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nThe roar of the waterfall was very relaxing, and it helped me center my thoughts a bit. I was fortunate that Mex had taken a liking to me and that he was showing me around.

nI was starting to gather small bits of the puzzle with the clues that I was being left. Each one of them slowly made me more confident in the choice that I had made at the start.

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"Wataluga, I have brought a Guest to meet you, and I would like you to do some work with him,

" Mex called out to the pool of water, but It wasn't the pool that started to talk.

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"Oh, Yeah, brought me a little bean? Pink skin? What do you want me to do?! He will just be the red stuff under the pink if you let me at him!

"

nThe voice came from the center of the roaring waterfall where the face of an old wizardly looking face and a beard that was defined in the waterfall. The face was huge, and the voice was booming, but then it disappeared, and a little old wizard-shaped form of water rose up at the edge of the water.

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"Kazz here will be fine, but I will be sending some girls with him as well, and you will only have them in the pond. Do I make myself clear because my daughter will be with them, and you know how I feel about Nushi?

" Mex said rhetorically and seriously.

nThis was starting to worry me a bit. This was the second time now that Mex had got severe with the Elementals about going easy on the girls.

nNow, I was starting to get worried. What was the training going to be?

nI pushed that feeling down hard; I deserved this. I would have been getting just as hard, but in different ways, if I would have joined the army.

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"So, what do you think you are going to do with this young hairless monkey?

" Wataluga asked Mex.

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"Don't worry about that for now. I just need you to get the boy stronger so Nixi doesn't eat him right away or try to kill him. If I can get you to make him tougher, then he might have a chance to make it off the island, and you know what that means for you four,

" Mex explained to the undulating wizard.

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"Well, when you put it like that, I supposed I could do a workover on the boy and the girls. Honestly, Mex, don't you think you are getting a little carried away with helping all these monsters? Why don't you just kill them and eat them like the other demons do?

" Wataluga asked.

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"I have my reasons, and you have your orders. Am I understood?

" Mex asked pointedly, and Wataluga nodded and sank back into the water.

nMex turned and waved for me to follow without saying another word. The Demon Lord may seem like a pushover at times, but I could tell that he was serious about his daughter and her safety.

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"You're quite a bit different than the other Demons of your kind, aren't you? You seem way too nice, and from the way, the others around you talk, that seems to be considered a weakness among your race, yes?

" I asked, trying to make idle conversation as we walked towards the smoke that Mex had pointed out before.

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"Yes, a bit, but I try to keep some bit of control over the creatures in my domain, but you are right. The others of my kind are far more ruthless and cruel than I am, but we aren't all the same, and the other lesser demons act that way when their leader does. As you can see with the people in my Keep, they all have personality, but most of them are friendly and relaxed for the most part,

" Mex explained.

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"Okay, so then the Demon race is a bit of a hive mind then, except for your kind the Rules not only rules over everyone and tells them what to do. They also tell them how to feel and act; so then, does that mean that there are good demons on the mainland?

" I asked as the humidity started to leave the air, but it was replaced with drier and hotter heat.

nThe trees around us were starting to change, getting thinner and more spaced out. The ones that were up ahead were all leafless, and it was starting to look like we were walking into a wasteland; even the ground was slowly turning black.

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"It is the same as here, there are more bad than good, but that is the world we live in. There is always someone trying to get stronger than the rest, so that breeds fierce competition. Anyways, up ahead is Fireden, and he is the nicest out of the group, but that is his shortcoming,

" Mex explained as the heat started to get to be like I was walking inside of an oven.

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"Him being the nice one is a bad thing?

" I asked in confusion as I also painted breathing the hot air in.

nIt was almost like it was cooking me from the inside out with each breath. My lungs were starting to feel scorched, and I was just about to ask Mex to wait, but then it slowly became easier to breathe.

nThe change wasn't fast, but soon I could breathe more manageable, and I was able to catch up to Mex, who started to speak when I did. He must have been waiting for this to happen and know that I would recover somehow.

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"When you first got to this world, your body went through some changes, one of those things and the most major is your body's ability to adapt to your environment in this world. There are some places like this where there are multiple different environments, but there will also be places when the weather patterns change suddenly and dramatically. Your body is slowly getting used to this heat, and soon this will seem like a normal summer day,

" Mex told me with a smile as we walked up to a massive crater in the ground.

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