—

Was something Noah and Eric had clearly lost sleep over.

A narrow metal board.

Two reinforced wheels.

A steering handle.

Small mana boosters mounted behind each wheel.

It looked somewhere between a scooter and a tiny engineering experiment.

Noah folded his arms proudly.

"...Hovercraft was impossible."

"So..."

Eric finished.

"...We compromised."

Kai slowly walked around it.

"...What is it?"

Eric smiled.

"We don't have Oheyo's levitation technology."

"But..."

"We can still reduce effort."

Noah pointed proudly.

"The boosters assist acceleration."

"The wheels reduce friction."

"It won't fly."

"But..."

"It's much faster than walking."

Kai looked genuinely impressed.

"...You built this?"

"We did."

Kai stepped onto it.

It rolled surprisingly smoothly.

"...Huh."

Eric smiled.

"We're calling it..."

Noah interrupted.

"...Actually we haven't named it yet."

Kai looked at both of them.

"...How about..."

"...Scooter."

Silence.

Noah looked disappointed.

"...I expected something cooler."

Eric shrugged.

"...It's accurate."

Kai laughed.

"I'll take it."

---

The gates opened.

Everyone stood watching.

Alice.

Raj.

Nish.

Eric.

Noah.

Kai rested one foot on the scooter.

Adjusted the supplies strapped to his back.

Then looked toward the eastern horizon.

Muscle City.

Magic Circuits.

Answers.

Somewhere beyond those mountains...

The next piece of the puzzle was waiting.

Kai pushed forward.

The boosters hummed softly.

The scooter rolled down the road.

Noah watched until he disappeared into the distance.

Then quietly smiled.

"...Next time..."

"We're making it fly."

Eric didn't disagree.