The rest of the trip through the cave was a more enjoyable experience for Micro. He appreciated that Kel always rushed to help him whenever he tripped and fell, despite the awkward glances of his attendants. However, the journey to the cave’s exit was no less exciting than the journey to the dungeon had been.

  Several cave bears ambushed the group twice during Kel and Micro’s conversation, though they were quickly taken care of by the others. They also encountered a pack of large green rats with long horns which quickly climbed the walls and dropped down on the group from the cave’s ceiling. They were dispatched without a problem before they had a chance to pose any threat to Micro, but the way the creatures moved made him aware of a new and distinct feeling.

  “Some of these monsters are… creepy,” Micro said after stepping over a large insect, then looking closely at the skin on his arm. “I think these are goosebumps.”

  “I would imagine such creatures are beneath you, Master Micro,” Kel commented. “What beast of the land could cause you concern?”

  “A deer…” Micro thought back to a few close calls. “And a moose can do a lot of damage. They just stand there looking at you with that big old face, fearsome things…”

  “Ah—” Kel paused, then nodded as he seemed to make sense of the story. “Even the fauna of your world must be truly frightening to encounter.”

  “Especially at highway speeds,” Micro added.

  The group continued on without rest, occasionally encountering a monster or two, until finally the feeling of fresh air swept over Micro. He unconsciously took a deep breath and smiled.

  “Oh, we’re already out?” Kel turned to ask his friends as they stepped out of the cave into the dark forest. It was early morning, but the sky which they could see through the dense trees was heavy with rain clouds.

  “Young master…” A weary Bol-En replied, his voice ragged. “We’ve been walking for two days… without rest or replenishment… How…”

  “Really?” Tae chimed in. “I didn’t notice.”

  The four cultivators who hadn’t joined them in the dungeon looked like they could fall asleep at any moment, but they stood on their shaking legs without complaint. Noticing this, Kel realized his mistake.

  “It looks like I lost track of time!” he apologized with a bow, but he couldn’t help but laugh proudly. “It has been a very long time since I sat down to rest…”

  “He’s more like his grandfather than ever…” Den said through a yawn.

  “A training session with him is a blessing, but there’s never any telling when it will end…” Kas agreed. “He just keeps going and going.”

  The attendants laughed amongst themselves for a moment, but the sound of rain beginning to fall brought them back to the present.

  “There’s a shrine of some kind at the top of that hill.” Tae pointed ahead of the group into the dense woods, then shot a cold glance back to her comrades. “We can take shelter there until we are all ready to continue.”

  “A shrine in this region?” Kel asked. “To what god?”

  “Apologies, young master, but it is too far to see,” she replied with a bow. “It may be abandoned.”

  “Very good, then!” Kel declared. “We shall—”

  Micro had already started walking at a brisk pace before Kel finished speaking, but Kel only smiled and chased after him, followed shortly after by Tae and the other four weary attendants.

  “Hey, Blue…” Micro whispered as he walked along the forest floor, snapping twigs beneath his clumsy feet and stubbing his toes on roots and rocks. “What god do you think lives at the shrine?”

  “Huh?” Blue mumbled, opening her glowing eyes to meet Micro’s. “Gods? Where?”

  “We’re going to a shrine to rest,” Micro explained. “Do you think Nora is there…?”

  “Nora? No, she’s not a local,” Blue replied casually. “You won’t run into many gods around here these days anyway.”

  “I see…” Micro sighed. “I thought I might ask her to send me home.”

  “She wouldn’t if she could, believe me.” Blue rolled her eyes. “She’s just another tourist making a mess of things.”

  “What about—”

  “Don’t bother me now,” Blue suddenly snapped, closing her eyes tightly. “I’m doing something.”

  “Oh, sorry.” Micro gently patted the pocket opening closed to give her privacy.

  He continued walking, keeping an eye out for any monster that may wish to collide with him, while Kel found himself occupied with explaining in more and more detail to his attendants the way he completed the trial. Micro’s mind raced at the thought of finding a deity of some sort who could help him return home, and soon the group came to the bottom of a grassy hill. At the top of the hill was a large wooden structure in a state of disrepair, surrounded by stone statues and dilapidated walls. While the temple itself may have been impressive, something else drew Micro’s attention.

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  “A road!” Micro shouted in glee, pointing at a distinct path that zigzagged all the way up the hill from where he stood. The cultivators looked in confusion as he took a large first step from the grass onto the dirt path as though it were enjoyable to him, and they were confused further when his mood soon deflated. “Wait, what is this?”

  “Master Micro?” It concerned Kel to see the enthusiasm on Micro’s face drain in an instant, leaving behind a look of utter disappointment.

  “This isn’t even at all…” Micro whispered through his heartache. “Even for a dirt road, this is just…”

  “What’s wrong with the path, Micro?” Tae asked. “It looks fine to me.”

  “This is not fine,” Micro replied with a sad expression. “Are there no other roads?”

  “What do you mean?” Den asked. “Why would they make two paths up one hill?”

  Micro stared at Den in disbelief until Den felt obliged to apologize in confusion, but Micro just shook his head and sighed.

  “Oh well…” Micro looked down with his eyebrows furrowed. He lifted his foot to take another step, and immediately regretted it. His foot came to rest at an odd angle at the edge of a long groove in the dirt path, and he could feel a small rock pressing against his heel through his worn leather boot.

  “The rain is picking up,” Sung mentioned as he walked past Micro and addressed Kel. “You should rest too, young master.”

  “Are you alright, master?” Kel looked curiously at Micro as the cultivators began their walk up the path to the shrine.

  “I’m fine…” Micro groaned. Micro’s pace quickened gradually, but the displeasure on his face was unlike any expression Kel had seen on him before. “I just… this road…”

  “Come on, boy!” Den shouted from the entrance to the large wooden building. “You’ll catch a cold!”

  Micro looked up at the cultivators waiting for him and quickened his pace, trying to ignore the unpleasant feeling of the path beneath his feet.

  “I’ve never seen you this upset, master,” Kel said as he guided Micro into the shrine with a hand on his shoulder.

  “Aren’t you troubled by the state of that road?” Micro asked Kel with a frustrated look. “Shouldn’t it be repaired?”

  “Repaired?” Kel asked. “What’s wrong with it?”

  At last, Micro stepped off the end of the uneven path and onto the grassy courtyard of the shrine. He looked back at the path with a scornful gaze as he continued to complain.

  “It’s bumpy in some places, and full of potholes!” Micro complained. “There are rocks to trip over everywhere, and there are puddles…”

  “You didn’t mind walking through the woods, master,” Kel replied. “The path couldn’t have been unpleasant by comparison—”

  “A road is a road, Kel,” Micro countered with a surprisingly fierce glare. “A road made with so little care should never have been made.”

  Kel froze while trying to understand Micro’s dilemma, his eyes wide as Micro’s words echoed in his mind.

  “A road should be made with care…” Kel whispered. “I see…”

  Micro continued into the wooden building while Kel stood outside, still deep in thought. Tae and the others had begun to unload their baggage, and several of them were stretching in an open area. The room was surprisingly dry, though it smelled of dust and old wood. Some grey light shone through the open windows, but the shrine remained a dark and somber place.

  “It’s not as dirty as I thought it would be,” Kas commented as she wiped the surface of a windowsill with her finger.

  “I don’t feel any particularly strong energies here…” Tae remarked. “It may be the product of some mundane religion.”

  “It looks like it’s been cleaned regularly for a long time,” Sung said, beginning to relax. “Be mindful not to disrespect this place. It may still be sacred to some.”

  As Micro’s eyes adjusted to the dim light, he noticed elaborate carvings in the wooden walls and pillars, and he eventually noticed a cat sitting on an ornate table, recessed into one of the walls. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was made of stone, and wasn’t exactly a cat. It had three long tails, and its ears were much longer than a normal cat’s.

  “That must be the object of worship,” Tae explained to Micro as she approached the table. “There are many such local deities, wherever one roams.”

  “What do they do?” Micro asked.

  “People make requests of them,” Tae replied with a nostalgic smile. “They bless the efforts of mortals, in battle, in agriculture…”

  “I see,” Micro said, then he turned to the cat-like carving and waved to it. “Hello. Can you please send me home?”

  “What are you doing?” Tae asked.

  “If it’s a god, it might be able to send me home,” Micro replied with a smile. “Excuse me. Can you send me back to the old man?”

  “Master, I’m sorry…” Tae grabbed Micro’s waving hand gently and lowered it. “That’s not a god.”

  “But you said—”

  “It’s just a carving. It’s made of stone,” Tae explained as she knocked on its head a few times. The sound of her knuckles against the stone echoed sadly through the shrine. “If there ever was such a being as this, it has likely long since moved on from here. This place is empty.”

  “Oh, I see…” Micro hung his head in disappointment, but continued to look at the carving. “Well, just in case…”

  Micro continued to sit in front of the statue, waiting for its reply. Tae pulled a small pouch of water and a handful of dried meat from her bag and passed it to Micro. He accepted it gratefully, and she returned to the others to rest.

  “I’d like to go home,” he asked again. “If possible, I’d also like to have all my tires back, and my headlights…”

  He remained in front of the statue for a while as the sound of rain outside grew heavier. The rowdy voices of the cultivators gradually faded as they fell asleep one by one, leaving Micro free to concentrate on his wish with all his might. But as the rain continued to pour deep into the night, he grew tired.

  “It’s not working…” Micro sighed. “Well, it was worth a try.”

  “What are you doing?” Blue whispered to him from his pocket.

  “I’m not sure…” Micro replied sadly. “The old man used to pray at a little shrine on the side of the road near his house after his father died. I’m not sure how it works, but I thought it was worth a try.”

  “Whatever you say,” she mumbled back.

  Micro sighed again and lay down in front of the statue, closing his eyes to sleep this time. Since leaving the dungeon, he’d had some trouble remembering how much time had passed, as if he’d woken up from a long dream, but dreaming was another thing with which he had little experience.

  “Maybe the god is just sleeping…” Micro said quietly as he glanced back at the statue one last time before his eyes closed. “I’ll try and wake it up again… tomorrow.”