The Challenge of the Masters

⊱⊰ 31: Lunara [Revised] ⊱⊰

Thelma rubbed her chin. "Caris lives in a world that is mostly an ocean, for sure it will be a challenge to find her."

As Thelma and Kazuya sighed, Arisa thought that one of the challenges of finding the Oceanian would be exploring the underwater world. Knowing that Caris was half mermaid, Arisa hoped that they would find her with her islander family. It would definitely save them the trouble to explore the world below that endless sea.

"Let's forget about Oceana for now," said Kazuya, washing away Arisa's thoughts. "Let's focus on Garoh. We should ask someone for directions."

"Okay," said Thelma and Arisa in unison.

Walking down the street, Arisa saw several man-powered vehicles carrying one passenger. Examining the area as she strolled along with her friends, she noticed that the architecture of Lunara had an oriental design. Most of the buildings had a roof that curved up on its edges. Spherical lanterns that reminded her of pumpkins beautified the environment.

"Maybe we can ask that woman over there," said Kazuya.

The girls followed him and as they passed through a small crowd, Arisa saw that the person they were approaching was a being with a cat-like appearance. Arisa could see the small bun on top of the lady's dark head.

"Excuse me, ma'am," said Kazuya.

The woman turned around. "Yes?"

Arisa could sense an accent in the woman's tone. The woman looked at them curiously, blinking her feline eyes.

"We're sorry for disturbing you." Kazuya bowed a little. "We're travelers from another world and would like to know where we can find the castle. We would like to visit there before we return home."

"Tourists from another world, huh." The woman tilted her head. "I'm not sure if the gates will be open for public today since our prince's betrothed will visit the country. But if your objective is to admire the palace from outside, I don't think there will be any problem."

Thelma grabbed her device. "As long as we can take pictures of the building to add to our album, we don't mind checking it from afar."

The woman smiled; she then showed them directions where the palace was located. She told them they would reach their destination faster if they took a rickshaw, but as they saw that the carriage only transported one passenger, the trio chose to walk.

Despite knowing that it would take them a little time to reach their destination, Arisa thought that going there on foot wasn't a bad idea. Like this, she could admire the town more closely.

Minutes passed and throughout their little trip, Arisa saw more buildings with roofs that had curved edges. Only a small number of those colorful edifices were tall; most of them only had two floors. As they kept exploring the street, reaching open areas, battle cries met Arisa's ears. When she gazed at her left side, she saw a group of pre-teens sparring and showing off their martial arts skills.

Arisa stopped walking for several seconds, admiring the view. Her gaze froze on a little girl focusing in front of a wooden dummy. When the girl gestured her hand forward, thin transparent energy followed her command and struck its target, forming light cracks on its surface. Seeing those results, the girl jumped up and down and called someone to show them the impact of her attack.

Arisa smiled, remembering the first time she had seen that ability. It had been a while since she last saw an attack assisted by the Lunarian Force.

Kazuya grabbed her hand. "We have no time to space out."

"Sorry," said Arisa, walking by his side.

The clock kept ticking before they finally saw tall cream-colored walls that had gray details. Approaching the area, the trio walked on the wide stairs that had two silver statues standing on either side. The statues reminded Arisa of a large wolf.