While, in another world where humans possessed neither such powers nor such possibilities, starships were already boldly crossing the vastness of space, people here were still fighting with swords and shooting arrows just as they had a hundred centuries earlier. The only real difference was that the materials had gotten somewhat better.
Technological progress only truly began accelerating around sixty years ago, after the Avatar disappeared and a couple of generations passed without him.
Rather telling, wasn't it?
Tong's story lasted around eight hours, and by the end of his broad overview of the last ten thousand years, my head felt thoroughly overloaded from the sheer amount of information.
"Yee-e-eah… that's quite something. I understand Sozin a whole lot better now. Getting rid of that bastard was an exceptionally wise decision."
Honestly, they should've killed the Avatar every ten years before he could fully come into his power. Yes, the life of a child unlucky enough to be born as the Avatar was a terrible price to pay. But considering the kind of damage that child could cause (and the obsession with "harmony" clearly never disappeared), it was still better than dealing with a fully realized Avatar at the height of their strength later on.
"That is your opinion," the owl hooted. "Followers of the Avatar may see things differently. Enough for today. You are exhausted. You need rest. Return tomorrow, and bring your companions."
"Thank you, Master Wan Shi Tong."
I bowed, then forced myself to stand and make my way toward the rope.
Honestly, who in the world builds ceilings this ridiculously high?
***
Back at camp, I was met by a worried Suki, and the others very obviously breathed sighs of relief as well. It was nice when people cared about you.
"You're back!" She practically threw herself at me, hugging me tightly. "We were already starting to worry and were getting ready to go drag you out of there."
"Thanks, I'm fine. The negotiations and the first lesson just took quite a while."
"Negotiations? Lesson? What are you talking about?" the girl asked, confused.
"I mean the owner of this library, the Spirit of Knowledge, Wan Shi Tong… By the way, you're all invited to do some reading yourselves, if you want."
"You mean there's an actual Spirit living in there?" The warrior looked stunned.
"Yep. By the way, do we have anything to eat? Haven't had a bite since morning."
"I'll get something right now. You sit by the fire and start talking."
I was promptly planted beside the campfire and handed a bowl of food. Ju and Dandan settled themselves at my sides practically radiating curiosity, while Suki sat down across from me with the expression of a veteran interrogator.
"Well?"
So I had to recount everything I'd learned, naturally leaving out certain details and specifics — less out of secrecy and more to save time. Even the "brief summary" took around half an hour, and by the end of it I was already nodding off and making titanic efforts not to fall asleep right there.
"And tomorrow I'm going back for more lessons. Which I'd recommend for all of you as well. We'll leave two people at camp, station a third in the tower to keep watch over the area, and the rest can focus on their own searches."
"Mmm… the recipe for the perfect sweet roll…" Ju licked her lips dreamily. The sight was so absurdly erotic that it honestly perked me up a little.
No-no, absolutely no funny ideas. Me = poor exhausted warrior. Me want sleep. No need to try burning holes through me and the sweet-tooth with your blazing stare, dear kind wonderful Suki!
"Uh-huh… Anyway, do whatever you want, I'm going to sleep… Don't forget to divide up the night watches between yourselves."
After issuing my final orders, I headed off to my tent to finally get some sleep.
***
"I wonder how exactly his 'do whatever you want' and 'night watches' are supposed to fit together?" Ramis rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Yeah… well, whatever. Here's my proposal for the schedule. We'll stand watch in pairs. First pair…"
***
Morning greeted me with suffocating heat, something I'd already begun to forget existed after spending time inside the library. The nights in the desert were actually pretty chilly too. Suki had clung to me beneath the blanket like a lifeline. Right… now to carefully disentangle myself…
I tried to shift and discovered that, besides Suki, Dandan was pressed against my other side, while petite little Ju had somehow managed to sprawl herself right on top of me.
Now, don't get me wrong, this was all extremely pleasant, but there were two problems.
First, the commander was absolutely going to be glaring holes through me for the next three days, and the girls themselves were probably at risk of getting sentenced to a month of "enhanced training."
And second…
I really had to use the bathroom.
After heroically enduring another twenty minutes, I finally gave up, shamelessly dismantled the human "hill" piled on top of me, and hurried off to "inspect the quality of the camp's sanitary facilities."
***
Meanwhile, inside the tent…
"And just how am I supposed to interpret this?!" Suki purred deceptively softly, her eyes narrowing ominously.
Beneath the "affectionate" gaze of their beloved commander and closest friend, the brave Kyoshi Warriors instinctively shrank in on themselves and scooted closer together. In that moment, the saying about "leaning on your comrades" suddenly took on a far more vivid meaning for them.
(End of Chapter)
🙌Bonus chapter for 300 power stones!
🔥The next bonus chapter will be for 500 power stones.