Kel guided the half-conscious Micro through the courtyard and up a flight of stairs. Some steps were carved into the rock itself, while others were made of wood.

  “A guardrail wouldn’t be too much to ask for…” Micro sighed, but he trusted Kel not to let him stumble off the side of the stairs and down the steep mountainside. As Micro began to wonder why they had started climbing the mountain again, a door in the side of the rock face suddenly appeared before him, beside which several ornate windows were also visible.

  “It’s a humble arrangement, but it’s only temporary,” he reassured Micro as he led him through the doorway into a warm room. It was full of furniture and decorated with glistening objects Micro couldn’t identify.

  “This is the garage?” Micro asked as the warmth of the room brought him partially out of his stupor.

  “Perhaps it would be called as such in your world, master,” Kel replied as Micro found the strength to take both the cage of pixies and the bag of honey buns from him. “An attendant will see to your needs shortly, but please rest for now.”

  “Rest…” Micro exhaled as the idea of sleeping began to tempt him as much as the aroma of the honey buns. He gently placed the cage on the floor, then curled up next to it without delay.

  “No, master, you…” Kel stuttered as Micro began to drift off. He shook Micro’s shoulder gently to wake him, causing Micro to let out a pained sigh. “The bed, master. Please, feel free to make use of the bed over there.”

  “What bed…?” Micro mumbled, struggling to open his eyes again.

  “I can only apologize if the bed in this room is so humble in its construction that you did not recognize it as a bed at all, but I do insist that you not sleep on the cold floor,” Kel said stoically.

  “A bed?” Micro asked. “Why?”

  “Are you unfamiliar with the word, perhaps?” Kel asked. “I know your culture is different in many ways, but…”

  “No, I know what beds are…” Micro replied.

  “Are you familiar with their function on this world?” Kel continued to ask, fearing he may offend Micro.

  “I used one to carry all sorts of things, mostly vegetables…” Micro explained, sitting up as the conversation dragged on. “Why?”

  “You—have you never slept in a bed?”

  “No need…”

  “So your training was harsh, to such an extent…” Kel muttered in awe. “I am ashamed to call myself a cultivator in your presence, master.”

  “You should be ashamed to call that face your own, you ugly bean pole!” Trill shouted from the cage beside a sleeping Blue. “At least beans know when to shut up!”

  “I understand that you are in the care of my master, so I will offer what courtesy I can, pixie,” Kel replied with a conflicted expression. “Please understand that you must remain in that cage for our, excuse me, for your safety… If there is anything you need, the Jade Fire Mountain Turtle Sect is at your service…”

  “Get lost, you green fool,” Trill spat.

  Micro began to laugh as the pixie danced around the cage while hurling insults at Kel, though he was worried to see Blue still sleeping in the corner of the cage. With a sigh, he once again looked around the room.

  “So this is a room, eh?” Micro remarked as Kel struggled to remain calm. “I’ve never been in a room for humans before, and now I’ve been in two in one day.”

  “Incredible…” Kel replied in awe, but he shook his head and straightened his posture. “In any case, rest well—”

  “Let me out, bean sprout!” Trill continued to shout, but Kel turned to leave before Trill could throw any more insults in his direction, closing the door softly while mumbling something to himself about beds. Trill resumed his pouting in the corner of the cage until he too fell asleep.

  Micro eventually realized which piece of furniture Kel had been referring to. It was a simple structure, just a straw-filled cushion with several blankets resting on top of it. He tried sitting down on it, but he quickly grew uncomfortable with being unable to feel the solid ground beneath it.

  “I wonder why humans like beds so much,” Micro wondered, then returned to his place on the floor at the centre of the room.

  ~

  “Excuse me, honoured guest…”

  Micro stirred from a deep sleep, waking up to find his hand already in the bag of honey buns. He instinctively took one from the bag and ate it as he sat up on the floor and looked around in an attempt to find the source of the sound that woke him.

  “I’m coming in…”

  Before he had time to react, the door slowly opened to reveal a young girl, no taller than he was, who felt familiar to Micro at a glance.

  “You…” he said through a long yawn. “You look like Tae.”

  If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  “Yes?” the girl blurted out, almost dropping the tray she was carrying. She stopped for a moment, but quickly collected herself and continued toward Micro. She knelt down in front of him and placed the tray on the floor. She then took a bag from her shoulder and placed it beside the tray.

  “Who are you?” Micro asked with a smile as he analyzed the items before him.

  “My name is Rose,” she replied tentatively. She looked fearfully at the cage containing two pixies, one of which was sleeping and the other of which was pouting. Confirming that the door of the cage was locked, she took a deep breath and continued. “I serve the family of the sect leader, though I’m still a novice in many—”

  “Meat!” Micro interrupted her with a shout of excitement when he realized one of the dishes on the try in front of him was full of grilled meat. He didn’t hesitate to pick up the bowl and tip the contents into his mouth little by little.

  “Honoured guest, your chopsticks…” Rose picked up the two finely crafted sticks on the tray and held them in front of Micro, but he looked at her in confusion as he continued to eat.

  “What are—” Micro looked up and belched. “Excuse me! Oh, I’ve seen those before. No thanks.”

  “Do you perhaps prefer a spoon?” she asked sincerely. “A knife? A fork?”

  “This is more efficient,” Micro replied as he set down the empty bowl. “Fuelling a truck with utensils would be silly.”

  “I…” Rose fell silent as she tried to understand the dilemma, but decided not to push the topic further. “I understand. Forgive my discourtesy. I am unfamiliar with your customs.”

  “It’s okay,” Micro mumbled as he swallowed the last of the meat in the bowl. “You really do look like Tae.”

  “Tae…” Rose whispered. “She told me…”

  “You know Tae?!” Micro asked happily, reaching for a bowl of vegetables. They smelled less enticing than the meat, but he could help but to grab a handful.

  “Please forgive me, but I must ask you,” she spoke directly. “Tae told me you saved her from the dungeon. Is that really true?”

  “The dungeon?” Micro said while struggling to chew on a long, green vegetable he hadn’t seen before. “Oh, that’s right. I wouldn’t just leave them behind. What kind of truck would I be—”

  He suddenly began to cough and sputter as the vegetable became lodged in his throat. Rose offered him a cup of tea, and he succeeded in washing it down with a few sips.

  “She was telling the truth…” she said with a frown, trying to understand how the boy in front of her could have played such an important role in the young master’s quest. “Then, I must sincerely thank you.”

  Without any further reservations, she placed her head and hands on the floor. Micro took another sip of tea as she raised her head again to speak, this time with a warmer tone.

  “Tae is my elder sister, honoured guest,” she explained. “My family is indebted to you.”

  “It’s okay,” Micro replied. “It was interesting, and I got two Core Cards out of it.”

  “What?!” Rose gasped, sitting back up in a hurry.

  “But I’m still not sure what to do with them.” Micro pointed to the sleeping pixies in the cage and shrugged. “I thought I was supposed to eat them, but Feng said that wasn’t quite right…”

  “You don’t know how to master Core Cards?” Rose asked with an eyebrow raised. “Even the mundane are aware of such common knowledge.”

  “What’s common on my world isn’t as common here,” Micro said as he scanned the room quickly. “There’s no plastic here, for example.”

  “Plastic…?” She began to unpack a bag as they spoke, and then handed its contents to Micro. He mistook the gift for a pile of rags at first, but then realized they were clothes. He was relieved not to be covered in rust anymore, but after putting on the long robes, he felt more exposed than ever.

  “No bumpers, no doors…” he complained. “No metal at all…”

  “Is it not to your liking?” Rose asked humbly.

  “It’s nothing,” he said with a bittersweet smile. “Thank you for the clothing, Rose.”

  “Then, will you tell me where you’re from?” she asked. “I heard you were from very far away.”

  “I’m from another world, apparently,” Micro replied, looking around at the room. “Garages are very different there…”

  “Another world? Wait, could it be…” Rose’s voice fell to a whisper as her eyes began to flicker with a familiar light. “An artificial vessel… You were summoned here?! Then the rumours were true…”

  “Your eyes do the same thing that Tae’s eyes do,” Micro remarked. “That’s a cool trick!”

  “My apologies, but it’s a habit!” Rose apologized, but she was relieved to see Micro still smiling.

  “I used to have headlights too,” Micro added.

  “The Spirit Vision Skill is important to our family,” Rose explained. “I just wondered if it was true that your body was truly made by magicians, but it really was…”

  “I’m still getting used to being in this body, but it hasn’t been all bad,” Micro replied with a sigh. “I need to find a way home soon though… Wait, do you know how to use Core Cards?”

  Rose sat silently with her eyes wide, forgetting even to breathe for a moment, but after concluding whatever thought had come into her mind, she smiled brightly at Micro.

  “You’re really from another world!” she shouted and brought her hands to her mouth in glee. “I can’t believe it. There were people saying you’re a guest from abroad, so I thought you were one of those boring old men from out east, but then I saw how young you were, and I wasn’t sure what to think! I can’t believe somebody from another world is sitting in front of me! I have so many questions!”

  “Most people aren’t that happy to hear that information.” Micro couldn’t help but lean back as a dense aura of excitement erupted from the young girl in front of him.

  “Kel said you were very strong in your world! How strong were you? Were you taller there? What arts did you study? What is the food like where you’re from?” Her questions increased in speed and volume. “What’s your name? What do you—”

  “I’m a Micro,” Micro interrupted her, then corrected himself. “My name is Micro. My world is a nice place. Well, what I’ve seen of it is. The roads aren’t perfect, but they’re comfortable. I wasn’t very tall, but I was wider. I didn’t really eat, but I’ve been going through oil more quickly recently. I don’t know if you could say I was fast or strong, but I was efficient and reliable. And my driver, he…”

  Rose noticed his eyes beginning to water as he recalled more about his world and immediately subdued her curiosity.

  “Forgive me, Micro!” She bowed once again. “I should have been more considerate! Please don’t be angry!”

  “It’s okay.” Micro wiped his eyes with his hand. “I’ll return one day, after I find enough Core Cards.”

  “You already have two, but you don’t know how to use them yet?” Rose asked. “Did your master not teach you anything?”

  “I learned a lot from my driver,” Micro asserted. “But I don’t think we have cards like that in my world.”

  “So you don’t know much about cultivation at all?” She asked as she leaned in.

  “Almost nothing at all…” Micro replied.

  “Then it’s settled,” Rose shouted. “I’ll teach you!”