If Reyn had to guess Aespia and Pera's age, she'd guess they were ten years old. As for Reyn, she was twenty-five years old. Reyn wondered how old Poki and Mercy were.
She looked at the two from her left. "Poki, Mercy, how old are you two?"
Poki fell into thought for a moment and counted. "I'm 27 years old. How old are you? Also it's kind of strange your world also has years."
Looking at Poki's young face, Reyn didn't expect Poki to be 27 years old, more like 20 years old. "I'm 25 years old. You look quite young, I thought you were 20 years old. As for the years, I guess it is strange unless we come from worlds that are similar."
Poki smiled, "It's probably because I don't get as much sunlight as you. What about you Mercy?"
Mercy thought back to his death for a moment. "I believe I was twenty-two years old upon my death."
A green turtle climbed onto a rock and stared at the three. The three stared back at the turtle. The turtle suddenly spoke in an old voice. "Greetings, I am Verdant Turtle."
The three looked at each other and back at the turtle. Poki decided to speak first. "A talking turtle... I'm Poki, this is Reyn and Mercy. Are you also a Castaway like us?"
Verdant Turtle shook his head. "No, I'm an inhabitant on this island. There are many others."
Reyn fell into thought for a moment. "Is Golden Goose one of them?"
Verdant Turtle gave a nod, "Yes, it's surprising you've met him. He's usually relaxing somewhere hidden."
A curious thought poked Poki. "You got any superpowers?"
Verdant Turtle shook his head. "Other than giving out words of advice and teleporting to other islands, no."
Mercy smiled gently at Verdant Turtle. "Was there a reason you came up to us?"
Verdant Turtle looked at Mercy. "I was curious about you all since the only knowledge I and the others were given by the Host was that you're all Castaways."
Poki shrugged her shoulder, “There’s not much to know about us.”
Verdant Turtle nodded and looked to the sky. He tasted the air and sensed it was going to rain. “It’s going to rain soon, thank you for your time, I’ll be seeing you all around.”
With that, Verdant Turtle left. Poki and the others continued fishing. From afar, Pera and Aespia chatted together. The two had spotted Verdant Turtle also but didn't know that the turtle could talk.
The seventh day came. Poki cracked open a coconut and drank it. A crab scuttled across the beach. Memories of the crab game flashed and passed. Poki wondered what game the Host would give her today. “Hey Host!”
A piece of paper appeared. “Poki, ready for another game?”
“Yeah.”
Reyn and Mercy appeared, they walked towards Poki. The two wondered what game Poki was going to be offered today. A piece of paper appeared. “The game is earn fame in Telon City.”
The name Telon City wasn't one that rang a bell. Most likely, it was a made-up city. Since there was fame, there would most likely be people. The question was what kind of city it would be. It could be a city like Poki’s modern era city or an old city from long ago.
Poki voiced her thoughts, “What kind of city is it?”
A piece of paper appeared. “Oh it's just a city of superheroes.”
“What are the rules?” Reyn asked.
A piece of paper appeared. “Rules are simple, if you die, you come back to the island.”
Mercy touched his chin. “I’m guessing rewards will be proportional to fame?”
A piece of paper appeared. “Yep, you two interested in playing with Poki?”
Mercy and Reyn looked at each other; they didn't see why not. The two turned to the Host and nodded. A piece of paper appeared. “Excellent, let’s go.”
The three disappeared from thin air. They reappeared in a city with clear blue sky and white clouds. If there was one word for the city, it was breathtaking. It was not a city that looked like it was built on suffering and survival but a city built on cooperation and harmony.
Metallic skyscrapers of obsidian color soared into the sky. Green trees were everywhere with many perched on top of skyscrapers. A beautiful clear lake was in front of the three.
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Poki stared with her mouth hung open. The city looked like a Utopia. The island was cool but it was dull compared to what was before her. It was a city she would love to live in from what she was seeing so far.
Reyn looked at everything awe-struck. She saw endless possibility in the city. She saw a world she never thought was possible. For the first time in a long time, she was filled with wonder.
Mercy took a deep breath of air. He suddenly froze for a moment. The air tasted peaceful and harmonious. It was not the air of a city that was built by the weak. It was the air of a city built by a mighty tyrannical force. In his world, the air tasted of hardship and suffering with little joy. There was only one land or kingdom that tasted of peace and harmony, the land of the Dread Kingdom.
It was a kingdom built by the Dread King. A King not many have seen or met. In fact, not even the people of the Dread Kingdom knew of the existence of the Dread King. If there was one person in his world that could stand against Mante, it would be the Dread King from the Dread Kingdom.
Mercy could still remember how the Dread Knights battled against the Carney Clan. It was a battle that ended with both sides suffering heavily. From there, the name Carney became infamous throughout the mighty Dread Kingdom. Dread Knights were so powerful that they rarely died in the Dread Kingdom. If a dragon could take down a kingdom, then a single Dread Knight could take down a dragon. The clash of Dread and Carnage was still taught in the Dread Kingdom last he remembered. There was a reason why Mercy guided Mante to becoming something like a Dread Knight.
A smile formed on Mercy’s face. He wondered who built this city. “What an amazing city, I’ve only ever seen one kingdom like this.”
Poki and Reyn could only agree. Suddenly, their eyes caught something in the sky; it was a mature woman with messy brown hair in a lab coat falling. “Ahhhhhhhhh.”
With their perception speed, the woman was falling quite slowly. Having the second-highest stats, Poki jumped fifty feet into the air and caught the woman. She landed and placed the shocked woman on the ground. “You okay?”
Realizing she had been saved, the woman was filled with relief. “Thank you for saving me... I thought I was dead.”
Reyn and Mercy walked closer. Poki looked up at the sky. “How did you fall from up there?”
The woman got up with shaking legs and held herself. “Oh I was just experimenting with teleportation. Ah, that’s illegal so uh, could you keep it a secret?”
Poki became lost for words. “Uh ok.”
Remembering how Poki jumped fifty feet, the woman studied Poki more carefully. “My name is Doctor Donna. What are your names?”
“Poki.”
“Mercy.”
“Reyn.”
Donna gave them a smile. “Again, thank you for saving me. As thanks, and to keep what you heard a secret, could I treat you all to a meal?”
The three looked at each other and read each other's faces. Poki turned to Donna. “Sure, why not.”
Donna smiled and led the three to a simple-looking restaurant. The three looked at the menu. Reyn ordered a snowman ice cream. Mercy ordered a gingerbread man. Poki ordered a roasted fish. Donna ordered a bowl of ramen. She studied the three. Based on how they looked and acted, they might be illegal immigrants.
"You're all immigrants aren't you?"
Poki chewed on her fish. "Yeah, I guess."
Seeing their calm reaction, Donna determined they were most likely not illegal immigrants. "How long have you arrived here?"
"Just today," Poki answered.
Donna nodded; perhaps she could bribe them with a job. "Do you all have jobs? I'm looking for lab assistants."
Poki looked at the other two and back at Donna. "No, I guess we should get a job. Are you interested in hiring us?"
Donna nodded, "Yes, I need muscles and you all seem like superhumans."
Poki gave a smile. "Alright, I guess we'll be in your care."
Donna smiled, "As will I."
The three finished eating and Donna left with the three. A gruff man with a friendly smile by the name of Drenchy watched them leave. If the three hadn't accepted Donna's offer, every superhuman in the restaurant would have jumped the three.
The next day at a secret facility. Poki was watching a normal human run around with an exo-armor. Based on the data Donna collected, the man was five times faster, five times stronger, and five times more durable in the exo-armor. However, it was clear his mind wasn't built to handle such power.
Donna sighed, "The exo-armor is good, but his mind can't use it to its full power."
Poki fell into thought. "Why not make an AI chip to assist the man?"
Donna shook her head. "Unfortunately, an AI chip would be too costly. Not many countries have the wealth needed to make a decent AI chip. However, I did hear the Deep Depth organization may have advanced AI chips. How they made them is unknown."
Poki looked towards a restricted door. "Did you find out what's wrong with your teleportation machine?"
Donna nodded her head. "Yes, turns out I put in the wrong coordinates in my excitement. However, after that fall from high up, I'm afraid to test it again."
Poki smiled, "I can test it for you."
Donna scrunched her eyes. "You could die testing it, you know."
Poki chuckled, "Yeah I know, but your teleportation device is going to revolutionize the world, isn't it? Say, how did you get the idea for it in the first place?"
A memory flashed through Donna's mind. It was a memory of getting her icecream stolen by Erald, the city menace. The boy was a teleporter who gave her the idea of teleportation. In her opinion, Erald was one of the best teleporters in the world. "I got the idea after Erald stole my ice cream."
Poki wondered who Erald was. "Who's Erald?"
"Erald is the city menace; he goes around stealing things and messing with people. The city has quite a headache dealing with him. He's very hard to catch."
Excitement filled Poki. "Oh, he sounds like a rebel."
Donna smiled, "You could say that. At this point, only the bravest dare to challenge him."
Poki sat in a chair and started searching on a computer. "He can't be that scary."
Donna chuckled, "That's because you haven't met him. He's been in this city for three years and no one has managed to catch him. In fact, some people are even his fans."
Poki studied Erald's information. He was a young boy with golden hair and blue eyes. His clothes were green, white, and comfy. His picture was one of mischief and innocence. There was even a site that tried to track his location with drones.
One of the drones found Erald. He was sitting at the top of a skyscraper eating ice cream. If no one knew anything, they would think he was just an ordinary kid. However, one word stuck out to Poki immediately, the kid was a trickster. Erald turned his gaze and faced the drone with a smile. Poki's heart almost jumped out. It had Poki questioning whether she was only lesbian.

