《The Standpoint of An Abnormal Antagonist [REVAMPED]》


 Prologue: How it began

    Hey!


    How are you doing?


    ...........


    Me?


    I''m doing fantastic.......not! Not so fantastic since there''s practically nothing to do in my life. Sometimes I wonder if there''s any point in living such a boring life. Honestly, I''m bored to death. Well, I''m not willing to do suicide since I''m still young.


    That reminds me, I didn''t introduce myself did I?


    My name is Ren Tatsuki. I''m 17 and a legit male. For the past sixteen years that I remembered, there''s nothing worthwhile to mention.


    Well, another day like any other that I''ve had. With the same old, usual routine in the morning, I headed to school.


    ~~~~


    Eh..... As expected of the first day of school after the summer holiday. It''s bustling with youthful and ambitious students. Of course, that didn''t include me.


    The school bell rang, so I went to my class to attend lessons as usual. The rest of the time at school was normal so I will omit that part.


    After ten torturing hours at school including extra-curricular activities, I headed off to home.


    I didn''t mention this either but I needed to take a train to go home from school and so I''m currently at the train station. My designated train is going to arrive in thirty minutes time.


    As I spent my time loitering around the area, I noticed that only a few minutes left until my train arrives using my no brand watch.


    In the meantime, I saw a little boy crossing over the safety line. Oi, that''s very dangerous you know. What''s the kid''s mother doing to not pay attention to her son. I could only sigh because of the lack of responsibility the parents have these days.


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    While sighing, I decided to stop the poor little boy. He might go to the train track and only a minute left on the clock before the train comes here. There were not many people who came here in this area. Even if there were, they''re all busy with their mobile phones to even care about the boy.


    Seeing that I''m the only one who actually gives a fish about the little boy, I quickly ran towards him as he''s nearing the end of the train platform. I''m technically racing against time here.


    But you know, unfortunate and stupid things always happens to me at critical times, and that same thing happened just now.


    The distance between me and the boy was close so I was 99% sure that I could grab him and most importantly, stop him.


    But I was proven wrong by the remaining 1%. There just happened to be a banana''s skin right at the path I ran and so I slipped. I slipped not just head first to the ground but also into the train track where there''s an incoming train. At the rate I was falling, there''s no escaping death.


    Before my last moment, I somehow managed to take a glimpse of the little boy. It seemed like he stopped in his track to observe the falling specimen in front of him which was me. I guess I didn''t die a dog''s death after all. I''m glad.


    ''At least, I saved a life before dying. My death does look stupid though. With this, I won''t regret it as my life finally has a meaning,'' was what I thought at the time.


    With a smile on my face, the train hit me and I took my final breath.


    A/N: This ~ means a time skip or is set in another time.

 Chapter 1: The start of another life

    Since I was little, I had never believed that you can start over a new life after death. I simply address the matter as daydreaming and as an escape from reality since you can''t erase what you''ve done. Your past couldn''t be rewritten. Even if you did start another life as in reincarnate into another person, I believed that you''d have no memories of your past life.


    Or so I thought.


    ~~~~~~


    Ugh...


    I felt extremely uncomfortable. Reason being was that my body felt too cold. I also felt that my body was tired and numb like I had never moved it before. I knew of the fact that the human bodies tend to get cold when somebody died but this was too much. Moreover, if this was the afterlife, my probably destroyed body on Earth shouldn''t have an effect on me.


    This didn''t make any sense whatsoever. I''m utterly confused. Anybody would be in this kind of situation.


    Putting thoughts aside, I needed to do something about my freezing body and fast. I am trying to take the current situation as calm as possible and  started to do simple actions.


    First and foremost, I opened my eyes. It was blurry at first but I adjusted my sight of vision by blinking a few times. It seemed like it worked as I could see clearly now. What came into my sight was obviously my surroundings.


    Well, well.  No wonder it''s cold. The surrounding trees had snow piled on top of the branches and leaves. The same went for the ground. From what I could see right now, I believe that I''m inside some unknown forest and it''s currently winter. Furthermore, I was lying on the hard and cold  ground.


    How great.


    Since I couldn''t bear with the cold anymore, this time, I tried to move more parts of my body such as the arms and legs. I''m able to move them just fine but a numb feeling accompanied my movements. It''s not that surprising considering who knows how long I have spent in the cold.


    After getting used to moving, I started to get up from my lying stance.


    I hurriedly inspected my body. I have confirmed that this was not my body which was predictable. Knowing this fact made me explore and examined my body more thorough.


    My skin was as pale as a ghost''s, although I didn''t know how my face looked like at the moment, at least it''s better than my last one. My hair was completely white; contrast to my previous jet black hair. I wore high grade looking clothing. I also wore a pair of white gloves, black robe and shoes.


    Well, I''m grateful to the last owner for having worn a proper set of clothes instead of being stark naked in the cold.


    ........ ..


    Why I said ''the last owner of this body you asked? Wasn''t it obvious that this was the so-called reincarnation that was used in some manga and ranobe (light novel)?


    Enough of the details for now. I needed to get out of this forest and fast. As for what I''m going to do after this.... I''d decide on it at a later date.


    I sincerely hoped that I wouldn''t get lost in this forest. That would probably spell the end for me.


    "Now, shall we go?"


    With that said, I started walking in the cold with hopes to find an exit to this forest. While walking, I didn''t forget to observe my surroundings more. I was interested in this seemingly large forest. Even though there''re just snow everywhere, the sight still looked beautiful. It''s quite uncommon to find a nature''s place that''s not ravaged by the modern society. That said, where in the world is this place?


    As soon as I get out of this place, I''m going to find information. There''s too little that I know right now. I kept it in mind so that I wouldn''t forget about it.


    ~~~~~~


    It had been about half an hour since I started walking but there didn''t seem like anything that would help me out of this freaking place. I''m tired but I needed to keep walking to keep my body warm. My stomach was also telling me to hurry up and eat some food. But you know, there''re currently nothing to eat in this forest since it''s presumably winter here.


    Isn''t this situation just too dire?


    Aha! I have an idea that''s not that brilliant. But it''s better than nothing right?


    The idea itself was very simple. I just needed to simply check the pockets of clothes to see whether there''re anything useful.


    My top wear was a simple collared shirt covered by the black robe. The shirt possesses one breast pocket and the only one there is meanwhile the robe possesses none. I found a platinum plate from the breast pocket. I''d check it after I searched all of the pockets.


    My bottom wear which was black sleek pair of trousers had a total of four pockets; two front and two back pockets. I obtained nothing from them. I could only sigh from the result of my findings.


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    Well, I guess all I have was this platinum plate thingy. I better check it out.


    On a closer look, the plate was shaped like an upside down triangle with no sharp edges. It also has a few weird, or should I say ''artistic'', carvings. I kinda liked the carvings so I traced my index finger along them. After I did that, to my surprise, a window screen popped up.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Status Window</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Name: Ren Tatsuki</td><td colspan=''2''>Age: 17 years old</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Race: Unknown</td><td colspan=''2''>Level: 5</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Statistics</td></tr><tr><td>Strength</td><td>30</td><td>Defense</td><td>25</td></tr><tr><td>Agility</td><td>45</td><td>Intelligence</td><td>600</td></tr><tr><td>Magic</td><td>300</td><td>Luck</td><td>60</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''3''>Skill(s)</td><td>-Creation Magic


    -Language Comprehension</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''3''>Title(s)</td><td>None</td></tr></tbody></table>


    "The fish is this?!"


    Seriously, what exactly is this?!


    This kind of thing only appeared in games, manga and ranobe isn''t it?! Then again, reincarnation was also the same so I guess this kind of fantasy crap was of the norm here?


    ''Am I not on Earth?''


    I thought of the possibility that I''m no longer on the same earth as I was in my previous life. Does this also mean that I''m currently in another........ world?


    It''s not a confirmed possibility. I can go gather some information later on so I need to assess my situation calmly.


    Putting aside my surprise, I began analyzing the opened window screen that''s in front of me. There''re my name, age, race and some other things that I didn''t quite understand.


    The matter with my name and age are very accurate but I wonder why my race is stated as ''unknown''?


    The other stuff were Strength, Defense, Agility, Intelligence, Magic and Luck which caught my already-piqued interest. Other than my Intelligence and Magic, my other stats were very low with Luck being the highest among them. I thought that as ironic since I''m not in a good situation and am currently freezing and starving to death. I''m astonished as to how I could still think rationally.


    Well, I guess the stats were good enough considering that my level was 5.


    Apart from those stats, there''re also ''Skill(s)'' and ''Title(s)''. While I didn''t possess any title, I do possess two skills. One of them is the mysterious Creation Magic and the other is Language Comprehension. I suppose this world has magic.


    This made my theory on being in another world more possible. I''m mostly convinced that that''s the case.


    I wanted to try my skills but I guess that I couldn''t use Language Comprehension just yet. There''s no foreigner in this isolated place after all. So that left me with Creation Magic.


    As the name states, I think that the Creation Magic is to be able to make something from one''s imagination.


    Heh. Now I''m excited.


    I quickly tried to imagine food since I''m starving. If this works, it might be the only thing that will be able to save me from my current problems.


    I then closed both of my eyes. I imagined a box full of spicy, hot chicken wings and hold out my hands. I tried to make my image of it as clear as possible. During the process, I felt that my energy was being sucked up. Suddenly, a heavy object can be felt on my two hands.


    I opened my eyes slowly and to my joy I saw exactly what I wished for.


    A box full of spicy, hot chicken wings!


    I almost cried in joy. The aroma of the chicken wings that''s wafting in the air tickled my nose. Losing to my temptation and hunger, I grabbed one of the chicken wings and ate it hastily. Even though I almost burned the insides of my mouth, the food was real and delicious!


    And so I sat down under a near tree and despite the coldness that my body felt, I began to gobble up the food.


    ''Magic is so convenient!''


    I thought of that at the time and I looked forward to my new life.


    <hr />


    A/N: There were a lot of sentences that I was confused on whether to use past or the present tense. I hope you guys who are reading point out the mistakes kindly as English is not my primary language.

 Chapter 2: The things I can do with magic

    After finishing the last piece of chicken wing, I patted my full stomach. A broad smile floated on my face. Since the food was still hot when I ate them, my body had warm up a bit thanks to that. Of course, I did not forget what caused me to have such a delightful meal. It was my skill, Creation Magic.


    Fully knowing this, I''d love to explore the skill more in-depth. It would be foolish to ignore such a convenient magic. Who''d be willing to do that kind of stupid thing?


    I pondered for a while as to what I''m going and able to create next. Food would be a waste right now since I already had my fill. I''m quite cold actually so I wonder if I can create a small fire at least? There''s only way to find out. Let''s try it.


    I hold out my right palm and once again, closed my eyes. Honestly, I don''t think that closing my eyes is a necessity but I guess it helps me concentrate more on creating a clear image. I tried to build an image of a palm-sized blue flame. I made the flame to be blue because like the fire people used to cook things, it gives more heat. Hence will warm up my body more than the normal version of fire.


    The image in my mind was slowly building up.


    After a few moments, I could feel that my energy was sucked up again and heat was felt on my palm. I opened my eyes and saw a bluish flame. I thought that the blue flame was very beautiful. The heat that was emanated from the flame was strong yet comfortable. My right hand didn''t feel like it would burn at any moment. Through my hand, my body also felt the warmth. It made me relax a bit more.


    Thus, the result of creating a blue flame is a success.


    This magic helped me a lot. I may be lucky after all.


    I think I had spend about an hour of my time doing the experiment and eating. Eating was probably the one that took up most of my time. I do tend to savor the food I eat. That may be the cause of my slow eating habit. Well, it''s worth my time anyways so I didn''t care much about it.


    I wanted to experiment a bit more with my new found power but then again........ we have a guest here. And a very dangerous one to top it all off.


    The guest was a huge black bear with a height of 2 meters tall. I noticed some rustling near the bushes earlier but to think that it would be a bear. How could the figure of a bear that big could not be seen from the bushes? If I had known, I would have run away.


    I put out the flame that was in my palm and I slowly stood out from my sitting posture. I didn''t want to suddenly stand up since it may provoke the bear that''s only about 7 meters away from me. That''d be a death wish.


    "Grrrrr....."


    The bear made such a growl when it saw me standing up.


    The bear''s action startled me and almost made my poor thumping heart leap out of my chest. I currently had nothing to guard myself with so the only option right now is to run away with my tails between my legs. This was not cowardice but a wise choice if I wanted to see another day. I''m certainly not willing to fight the bear barehanded.


    Looking out for any signs of the bear attacking, I slowly and carefully tried to move my feet. But well, I forgot that the bear was also looking out for any suspicious action that I would take.


    "Guraaauurr!"


    The bear immediately started to move at a frightening speed not befitting it''s large size. Of course, I had already started running when the bear growled earlier.


    I ran as fast as I could while trying to not panic too much as it could lead me to my demise.


    I ran and ran without looking back but I still heard the footsteps of the bear. Not being able to suppress my current anger, I shouted.


    "What the fish is wrong with you, bear?! I didn''t do anything to you! Go find something else to eat, you over-sized lump of fat!"


    In response to my shout, the bear growled.


    "Guuuraaaaauurrrr!"


    What a mistake to do. I only made the bear even more furious now. What the heck was I thinking?


    I need to lose it somehow as my stamina is depleting as we speak. Come on, think Ren! Think!


    Aha! This is a forest isn''t it? If I could make full use of its terrain, I might be able to lose this annoying bear.


    Thinking so, I switched my course to the right. Right after, I switched to the left then back to right again to confuse the bear. I repeated the same course of action since the bear''s footsteps were becoming more distance and hard to hear. I repeated the same thing until I couldn''t hear its footsteps anymore. Of course I did not stop there. I hid myself behind a bush for safety measure.


    It may have sounded easy but by all means it''s not. My stamina was completely depleted. If the bear would find me now, my fate would be sealed. My breathing was rough but I tried as hard as I could to calm it down. I didn''t want to make too much noise.


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    Even if I''m saved from the bear right now, I wouldn''t be safe for long. This is a forest. Forest is home to many dangerous animals and predators. I needed to find a way to leave this freaking place with my life intact.


    I tried to think. Maybe it''s foolish to try to think right now but there''s no other way. I couldn''t rely on pure luck. There''s no way that I would survive like that in this predicament.


    .......


    That''s right! There''s Creation Magic wasn''t there?


    Magic Creation. As the name states, it could create things that I imagined. If I could create a flame, I don''t think that creating spears and any other weapons would pose a problem. But, a close combat fight against the bear is very risky. Therefore I wouldn''t use the said idea. Instead I have a much, much better one.


    I could just create magic itself!


    Okay, now that that''s decided, what kind of magic should I make? Well, I don''t even know if it will work but it wouldn''t hurt try would it?


    I really like animals, including that annoying lump of fat (bear). I guess this means that I don''t need such a destructive magic. For now at least. I just hope there aren''t any kinds of things other than animals in this forest. For example, monsters.


    Maybe I should consider making an attack type of magic later on. For safety measures.


    Since I don''t want to hurt any animals, I suppose I can make a crowd control magic. A cage or vines that can trap them and make them unable to move would be nice.


    Now that that''s decided, it''s time for the hard part.


    This time, in an attempt to create a whole new magic, I didn''t close my eyes. I left them opened because I think it''s easier like this as I could determine where the magic materialize. I put out my hand, with my palm open as I''d often seen in anime, I began the sequence of creating magic also known as imagining. My target was a nearby boulder that was half of the previous bear''s size.


    I, of course didn''t neglect to stay cautious of my surrounding as I was in a crouching position. It''s to keep myself hidden. My stamina had not yet recovered so I want to avoid any unnecessary event to happen.


    In my head, I imagined that a lot of thick, sturdy and long white vines (certainly not tentacles) binding the boulder. I also imagined some kind of magic formation in my mind that I had also seen in anime.


    The magic formation that began forming, to my delight, was circular with many ancient words carved onto it. I knew that it was ancient words thanks to my Language Comprehension skill activating on its own. I guess it''s a passive kind of skill. The magic formation was quite big, which did not help concealing my position. The formation itself was white in color. It gave me the feeling of something holy or the sorts.


    After the materialization of the magic formation, the image of the vines that I had build up started to appear from the ground. Slowly but surely covering the entire boulder. After a few more seconds, the boulder had completely been bound.


    Yes!


    It''s a success!


    After the success, I felt lightheaded.


    Was this caused by the consumption of magic?


    I guess trying to make magic itself was worth the lightheaded that I''m currently feeling.


    Trying to confirm something, I took out my platinum plate status thingy and traced along my finger on the carvings once again.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Status Window</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Name: Ren Tatsuki</td><td colspan=''2''>Age: 17 years old</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Race: Unknown</td><td colspan=''2''>Level: 5</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Statistics</td></tr><tr><td>Strength</td><td>30</td><td>Defense</td><td>25</td></tr><tr><td>Agility</td><td>45</td><td>Intelligence</td><td>600</td></tr><tr><td>Magic</td><td>300</td><td>Luck</td><td>60</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''3''>Skill(s)</td><td>-Creation Magic


    -Language Comprehension


    -Ancient Magic: Holy Binding (Holy Magic)</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''3''>Title(s)</td><td>None</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Oooh~!


    It''s there!


    The magic has been registered!


    <hr />


    A/N: Again, dear readers, if you have spotted any grammar/spelling mistakes in this chapter, please kindly tell me. I want to improve the readability even by a little bit. Other than that, thanks for reading :D

 Chapter 3: Meeting the lump of fat yet again

    After confirming that my recently created magic has successfully registered into the ''Skill(s)'' section, I leaned my back against the not so soft bush. It was obvious as creating magic was more tiring than I thought so I decided to rest for a bit. If I were to keep going, I might get fatigued sooner or later.


    Despite my tiredness, I had a satisfied smile on my face. I had never felt such satisfaction from accomplishing something before. I lived a boring life back then after all. I''m glad I got reincarnated into another world. I guess this was a good karma from saving the little boy''s life.


    While thinking about miscellaneous things, I looked upon the boulder that''s tied up by the white holy vines. There didn''t seem to be any significant damage done to the boulder by the vines.


    But I wonder why the vines aren''t disappearing even after a couple of minutes had past? That''s strange. I wonder if I can destroy them with my bare hands? Probably not.


    Leaving the vines there would certainly cause trouble for me. I do plan to take a rest here for a bit after all. Is there any way to make them disappear?


    I approached the vines that I created and touched them. Even though there were thorns surrounding the body of the vines, I did not feel any pain. Was this because I am the magic''s user?


    Thinking logically, if the theory that I can adjust this created skill of mine freely then am ''I'' the key to make this vine disappear? Well, I can make it appear at any time I want as long I have enough energy then I must be able to do just the exact opposite.


    "Disappear."


    I commanded the vines while touching them.


    Surprisingly, they did. The system was easy and simple enough to understand and the knowledge learnt from that can be apply easily too. Somehow I felt like I am currently playing a game on ''Easy Mode''. Not that I''m complaining. The easier, the better.


    Basically, my skill, Creation Magic, works like this. Creation Magic can create anything maybe with a few exceptions that I still don''t know about. It can also create a new magic according to the user''s imagination. I can command the created magic however I want as long as it''s within the ability of the magic itself.


    Certainly convenient.


    Now that that''s settled, I''d like to to take a long sleep as the day was getting darker by the moment. I should probably make a tent or something. In order to do that, I needed to recover my energy. So, I decided to take a quick nap that made me only half-asleep. I''m too exhausted to care about the coldness.


    With all the details already settled, I crawled back to the bush, leaned my back on it and closed both of my eyes.


    ~~~~~~


    Hm?


    I feel a presence right in front of me.


    I opened my eyes to confirm my hunch. I just saw something that I didn''t want to see.


    Was that real? Was this some kind of a bad joke?


    Cold sweat was rolling on the side of my face. Reason being, the one that''s currently in front of me was the same lump of fat that was chasing me earlier.


    With a small voice that sounded like a whisper of death to me, the bear said,


    "Hello there," with a broad smile and narrowed eyes that made it look much more terrifying than it already was.


    Being quite the person with a weak heart, I fainted.


    ~~~~~~


    What''s this?


    I feel so warm and comfortable. Something fluffy is on top of me and covering my whole body. There''s a soft feeling on my back. My head is also experiencing the same soft feeling.


    Am I perhaps on a bed?


    "Wait, what?! I''m on a bed?!"


    After realizing that, I unconsciously shouted and rose up from my sleeping position. Waking up, I checked my surroundings. There were an oil lamp and a small table situated near the bed, a closet, a desk and the bed that I''m currently on. The walls of the room was made of wood. It was a somewhat simple and normal bedroom. Because of the oil lamp''s presence, I''m thinking that I''m not in an advanced world. I didn''t see any electrical appliances either so that much must be true.


    Tock, tock, a knocking sound can be heard coming from the door that''s located far to my right side. The door opened without waiting for my response. A very familiar silhouette appeared while carrying a plate of hot soup and a glass of water placed on a tray. The identity of the silhouette was the scary talking bear. It was standing on two feet.


    I was taken aback by the bear and I unconsciously started moving backwards. The bear that saw my action suddenly sighed. He then said the following words,


    "The hell you''re doing? Stop that and eat this warm soup. It''s good for your cold body," while walking towards me.


    "Huh?"


    Unable to comprehend the current situation, I let out a stupid voice. While I was doing that, the bear was already on my side. It was looking at me like I''m some idiot. It held out its hands seemingly to give the tray that contained the soup and the glass of water. I was looking at it while being dumbfounded.


    I managed to snap out of it and slowly moved my hands to receive the tray.


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    "Th-thank you...."


    I said my thanks while stuttering. I just couldn''t act normal towards the bear that was chasing me previously. It was awkward as heck. Hearing that, it just nodded its head and started moving towards the desk with a chair that''s only across this bed. It began to talk.


    "You must be shocked by the current circumstances aren''t you? But first, eat. I''ll tell you about what happened while you eat."


    Eager to know the full story, I started eating the warm soup.


    "Do you remember when I chased you?", the bear asked.


    "Yes."


    I will ask the bear how it can talk later on.


    "Since you were running around here and there, I somehow lost track of you. After a while, I noticed a big and weird magic formation or widely known as magic circle. I then saw you. I didn''t interrupt you at the moment to see what you were doing. You then took a nap so I chose to go to the boulder to inspect it while trying to make a move."


    "Seriously? All of that happened without me noticing?"


    "Ahem (clears throat)."


    "Excuse me. Continue on."


    "After inspecting the boulder, I found no result. Curious about the magic you used, I approached you in hopes to find an answer. I waited till you woke up. Although I greeted you with a smile, you fainted. Hmph, how rude," the bear said so while exhaling using its  nose.


    "Ehehehe....he. I''m very sorry."


    Doesn''t it know that it looked very scary at that time? I couldn''t help it.


    "I then carried you to my house and put you in my bed. Three hours had pass since then. If you wonder what time it it, it''s 9:00 PM. That''s all that happened during the time that you passed out."


    By the time the bear finished the story, the soup and the water had already gone into my stomach. The soup was delicious. Gochisousamadeshita (That was delicious; said after eating and drinking).


    "....Not that I''m ungrateful towards you but why didn''t you leave me out there?"


    It''s a question that very much intrigued me. More than the question on how the bear can talk.


    "You...... smell nostalgic and very different from normal humans."


    The bear looked down at the floor like it was reminiscing something. Maybe there''s more to it. As to why the bear rescued me.


    "By the way, how in the world CAN you talk?"


    I eyed the bear suspiciously.


    "What? Didn''t you come to this Akasha Forest because the animals here could talk? I thought you came here to hunt animals such as me as a hunter to gain big bucks. We sell for a high price you know. Not that you could ever hope to do so with me around."


    With all of my recent findings, I''m not even gonna be surprised at this point now.


    "So this place is named Akasha Forest. I see. Well I didn''t know that you guys could talk. Besides, I didn''t know why I''m here in the first place." I explained so to the bear.


    "Now please tell me how you and the other animals could talk."


    The bear seems to be thinking about what I said. I hope it tells me. I swear I''m too curious for my own sake.


    "Your story seems logical but I wouldn''t accept it. How can I trust a person I just met. Besides, I don''t even know why we can talk. We were naturally born this way and that means you had no right to call me a lump of fat! I''m.......I''m naturally born this way...."


    Sheesh, don''t start sobbing for such a reason.


    "Then what should I call you? Ah, you can just call me Ren."


    This ought to make it, I mean him, a bit happy. It''s a bit weird to call a talking bear that''s doing humanly actions ''it''.


    "Fine. I''ll tell you my name since you told me yours. Let me introduce myself properly. I''m Kuma. Nice to meet you, Ren." He then smiled making him look extremely creepy and scary.


    By the way, did he just told me that his name is Kuma (bear)? Really? Doesn''t that practically the same as calling him a bear?


    .... Whatever.


    "Uh, yeah. Nice to meet you too, Kuma.  Um... By any chance, do you mind telling me more about this, I mean the world?"


    "Have you never studied before to ask a mere bear to explain about the world? Damn, you need serious help. Sure I''ll tell you. In exchange, you tell me about your magic. Deal?"


    Do you even need to ask?


    "Of course it''s a deal!"


    You may say that this was a stupid decision of mine to tell someone or something about my magic but I felt that I can trust this Kuma guy, uh, bear. Besides, there''s nothing more precious than information about this place, this world for me who knows nothing at the moment.


    Thus, my lesson about the history and structure of the world began.


    <hr />


    A/N: There''s a lot of dialogue in this chapter so I hope the interactions between the characters wouldn''t be too awkward when you readers read it. If you dear readers noticed any mistakes in this chapter, feel free to point it out and your feedback is highly appreciated. Other than that, thank you for reading ^-^!

 Chapter 4: Setting out on a fun quest~

    Kuma immediately started explaining about this world. He first talked about the structure of it. This world is vast so even Kuma who has lived for 100 years didn''t know all of it- as per what I was told. The place I''m currently in, the Akasha Forest is located between the Kingdom of Demons, Grandios which was located to the far east and the Kingdom of Humans, Bastia which was in the west.


    Aside from those two kingdoms, Akasha Forest is surrounded by a vast land of snow and in that land has several towns. The forest is what separated the two kingdoms and thus made it impossible for them to wage a large scale war. The forest is filled with not just animals like Kuma but also ferocious monsters deep in it. Apparently, Kuma''s house was near the entrance of the forest which was on the west. It''s said that even the demons wouldn''t dare to cross the forest to go to the humans'' kingdom.


    Besides, Akasha Forest is very large. Like literally. It could be compared to the largest country in Asia which is  Russia. I inwardly gasped when Kuma informed of the size of the forest. No wonder war between the two kingdom who considered each other enemies was not possible.


    Other than those two kingdoms, there also others that are smaller and less in population that can be called a small country. Like the elves homeland and the lands that the independent demi-humans rule. However, even though the Grandios and the Bastia couldn''t wage war against each other, it seems the representatives from both kingdoms fight each other for dominance. The representatives being the Heroes and the Demon Lords.


    The elves homeland located in the north while the lands that''s being ruled by the demi-humans is located in the south.


    For the past 50 years, both kingdoms were locked in a stalemate. That must have been painful for both of them. But the Heroes'' side more disadvantaged than the Demon Lords though since the demons has the support of the independent demi-humans. The elves however, refused to cooperate with either.


    How interesting.


    .......... ..


    So, how could the Heroes and the Demon Lords fight each other if they could not cross the Akasha Forest you asked? They just go around the forest duh.


    This world also have magic which I already knew and the majority of the people are actually Adventurers or Farmers. Like I have said earlier, there are also towns and few cities. These places are independent with no discrimination towards any race. Awesome.


    There also dwarves but their location and existence are a mystery. There''s also an information that other races also exist. I''d love to meet these unknown races myself.


    Kuma also said that this world came to be what it is because of four main powers. They are the Dragon of Faith, Dragon of Destruction, Dragon of Independence and finally Dragon of Truth. Ugh, they sound so chuuni-like. There weren''t much to know actually.


    There''re few things that caught my interest.


    First is the fight between the Heroes and the Demon Lords. There seems like there''s an upcoming ceremony to celebrate the arrival of the Heroes in Bastia soon. Next is the races that can only be found in fantasy games and books. The last but not least the food that I can eat in this world. My mouth start to water just by imagining them.


    "And so that concludes the information I have on this world. There weren''t that many so you can easily remember all that. Now, it''s your turn. Explain." Kuma beckoned me to tell him about my magic.


    All right.


    I told Kuma that I could create magic. I told him that the magic''s name is Creation Magic. The magic that I create depends on my imagination. I also told him that I could not just create magic. I''m not sure how the mechanics work for such a magic nor the restrictions for it. I just know that I will need it from now on.


    "What the hell! I never heard of such a magic before." Kuma said in surprise. Well, I was surprised as well when I found out at first what the magic could do.


    "Putting that aside, Kuma, how did you know about all this stuff. Especially about the upcoming ceremony of the Heroes."


    "Hm? Didn''t I tell you that I frequently go outside of the forest to visit the towns?" Kuma just acted like it was the most obvious thing in the world.


    "What?! You, go outside?! In that form?!" What the fish. Wouldn''t the humans especially the hunters tried to capture him? He, himself said that animals like him that can talk can be sold for a high price.


    "I~diot. Of course not. Do I look like I have a death wish or something? I go using my human appearance you know. I''m quite famous among the ladies~." His sentence then followed by his hand gesture that emphasize his bragging. I felt like to punch him in the face.


    More importantly, human appearance? The fudge?


    Seeing my confused expression, Kuma continued, "Not every animal in this forest can do it. I''m just a special being.", while smirking. That was unnecessarily creepy.


    "What are you doing going to those towns? You have a massive source of food here, right?" I asked, very curious about the matter.


    "Nothing. Just staying true to my desires." Kuma said that with a straight face.


    Oh~ I see~ Night activities huh? He''s a man too I suppose.


    "So? What are you going to do after this? I won''t let you stay here for long you know." Kuma asked me with a serious tone in his voice.


    "Hm~ I wonder... I guess I will attend the Heroes'' ceremony for now. I have a bit of a mischievous idea that I have in mind. Heheheh...."


    Of course I''m up to no good. Although I''ve said that my precious life was boring, there was this one thing that I loved to do. That''s to tease people. But my fun plan''s going to depend on how much is the extend of my power.


    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    "You bastard... That sounds like a hell of a ride isn''t it?! I''ll join you."


    "EH? Why would you join me?"


    Seriously. Why?


    "You fool. Who''s going to guide you through the forest? You''d get lost without a local guide so I''m offering my one in a lifetime chance to help you." Hearing those words made me more excited now. "Besides, I can do it along the journey. And... and.." Kuma kept mumbling.


    I''ll just pretend I never heard you. Pervert bear.


    "Well, shouldn''t we get ready and pack our things to depart in the morning?" I asked, hasty to go on my adventure. I plan on having a food tour too. Just imagine all the food that''s waiting for me.


    "So soon? It''s in the middle of the night you know. I''m sleepy so I''ll pack our things tomorrow morning and depart right after." The bear said while yawning. "You should sleep too. I''m going to sleep in the room just next door so if you ever need me, knock on the door. Be grateful for my hospitality."


    Kuma got up from the chair where he was seating (surprisingly, the chair managed to withstand Kuma''s weight.) and started to walk out from the room.


    "Ah, before I forget, there''s no bathroom here so if you want to take a leak, you need to go outside. That''s if you dare." An evil grin appeared on Kuma''s face before he went out of the room and closed the door. Ugh creepy as always.


    Damn it. I guess I''ll have to hold it in till next morning.


    "Hahh..."


    With a sigh, I lie on the bed and pulled the blanket over my body.


    Now that I think about it, is it a coincidence that there''re two rooms in this house?


    With that thought, I slept soundly.


    ~~~~~~


    The next morning, I woke up to the cold morning and hurriedly went out of the house to do my business. Thank goodness that Kuma''s house isn''t big so it was easy finding my way out. If not, it would have leaked.


    His house has two rooms on the far end of it, a living room and a kitchen that was joined in the same room. I guess there''s no need for it to be bigger than it already is when only a single person is living in it.


    After finishing my business, I quickly went back inside the house to avoid catching a cold.


    I wonder if Kuma''s already awake?


    I went to his room and knocked on his door. I got no response.


    Is he still asleep?


    Wanting to confirm it, I opened the door slightly, enough to see the room''s interior.


    "Kuma..? Are you awake?"


    There I saw a male human. The man had black hair and eyes.  He was relatively tall. He wore a simple white buttoned shirt and black pants. He was looking into what looked like an album that''s on a desk with a longing expression.


    "Hm? Yeah, I''m awake."


    He quickly closed the album when he realized that I was there. His voice was gentle sounding. Is this man... Kuma?


    "Is that... really you, Kuma? Wow, you look totally different. The same goes for your voice and persona." My eyes was wide as to show how astonished I was.


    "Haha. Even though my voice and looks are different, I''m still the same. That''s just your imagination. I have already packed the necessary things for the journey so we''re good to go."


    Somehow he sounded like a completely different person. Was it really my imagination?


    Oh well.


    "Wait a minute." I fixed my hair using my hair quickly. "Let''s go."


    Together, Kuma and me departed from the house.


    "Since my house is near the entrance of this forest, which is a good thing, it won''t take too long. We''ll be out of this forest the earliest is in the evening if nothing happens. Even if we''re behind schedule, we should arrive tomorrow I think."


    Human form Kuma informed me so.


    On the way, I found weird looking plants. I asked Kuma about them. Some of the plants were used for medicine while some can be made into potent poison. With Kuma''s permission, I picked some of them; even the poisonous ones and put it into a slang bag that I made on the spot. Kuma was very impressed with the display of my magic since he never saw me use it before.


    We also took a few breaks along the way. One only has a limited amount of stamina after all. After we continue our our walk to the entrance. I took the time to look at Mother Nature. It''s so beautiful that I wish my family could have seen them.


    Speaking of which, I kinda miss my family.


    .... Things that already happened can''t helped. I just need to suck it up.


    Kuma on the other hand was eerily quiet. Sometimes, he shuddered in excitement and the silence continued. He''s probably thinking about perverted things. I regret saying that he was a bit different earlier.


    Since this is a forest, we did find some other animals. But they weren''t hostile at all. Maybe it''s because there''s Kuma here with me. I''m so lucky that I met Kuma or else I''d never would have leave this forest. At least not in one piece.


    Other than that, there weren''t any worthwhile events that''s worth mentioning.


    "We''re here."


    When I heard him say that, I was blinded by a light that the sun gave off.


    We''re here. The entrance of the forest.


    The first step to my fun quest.


    <hr />


    A/N: Yep, I''m a bit late on my update. Well I am updating once a day (for now at least. Idk if that''s the case in the future updates). So, that doesn''t count right? And sorry for the lack of a map. As always, feedback are extremely welcome here so please don''t hold back. If any of you would review my story even though it only have 5 chapter so far including the prologue, I would be very grateful. Other than that, thank you for reading ^-^ .

 Chapter 5: Learning how to fight

    It was already evening when we were out of the forest. That''s considered fast so I suppose I didn''t have any problems with it. I thought there was more of a splendid scenery than the inside of the forest but well, it''s just plains of snow isn''t it? How disappointing. The sunset is very nice though. Kuma also seemed to agree with me as he''s beaming with energy. At least I think that''s the cause.


    "Let''s hurry up. It''s getting dark. We need to set up camp at a suitable place. Thank goodness I have packed lots of food." Kuma slightly sighed, worrying about our stock of food. I wouldn''t worry much about that.


    I''ll tell him that I can make food later on.


    I just gave Kuma a small nod and we proceeded right away to find a suitable place to set up camp. We chose a place where the snow wasn''t piling up too much and wasn''t too far from the forest. I was assigned to build the tent while Kuma searched for firewood back in the forest. I had offered my help to just create the firewood but Kuma asked me to save my magic. Probably in case of emergency. Not sure if I can help since I only have a binding magic.


    I should make a magic tonight. A magic that can be used for attacking.


    I finished setting up the tent and a couple of minutes after that, Kuma came back with the promised firewood in his arms. I used my Creation Magic to start up a fire since it was really getting dark. The fire was obviously used for providing light and most importantly, warmth.


    Knowing that both of us were getting pretty hungry, Kuma quickly reached for his bag that he brought from his house and searched for the food he stocked. He took out two big pieces of dried meat. It''s not much but I guess as long as it''s food and is edible, I''ll gladly eat it. At least we had food to eat right?


    But I wonder, did he hunt the meat from one of the animals in the forest? Of course it wouldn''t be weird for a bear to do so but since Kuma has intelligence the animals seemed like his friends or acquaintances, doesn''t he feel guilty at all? Well, no use in wondering about something like this.


    He also took out two plates and placed the dried meat there. There didn''t seem to be any spoon or fork so I suppose I''ll need to eat it with my hands. He then proceeded to pass the plate with the dried meat in it to me.


    "Thanks." I took it and said my thanks.


    "You''re welcome." Kuma simply said and began his meal.


    We sat on the ground near the fire even if the ground is cold to eat our meal. Well, the fire kind of helped with that.


    "By the way Kuma. You shouldn''t worry about hunting for food since I could just make them. Sorry I didn''t tell you earlier."


    "Hell, you can really create almost anything huh? I should have guessed since you were able to create magic. But well, you shouldn''t just rely on your magic alone." Kuma stopped his meal momentarily and looked at me. "A person who only rely magic like you will surely die sooner or later in the battlefield."


    "Is it because if my enemies forced me into close combat, I''d die?"


    "Yep." Kuma''s answer was so simple yet meant a lot to me.


    When that time comes, will I die? Again, for the second time?


    I shudder at the thought. I suddenly lost my appetite to eat.


    "That''s why I''m going to teach you how to fight. Tomorrow, I''m going to start by teaching you how to hunt. It''s always good to have basic survival skills no matter where you are."


    "Why are you doing this just for the sake of someone you just met?" I asked him that. Normally, acquaintances wouldn''t even care that much for each other. It''s a fact.


    "Don''t get me wrong. I dislike seeing my companion, new or not, die. Now, you should eat your meal that I gave to you. Or else." Kuma eyed me.


    "Uh, thanks. Itadakimasu~ (Thank you for the food)." I thanked Kuma for the talk and am truly grateful that he cares for me. Even for just a bit.


    I better start eating or he would keep staring at me. I had regain a little bit of my appetite because of the talk with Kuma. Somewhat, I think our friendship has gotten a bit better.


    After finishing our meals, Kuma took the plates and washed it with a little bit of the water that he had in store. He then put the plates back in his bag.


    We decided to sleep early to wake up early tomorrow morning so that Kuma can teach me hunting right away. I suppose the faster the better. We also have determined that each of us needs to watch the night in turn and change the shift every two hours. I guess it''s a necessity. I''ve read about this quite a lot in adventure novels.


    Kuma was the first one to watch the night so I went to the tent and slept for two hours. After that, Kuma changed shifts with me. Whenever it''s my shift, I didn''t spent the hours doing nothing. I made a magic skill, a metal sword with its scabbard and a waist pack. The magic that I made was an attack magic like I planned to make earlier.


    The magic was a long-range type of magic. It''s a fire magic. How it works was that two spheres of black flames would manifest in each one of my hands this time, making it four in total and well, throw it. It''s like one of those beginner magic fireball but a lot stronger and much, much hotter. Way hotter than the  blue flame on Earth. I tested the said magic on a dummy I created beforehand. Thank goodness I managed to put the fire off before it spreads to the tent and other belongings. That''d make Kuma real mad. I made the sword later on in the night because my magic was low caused by the making of my magic.


    I checked my platinum plate and then confirmed that the magic was registered. It''s name is ''Ancient Magic: Flame of Corruption (Dark Magic)''.


    For the rest of the night, I tried to practice swinging using my newly made sword but it was really hard. It''s to be expected since I have never wield a real sword before. Despite that, I''m not giving up in hopes to get better at it. It was a tiring yet fruitful night watch.


    The night watch was ended by Kuma. I then, slept like a log till morning.


    The next morning, I woke up alone in the tent. I went out of the tent and saw Kuma fully dressed in light armor with a sword hanged to the side of his waist. He even brought those? That''s understandable though. It''s probably for future fighting I suppose. He also seems like he''s in full spirits today.


    "You''re slow!" Kuma yelled at me.


    Sheesh, don''t yell so early in the morning.


    "Here, wear these. These were originally mine but I''ll give them to you. Hurry up and wear them." Kuma gave me the light armor that was in his hands. These clothing were also quite similar to his.


    I went inside the tent and quickly changed my clothes into the light armor. I folded my precious clothes that I wore neatly and left it inside the tent. I put the plants that I picked into the waist pack that I created last night. I brought along my empty slang bag and went out of the tent. As for why I''m bringing along my bag, it''s to put the hunting ingredient or anything that''s valuable that I may find during the hunt. I don''t think it''s really needed since Kuma also brought his bag.


    This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    I also equipped my metal sword and hanged it to the left side of my waist.


    "Are you ready? You didn''t forget to bring anything else that you needed?" Kuma asked, confirming one last time.


    "I''ve got everything I needed so I''m ready to go." I answered and nodded to his question.


    "Okay, let''s roll!"


    Like that, I headed out to hunt for the first time.


    ~~~~~~


    "Awooo..."


    I watched Kuma as he used his sharp sword to slash the wolf to death. Prior to its death, the poor thing cried its last cry.  I felt pitiful for the animal but this was the way of the life. It''s either you kill or be killed. This was of the norm.


    Kuma''s cut was beautiful and clean. There was almost no unnecessary move in the swordsmanship he displayed. He regained some of my respect because of that. Was this because of the large pool of experience as he had live and trained his swordsmanship for a long time? Maybe that''s it.


    "Did you see that? That''s how you hunt. You slowly approach your target without making too much noise that attracts its attention and strike when it lets its guard down." Kuma explained diligently to me. He showed me the exact same way to hunt earlier.


    "I definitely saw it. I even paid extra attention when you slashed that wolf down! Your swordsmanship was beautiful! Can you teach me that later?" I complimented Kuma honestly. He looked like an expert at that time after all. If it weren''t because of his perversity, I would have made him my role model.


    "Haha! Sure, when I think that you''re good enough."


    He somehow sounds like an old master and I''m the young apprentice. He''s older by a large margin so I''m way younger than he is..... Wait, isn''t this exactly like that?


    I could only curse a bit under my breath.


    "Now, it''s your turn. Wolves in this part of the forest doesn''t have intelligence and they don''t move in a pack. You must not use your weird magic skills or anything. There''s a wolf just right there. Kill it with your sword. Beware of its fast movements." Kuma reminded me and pointed his finger in a direction.


    It was also natural for him to forbid me from using magic since it would destroy the purpose of this hunt, this training.


    The current hunting location was the same as the Akasha Forest that we exited yesterday except that we''re in a different part of the forest. Kuma said that the wolves here doesn''t have any intelligence as to tell me to not hold back. It doesn''t really make me feel less guilty about killing an animal. I''m was after all, a former citizen living in peace.


    I turned to the direction. There was indeed a wolf there. Crap, I''m getting a bit nervous here. I approached slowly as to not make too much noise. I also bent my body a bit to the front in order to stay out of the wolf''s sight.


    I was able to go near enough to be in a position to ambush the wolf without a problem. Hiding behind a bush, I put my right hand on the handle of my blade and my left on the scabbard of the sword, ready to unsheathe my sword.


    Gulping, I jumped out of the bush and ran towards the wolf. While its still surprised, I unsheathe my sword, performing an Iai Strike (an action of striking the opponent while unsheathing the sheathed sword. I can''t explain too well), inflicting a deep wound to the surprised wolf. Even though the wound inflicted was deep, it didn''t die in that one strike.


    I guess it''s not possible for me to one hit K.O a wolf right now huh.


    "Grrrr.... Awooo!"


    The wounded wolf who was enraged by my ambush, charged at me. Wow, it still had that much power left even after receiving a critical damage. While the wolf''s charge was fast, its speed was significantly dropped therefore allowing me to dodge it relatively easy.


    While the wolf was struggling to decelerate, I took the chance and counterattacked. I kicked the ground to add a boost to my speed and thrust my sword into its opened wound that I made, putting an end to its miserable life. I pulled my sword out of the dead wolf. I pushed my sword into the not-so-hard ground and pulled it back to clean the blood off of it. I then put it back into its scabbard.


    Kuma, who saw my fight from the distance came to me after confirming that the fight was over. I was congratulated and surprisingly got complimented by him.


    "What the hell, you do know how to fight after all, you bastard. Or should I say that you have a very sharp reaction time. Use that talent of yours wisely. If you practice, you will surely be better. Now, let''s skin and dismember it. I already did the last one that I killed." Kuma smiled broadly, seeing the success of today''s hunting.


    "By the way, how come you could skin and dismember the wolf that fast?!" I said that, watching the skillful hands of Kuma skinning the wolf and dismembering it. It doesn''t seem that Kuma is listening to what I said just now. Just how excited are you, seeing meat?


    ....I suppose it''s as expected of a bear.


    After a couple of minutes of skinning and dismembering the body parts of a wolf, Kuma drained the blood that was dripping from the parts. He also removed the entrails of the said animal. It''s kind of disgusting and I felt a bit nauseous  seeing that as I''m not used to it.


    When the blood was completely drained, Kuma just stuffed them into his bag, which was quite big. Some parts that weren''t able to fit in was put into my bag instead. My bag''s gonna reeked of blood.


    As we have spent quite a lot of time finding and hunting the wolves, we decided to head back to our camping site. Thank goodness it was still intact. Seems like no monsters or any animals had been at our camp.


    Along the way, I heard Kuma mumbling something.


    "Natural talent or not, it''s his first time hunting. He should have not been uninjured...."


    I couldn''t quite hear what he kept mumbling about.


    Hmm... Whatever. Anyways, today''s hunt was successful and Kuma complimented me on fighting. Even if it''s just a little, I think I finally know how to fight.


    <hr />


    A/N: Another chapter! With each chapter, I''m lengthening the amount of words there are. This chapter, I managed to lengthened it to 2000+ words. Well that''s that. As always, your feedback is highly demanded and thank you for reading the chapter ^-^ .

 Chapter 6: The town of Corolla

    Arriving at the camp, me and Kuma started to sort out the ''ingredients'' that we got during our hunt.  In all honesty, I still feel disgusted at the sight and smell of the dismembered bodies of the wolves that we killed. In addition, we''ll be eating them. I never ate wolf''s meat before. The world that I was previously in was more civilized than this one. Well, I guess that just means that I''ll learn more about reality than before I died.


    After sorting out the wolves'' meat, we sat on the ground near the fire that I just lit up a few moments ago. Ah, how comfortable. This heat was more than welcome in the cold winter. I''m surprised that I didn''t suffer a cold since I wore such light clothing.


    During that time where Kuma and me relaxed near the fire, we talked a little bit about the upcoming Heroes'' ceremony that was about to happen in a couple of months. It was an interesting topic for both of us.


    "Kuma, you know a little bit about the Heroes'' ceremony, right? Care to tell me about it in a little bit more detail since it is necessary as it is our goal for now." I asked very interested in the subject that I brought out.


    "Well, as you have said, I know a little bit about it. Aside from celebrating the coming of the Heroes, it seems like the Heroes are from another world. They were summoned using a ritual or some sort." Kuma just said it plainly and straight to the point.


    The thing that caught my intention was that the part where Kuma mentioned that the Heroes were summoned from another world.


    "Another world huh..." I unconsciously muttered as my thoughts trailed off of the conversation.


    "Yeah. Despite this fact, they were received very well. Since they are the Heroes after all. I also heard that their power could rival those of the Demon Lords although it has been about 50 years that both of the Bastia and Grandios kingdom were in a stalemate."


    You said you only knew a little bit about them but it seemed like you know a lot eh?


    "Rival the Demon Lords'' power? If the Bastia kingdom was the one who summoned the Heroes, it must have meant that the Heroes are also humans, right? I can hardly believe that they could rival the demons. Well, that''s heroes for you." I could only sigh because of all the unfairness in power.


    If I think about it, isn''t my power also a cheat?


    "I''m also the same as you. It doesn''t seem like you are rooting for the humans to win at all, Ren." Kuma said quite surprised at my remark about the Heroes.


    "Hmm? Ah, yeah. I don''t really care what happens between them as long as I can get my share of fun." I said while grinning and thinking about mischievous things. I should stop this bad habit of mine.


    "Is that so? That''s rare, coming from a human. I personally, on the other hand, root for the Demon Lords. I think that they are more fit to become the rulers. You do know that I still have issues trusting humans. Although I can barely say that you are an exception..."


    Huh.. You support the demons'' side eh? Kuma''s reason isn''t quite understandable from my point of view. How could demons be better rulers? After all, they are demons. Maybe it''s got to do with his trusting issues with humans. I''m happy that he said that I was an exception even though it hasn''t been long since we had met.


    I wonder why?


    "That trailed off a little bit from our original topic. As far as I know, the ceremony was held for years already. It''s like the traditions for the humans." Kuma said, bringing the conversation back on trail.


    "Do you know why they held these ceremonies or whatever? I don''t see the point of it. Instead, it could bring harm towards the Heroes, them being so open to the public." I finally said what was in my mind. That question was bothering me for a while now.


    ..... ........


    Silence filled the campsite for a bit then Kuma proceed to answer my question.


    ".... I''m not so sure if what I''m telling you is true because it''s only my speculation at the moment. But, I think the ceremonies are for the Heroes to show their ability to the citizens of the kingdom. I bet the reason behind that is to gain the faith of the residents."


    Kuma explained about the reason of the ceremony via his speculation. Although he just more or less speculated it, I also believe in what he said. I''m just glad that I have confirmed that the ceremony is open to public; I still think it''s a stupid decision though. As that plays a large part in the first step in my fun quest.


    "It''s getting dark. Ren, we should sleep early today too.  I believe it''s time to move from this camp or else we''ll reach the place where the ceremony is going to be held in just a few months at this speed." As Kuma said that, I began to look up at the sky.


    I never thought the sky was so beautiful. Somehow, I think I have come to appreciate the nature a bit more now compared to my previous life.


    Completely taken by the amazing sight the sky displayed, I almost forgot about Kuma. Having realized that, I turned my head and attention towards him.


    "We should. I''ll the night watch today so you go sleep first." I offered Kuma to sleep and for me to stand watch first. I have something to do. And that is to train my sword skills.


    Of course I won''t do something fancy as I''m only a beginner and I may hurt myslef doing so. I''m just going to practice swing using my metal sword. That way, I can get more used to fighting using a sword. My magic skills are also only mediocre. I need to do better to survive in this kind of era.


    "Well, I''m off to sleep. Keep your guard up in case some monsters attack." Kuma yawned and then headed into the tent to sleep.


    Well then, shall we start?


    I grabbed my sheathed weapon that was near me, unsheathed it and started my training.


    Up, down. Up, down the sword go as I struggled to keep my stance and balance when swinging the heavy sword. I guess my physique is not that good. That''s another thing for me to work on.


    I also took some time to rest a bit after all those exhausting swings. After the small breaks, I continue my practice.


    As I fully concentrated on my swings, time seems to have past by. I was drenched in swear and so are my clothes. Ugh, I smell and it feels really disgusting. I wish I can wash up. That reminds me, I haven''t bath for days right? Even after dismembering the wolves... No wonder I smell worse than poop.


    Before worrying about all of that, I needed to wake Kuma up. It was his time to stand watch. My time already finished a couple of minutes ago.


    Tonight''s watch was different than last night as we didn''t change shifts every two hours. Instead, Kuma and I needed to stand watch for half of the night for each of us. I was the one who proposed this since I wanted to practice longer without sleeping. It''s more efficient that way for my muscles to develop. I believe it would be easier to move than after you have just awoken from sleep.


    I sheathed my sharp sword into its scabbard and brought it along with me as I enter the tent, still reeked the smell of sweat.


    I woke up the human bear who was sleeping soundly. He made some weird mumbling that I pretended to not notice since he''s probably dreaming about something inappropriate.


    "Kuma, wake up." I shook his shoulder using my hand but he unexpectedly had some issues waking up.


    Taking a deep breath, I close in on one of his ears and said, "Wake up, you pervert bear!", loudly.


    Surprised, Kuma finally woke up. His face was of an expression of annoyance but soon, he regained most of his consciousness and realized that it was his time to stand guard.


    He only nodded and scratched his head before heading outside. Well, then it''s time for me to sleep. Before that though, I need to change my clothes. It feels very uncomfortable to be wearing a sweat-drenched clothes after all. After changing to my original attire, the white buttoned shirt and black robe, I lay down in the tent and slept.


    ~~~~~~


    I was woken up the following day by Kuma. It started quite normal today since there''s nothing to really do except that we are going back on our journey and leave this current camp spot.


    Kuma looked refreshed and energetic in the morning as always. I wonder how and why is that? Usually, people are more sluggish and grumpy in the morning but he''s the exact opposite. Oh well, maybe that''s just one of his redeeming features.


    I took some time to stretch my body before proceeding to help Kuma clean the place, store the tent and other stuff. It didn''t take long however since we didn''t have too much things scattered around.


    Before we departed, I deodorized and cleaned myself and Kuma using a new magic that I invented last night. Suprisingly, when I take a look at my status window, the deodorized skill that registered didn''t have ''Ancient Magic'' in it''s name. How weird. Or maybe it was supposed to be that way.


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    .......


    Oh, you said that that didn''t happen last night? Well, I sorta forgot to mention about it.


    Anyways, I''m no longer stinky and disgusting. Magic is so convenient. Kuma was also pleased about it. I knew it. I knew that nobody liked to smell worse than poop. Even a bear agreed with me.


    With all of our things all things packed, Kuma and I started walking towards west, where the Kingdom of Bastia lies.


    We walked in silence. The first one to break the silence was Kuma.


    "We are heading to the nearest town for now. We can''t afford to keep camping here and there. It would take a toll on our physical health if we are continually exposed to the cold. So we are there to refresh ourselves." Kuma stated as a matter of fact.


    I see. I was starting to wonder a little about that.


    "I get your point. So, what is the town''s name and how long does it take to get there? You should know, right? Since you said that you often go there to do... things." I rolled my eyes as I finish my sentence.


    ".... Well, I think it would take about three days? If we walk faster and don''t waste our time, I''m sure that we will arrive earlier. The town''s name is Corolla. Therefore, Corolla Town. "


    Three days huh... Kuma was willing to take a three days trip or more just for something like that? Well, aside from that, the town''s name is Corolla huh? With that kind of name, I kind of imagined that the town would be filled with flowers.


    So that I don''t leave the conversation hanging, I only answered Kuma with "I see."


    After that, we once again walked in silence. Along the way,we didn''t encounter any sort of dangerous animals like the wolves or even anything. As expected of the plains of snow. No one would want to be here anyways.


    The thing that I have taken notice of was that Kuma navigated through the plains without a compass. How is he doing that? Natural born compass? Animal instincts?


    I''m starting to respect Kuma more with his perks showing. What other things can he do?


    The day go by really fast. Before dusk came, we had set up camp. As for the firewood, Kuma didn''t forget to bring or stock them up before we departed in the morning. The routine was basically the same as last night except that I asked Kuma to help me practice a little before the night watch.


    Of course, during my shift, I practiced my swings and some of my magic. Well, I didn''t go around throwing my magic, destroying everything. I just use the magic (skill or whatever you want to call it) Flame of Corruption and maintained the four black flames in my hands until I ran out of juice. Maintaining the magic for hours wasn''t an easy feat.


    After that, Kuma takes over for the rest of the night. Somehow, I felt that I''m getting a bit stronger in terms of both my physical build and my magic due to my training. That just means that my effort paid off.


    Without much happening, the next day came and we started our journey once again. We traveled for two more days after that. We also didn''t encounter anything during our travel. Not that I wish a monster would pop up.


    It was a convenient and relaxing trip for us.


    On the third day in the afternoon, as mentioned by Kuma, we arrived at the town of Corolla.


    If I were to describe how the town looks, it would be.... very ordinary. It disappointed me a bit since it wasn''t like how I imagined it to be. Being a town, it was bigger than average.


    I noticed that there were two guards situated near the entrance; standing guard. I would like to commend the guards for not slacking off during the job. Good job guys!


    As Kuma and me approached closer to the town, the guards also noticed our presences. Instead of being wary of us, they greeted us with a smile.


    One of the guards stopped us in our tracks and said, "Oh, nice to see you again Kuma-san (san here is an honorofic that the japanese people usually use fyi. Search it up for more detail)."


    "Boldor and Zabu! I''m also pleased to see you again. You guys on guard shifts today? What about the other entrance?" Kuma replied, seemingly familiar with them.


    I thought that Kuma often come here just to play but he properly made some acquaintances huh? Either way, it would be easier for me. I do think myself as a suspicious person.


    "Yep. As for the other entrance, Posu and his friend are guarding it. Not sure if they are doing their job properly though. You know that Posu usually slack off during his duty." The guard who I assumed to be Boldor answered Kuma''s question.


    "That is to be expected of Posu. He has always been that way." Kuma could only smile wryly at the guard.


    The Zabu guard was a bald buff man that looked like he was in his thirties. The other guard named Boldor, had a moderate build and an average face. He looked like he was in his twenties.


    Zabu who was silent the entire time spoke.


    "By the way Kuma. Who is this handsome guy beside you, heh~?" Zabu said that and began examining me with his eyes.


    "This guy? He''s Ren. We met a while ago during my trip to here." Kuma said nonchalantly.


    At least act like you care!


    I, in turn started introducing myself. "Good afternoon, sir. My name is Ren Tatsuki. I''m Kuma''s travelling companion. Pleased to make your acquaintance." I bowed and spoke politely since they were older than me like I have been taught in my last life. It stuck with me.


    "Hah! This guy is too formal! Say, you don''t need to be too formal with us. My name is Zabu. Just call me Zabu. No honorifics, Ren." Zabu flashed a smile at me.


    "Same for me. Just call me Boldor, Ren-kun (another honorific. Search it up~)." He and Zabu bold hold out their hands to me.


    "Thank you, Zabu, Boldor." I also return their smiles with my own and shook their hands.


    "Well, we need to go now." Kuma waved his hand to both of the guards and went to enter the town. I soon follow suit.


    "Come and visit us again, Kuma-san!" The one who replied was Boldor.


    ~~~~~~


    After parting with the guards, we headed to the town''s inn. I panicked a little since I thought that we didn''t have any money to rent a room for two. Fortunately, Kuma had brought some money but I don''t it will last us for the rest of the journey to the capital of the kingdom. I will address the matter to Kuma later on.


    After booking  a room for two, we went to the room to drop off our stuff. I just hope that the security around here would be tight enough to prevent any thievery.


    While arranging our stuff, I took the chance to ask about the matter concerning money.


    "Say, Kuma. How are we going to last when you are the only who has money and it isn''t much? I can just create them but I don''t think it''s efficient that way as I can''t spend my whole time creating coins. I want to improve my swordsmanship and also my magic." I said to Kuma while worrying about it at the same time.


    The money system in this world is quite different from the modern world that I used to live on. This world uses coins rather than paper money as there was no machine that can prevent copying.


    The value goes like this:


    1 copper coin = 100 pennies.


    1 silver coin = 100 copper coins.


    1 gold coin = 100 silver coins.


    It''s a simple money system so I was able to memorize it easily. I asked about it earlier when Kuma was booking a room for us. Even though he explained it, he also reprimanded me for not knowing such a simple thing.


    I wonder if Kuma has suspicions about me?


    Back on track, Kuma answered my question with, "If it''s the source of income, you don''t have to worry. We are going to the Adventurer''s Guild for that. Of course, you are going to register as one."


    Adventurer''s Guild... The place where adventurers gather...


    That''s the place where I can become an adventurer like in the stories I have read... I can''t wait!


    <hr />


    A/N: Well, It''s been a long, long time since I have last updated so I really am sorry about that. However, I''m sad to tell you guys that I don''t have a reason for not updating except that I procrastinated. Regardless, here''s a chapter that''s a bit longer so I hope you guys enjoy it.


    As always, feedback is always welcome and thank you for reading my humble fiction ^-^

 Chapter 7: One of the 7 wonders of cooking

    Coming out of the inn, we were heading towards to the Adventurer''s Guild, lead by Kuma. Along the way there, there were quite a few of the town''s folks greeting Kuma. He''s famous around these areas huh? Well, he did say that he often went here so it''s no wonder people knew of him.


    After some time, we arrived in front of the Adventurer''s Guild. The guild from the outside was relatively big in my opinion. The building was radiating a feeling of magnificence in a way.


    We spent no time loitering around and entered the guild. The interior of the building was not quite how I imagined it to be. Instead of looking like a bar, it was clean without any empty beer bottles around. It looked more luxurious than the inn we were staying in. It was not like a noble''s house or anything but it was better than average. Besides that, to my delight, there weren''t any weird smell wafting in the air.


    The surrounding men and women only turned their heads for a little to look at us but soon resumed their own activities. That''s to be expected though. We were not one of the big shots anyways. We also didn''t pay any attention towards them and proceeded to walk to the reception desk.


    The one who greeted us at the desk was a woman who looked like she was in her thirties. She also seemed like she knows Kuma.


    "Oh, if it isn''t Kuma-chan? What business do you have today?" The woman asked.


    Kuma..... chan?


    "Derillia-san, please don''t call me that. Aside from that, I came here to register this guy over here as an adventurer. Surely you could do that?" Kuma conversed and asked casually to the woman who''s name is Derillia with a hint of respect in his tone.


    I didn''t know Kuma had a human acquaintance that he respected. He didn''t even conversed like this with the guards earlier. Putting that aside, I''m very excited right now. I wonder what kind of test would I be put into to be able to become an adventurer?


    "Of course! Another adventurer is always welcome since there are empty spots here and there left by the deceased


    adventurers. What''s your name, young man?"


    I suppose she views me only as a replacement huh... No matter. Someone needs to fill the empty spots sooner or later and I just happened to be the one.


    "My name is Ren Tatsuki. Pleasure to meet you, Derillia-san," I introduced myself to her and bowed my head. The manners that was taught by my parents are instilled in me.


    "Nice manners you got there Ren-chan." She replied back while taking out something out of a drawer from the desk.


    Wait, please don''t call me Ren-chan. I don''t want my name to sound so feminine-like.


    After shuffling around for a bit, Derillia-san finally found what she was looking for. A piece of paper.


    "Here. You just fill in this form and then you are done." Derillia-san handed the paper along with a fountain pen to me.


    While I was filling the form where I needed to answer the basic information about myself, I noticed that I didn''t know what to put for the race section. After all, the plate showed that my race was unknown but I wasn''t willing to fill ''unknown'' in the blank field. It may arouse any unwanted suspicion towards me. After contemplating what to put, I ended up putting human as my race since I do looked like one.


    Finishing the form, I handed it back to Derillia-san.


    "Thank you. Now I just need to confirm it..."


    "Confirm what?" I asked, quite confused at her statement.


    "She''s going to use magic on the form as one of the committee staff in the guild to confirm your registration, officially making you an adventurer." Instead of Derillia-san, Kuma was the one who answered my question.


    That''s good and all but there was one thing that upsets me. Why was the registration so simple? You just crushed my hopes in having to take a test to qualify as an adventurer. I thought I would brawl with someone to prove my strength. This wasn''t like how I imagined it to be.


    While still complaining in my head, I didn''t notice that the paper I handed back to Derillia-san was glowing until just a few moments ago. After a few seconds, the glow faded and the paper was back to normal.


    "Wow...." I unconsciously muttered, making it audible enough for Derillia-san to hear.


    "Ren-chan, you never seen magic before this?" She asked to me, a little bit surprised that someone actually never saw magic before. I guess magic is a regular interval in this world.


    "N-no. It''s nothing of the sorts." I replied back to her, embarrassed of my earlier statement. It seems like I haven''t gotten use to all this fantasy stuff. Can''t blame me though. I had never seen a glowing paper up until now.


    "Aren''t you cute, Ren-chan? Could you wait here for a moment while I go fetch you your guild plate?" Derillia-san teased me for my earlier actions. Without waiting for my reply, she went into a room situated behind the reception desk while bringing the registration form that I filled.


    I prefer that you would stop calling me Ren-chan and that you should call me handsome instead of cute. No man wants to be cute. Besides that, are plates the fad in this era (not the ones used for eating)?


    Intrigued about the matter, I turned my head towards Kuma who wasn''t talking much since we left the inn.


    "Kuma, what''s a guild plate. What''s it for?" I asked, convinced that Kuma knows about it.


    "Well, I guess you don''t know anything about everything huh? Can''t help it but to explain it to you. Listen carefully since I''m not willing to repeat it again." Kuma said all that while belittling me at the same time. I''m sorry that I don''t know anything about everything, Mr. Who Lived A Hundred Years.


    "Okay, go on." I just simply replied trying to not get on his nerves.


    "Guild plate is a symbol that someone is a guild member or commonly known as an adventurer. The plate also serves as a certificate required when you apply for jobs in here or other guilds. Simply put, your qualifications. It also indicates what your current rank is. The higher your rank is, the more benefits you get." Kuma explained.


    He also explained that the benefits of a higher rank were being able to do more jobs that paid more, respect from fellow adventurers and maybe a noble might request you for a job. The ranks for the adventurers are divided into seven. From the lowest to the highest; white, yellow, purple, orange, red, blue and black being the highest one. Kuma also told me that there were only a few that had been promoted into the black rank.


    So, as a beginner adventurer, I''m of the white rank. I hope I don''t get looked down upon. Probably will though.


    As Kuma and I conversed about the topic, Derillia-san had finished with whatever business she needed to attend to and brought a white plate which I assumed was the guild plate with her to the reception desk.


    "Sorry to keep you waiting. Here is your guild plate, Ren-chan. I hope you strive to become a great adventurer." Derillia-san apologized for the wait and encouraged me to become a great adventurer while flashing me a smile.


    "Thank you, Derillia-san." Not bothering to fix how she calls me, I thanked her for her encouragement and bowed.


    "We will be taking our leave." Kuma said to her and was already walking out of the building. Since I didn''t want to be left behind, I followed him.


    Without realizing it, it was already evening when we finished our initial business at the guild. Since the inn provides our meals, there was no need to shop for food for now. With that, we headed straight back to the inn. On the way, I asked Kuma what rank he was as an adventurer and I was not surprised that he was of the purple rank.


    He was an adventurer way before I was so it isn''t unnatural for him to have a higher rank than mine although it''s a bit low in my opinion.


    We arrived at the inn just in time to eat dinner. We took our seats at one of the table that was provided by the inn. The inn was a two storey building. The first floor being the bar where the customers eat and the second floor being the accommodation.


    I asked Kuma several questions to start up a conversation while waiting for the meal to arrive at our table.


    "Kuma, we are not going to the capital on foot right? There must another means of transport."


    "Idiot~ Of course not. We are going there by riding a horse. By the way, do you even know how to ride a horse?" Kuma replied back with his usual attitude that doesn''t seem to stop insulting me because of my lack of skills.


    "...I don''t." I reluctantly answered his question.


    "Haahh... I knew it. I guess we will go there by a carriage. Of course, that would cost more and since you are a white rank adventurer, you wouldn''t be able to earn much. Why did I decide to follow you anyways? Oh. It''s because of that fun quest."


    You didn''t need to say it that way. I''m hurt.


    On time, a maid that works for the inn came with our meals. I said thanks to her and she went back to her job. We didn''t need to pay since when Kuma booked the room for two days and two nights, he made sure the owner of the inn included the meals. We weren''t going to stay in the town for a long time so two days and two nights of stay was enough. In short, we wouldn''t have to worry about the meals for tomorrow.


    After thanking the maid, I continued my conversation with the mean Kuma.


    "Well, you didn''t need to put it that way. I will make sure to make some silver coins later on tonight to pay for the carriage. With that done, I want to remind you of the promise you made to train me in the way of the sword. I want to train tonight if that''s okay with you."


    "Yeah, yeah. Now let''s eat. I''m hungry." Kuma''s nonchalant reply made me want to smack his face but I managed to suppressed my desire to do that.


    In front of us were the food that was brought in by the maid. There was a meat dish that was sauteed with some vegetables and herbs, giving it a pleasant aroma. There was also soup and bread to go along with the dish. A nice smell was wafting in the air, arousing our hunger even more.


    There wasn''t anything wrong with the dishes but there was one thing missing. I kept looking at the table in hopes to find it but my effort was in vain. There''s no rice!


    I ate in silence realizing that I couldn''t eat rice. I was anticipating it for so long since I wasn''t able to eat it during our journey from the forest but this time also, my anticipation was crushed. I could just create rice but the feeling won''t be the same. Despite my inner complaints, the dinner was satisfying and delicious. Trying not to dwell on the matter of rice, I went back to our room with Kuma.


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    I haven''t mentioned it but the room was a very simple room. It has two small beds for two people,  a desk, several oil lamps on the wall and a full-body sized mirror. There were also small transparent windows to provide light and of course curtains for privacy. Even though it feels a little empty, the room was good enough.


    My training with Kuma was going to start tonight so I changed into my light armor that was given by Kuma. The clothes was properly cleaned by me with the help of my trusty magic. I was going to grab my metal sword but was stopped by none other than Kuma.


    "We are not going to use real swords. I wouldn''t worry about myself getting hurt since I won''t but you are the problem. So go and make us two wooden swords while I''m changing my clothes," he said while unbuttoning his white shirt.


    He has a point so on to work I guess. Thanks to my magic training that I have done, I was able to make two wooden swords quickly.


    By the time I finished making the wooden swords, Kuma was also dressed properly for the occasion. I handed one of the wooden swords to him and took one for myself. Tonight''s training was only to spar with each other.


    "Okay, now that we are set to go, let me warn you one thing. When you are facing your opponent, weak or not, never let your guard down as it can cost you your life. Now that''s settled, get in your stance and get ready to spar. I just hope we are not going to be too noisy for the other guests." Kuma said to me and he especially pressed on the matter of not letting my guard down. I made sure to take mental note of that.


    "Give me your best." I replied while getting into my fighting stance; bending my knees to lower myself and holding my wooden sword in front with both of my hands.


    The one who took the initiative to attack first was Kuma. He launched himself towards the right side and proceeded to strike me. Once he was within my sword''s reach, I swung my sword towards him, only to slash air. I hurriedly looked around to see where he went only to find a wooden sword at my throat. He was already behind me.


    "I lost." I admitted defeat. I was disappointed how it ended so quickly and that I wasn''t able to do anything. Hearing me admit defeat, Kuma then withdraw his wooden sword away from my throat.


    "Slow! Weak! And to top it all off, you panicked once you saw me charging towards you didn''t you? I''m beginning to wonder if you actually brought down the wolf during your first hunt. Another lesson to learn is to never panic during a fight. Once you do, your chance of winning is zero." Kuma scolded me.


    "Even more so, I need to improve so that I can make my first step towards my fun quest. Kuma, one more time." This training isn''t going to end until I say so. I will do anything to achieve my fun and one of the things that I need to do is to get stronger.


    "I guess your mischievousness is what drives you. No matter. Take your stance. We shall start all over again. This time, instead of stopping before the sword reach you, I''m just gonna outright hit you with the sword. Got it?" Kuma walked back to his spot and I took my stance.


    With a grin, I told him, "Bring it!".


    ~~~~~~


    "Huff...huff. haah....haahh. phew.."


    "Let''s end it at that tonight. It''s late anyways so try to get some sleep." Kuma said before wiping some of the sweat that had accumulated on his face using a small towel while his clothes remained dry and weren''t soaked in sweat.


    "Huff.. haahh.. okay..huff.."


    I was panting while lying on the ground, exhausted. The training was practically one-sided crushing. I was unable to do anything against Kuma. He was too fast for my eyes to follow his movements and before I knew it, I was already struck by the sword.


    As time went, I was becoming more and more tired so my performance was more sluggish each turn. Kuma on the other hand, barely broke a sweat. His clothes weren''t drenched in sweat like mine.  My body also ached, the result of being repeatedly hit by the wooden sword.


    Dammit! Next time, I will definitely land at least one solid blow on him!


    I got up from my spot and cast my magic on myself; cleaning and deodorizing myself and my clothes. After that, I went to my bed and collapsed on the bed. Shortly after, I fell asleep from the exhaustion.


    ~~~~~~


    I woke up in the morning, bathed in the warm sunlight. Although I made sure the curtains were down last night, this morning, the curtains were up, allowing sunlight to enter the room through the small windows. I looked towards the other bed in the room but it was empty. I guess Kuma already left huh.


    I got up from my bed and began doing my morning stretches. After that, I looked around the room to see if Kuma had left a note or something. Fortunately, he did as I noticed a small piece of paper was lying on the room''s desk. He never left me alone up till now. I wonder what he''s doing, leaving without me. I guess reading the note will tell me.


    I walked towards the desk and grabbed the note to read what it says.


    ''I  am going somewhere today to look for something and to search for a carriage for us to go to the capital. I left some money for you to go shopping if you want.


    -Kuma-''


    Besides the note was one silver coin. Well, this is more than enough for me. Now that I think about it, I did promise to Kuma that I would create some silver coins... I will just do that now.


    After memorizing the image of the silver coin, I began imagining the coin. I used my Creation Magic to create ten silver coins that was equivalent to a thousand copper coins. I put the coins that onto the desk as I was going to change my clothes.


    I donned my white buttoned shirt and black sleek pants and my pair of black shoes. I went to the mirror that was located near the desk and fixed my white hair and clothes. I checked if there were any eye bags under my black eyes; fortunately, there wasn''t any. I also applied my deodorization magic so that I won''t smell weird. I proceeded to take the ten silver coins that I made, leaving the one that Kuma gave on the desk and I walked out of the room.


    I left the inn, knowing that by the time I woke up, it was already past the afternoon meal. With my stomach growling for food, I wandered around Corolla town to find a suitable restaurant so that I could eat. Besides my quest, I did want to eat all kinds of cuisines that this other world has to offer.


    After searching for a while, I finally found a suitable and comfortable looking restaurant. I sat on one of the tables provided in the restaurant. I asked what was available and picked out three dishes with the names that fancied me the most. The tyrannical barbecued bear meat, the devil soup filled with Forka mushrooms and finally the smooth, soft, melting bread. I also ordered three glasses of plain water.


    Soon, all of the dishes arrived at my table. The maid who brought it totaled up the amount of money that I had to pay. It was a whopping fifty eight copper coins. Even a stay at the inn for two days with meals was only thirty copper coins. I guess it''s my fault for eating in this expensive looking restaurant. The restaurant couldn''t be compared to my old world''s but it was far better than the others that were in the town.


    Since I already ordered the dishes, I fished out a silver coin and handed it to the maid. The maid took it and gave the proper amount of change back to me.


    Looking at the dishes that were put on the table, I hoped that the dishes will worth the money. Without waiting any further, I dig in the bear dish first. I was taken back by surprise by how delicious it tasted.


    The meat was so tender that I dare say that it could just slide down my throat. The tenderness also had an indescribable taste of chewiness. It was sweet and it was sour. While I was eating, I wondered if Kuma was to see me eating bear meat, would he get offended? I quickly pushed the thought aside as I moved on to the next dish.


    The next dish, the devil soup with Forka mushrooms gave off an enticing aroma. There were fork like things in the soup which I assumed was the Forka mushrooms. Like the first dish, it was extremely delicious with it''s hot spiciness. The mushrooms were somewhat bitter but they complimented the spiciness surprisingly well. As there was only a bowl of the soup, I quickly finished it and moved on to the bread.


    The bread was the most suspicious among them all. It looked like an ordinary bread except that it was golden in color. As I had finished the two dishes earlier and drank two glasses of water, I was somewhat relieved to see that there were only two slices of bread. I picked up one slice of the bread with my hand and took a bite out of it.


    "! What is this?!" I was shocked once more as the bread far surpasses the first two dishes that I ate. Some of the customers looked at me with weird eyes but I ignored them.


    This bread.. This bread! Like the name said, it was smooth, it was soft and it was melting! It baffled me as to how the cook could prepare something like this. How could it possibly be? A bread that melts in your mouth as if it was butter put on a hot fry pan. It was one of the seven wonders of cooking.


    I ate the slice of bread that was in my hand as I savored it to the utmost. The same went for the other slice. I now regretted the fact that there were only two slices of bread and that I was relieved earlier because of the very fact. I now realized, what truly made it expensive. It was the bread.


    Gulping down the last of my drink, I walked out of the restaurant refreshed and was like a new man with newfound determination.


    <hr />


    A/N: I hope this chapter is good enough for this update. I regret to say that I''m not able to bring out chapters daily but I''m trying to update once 2-3 days. I may take a few days off as I''m a human, not a robot.


    I also want to express my thank you to whoever it was who rated and voted my story. As always, feedback are welcome and thanks for reading :D !

 Chapter 8: Departure

    "Now that I have a full belly, what should I do?" I pondered out loud.


    It''s still early so where should I head to? Is there even anything interesting in this town? Well, I did see a blacksmith shop which is also the weapon''s shop, a tailor shop, a pharmacy of some sort and some other shops. I had never saw a weapon being made in front of my life so, I guess the blacksmith shop is the destination. I''m also a boy after all. Of course I would like to see all sorts of weapons.


    I walked through the not-so busy streets of Corolla town trying to find my way to the shop. I would ask the locals for directions so that I won''t get lost. I can''t say that I have a good sense of direction but I''m sure I can navigate just fine.


    After a couple of minutes, I finally managed to arrive at my destination. The building was normal looking. There was a sign on the shop''s door saying ''Blacksmith Shop, The one and only'' so I''m definitely at the right place. I didn''t waste a second and went into the shop.


    The interior was what you would expect from a blacksmith shop. There were a lot of weapons arranged neatly at both sides. There were also weapons put in barrels here and there. There was a variety of weapons such as maces, swords, rapiers, axes. There were also katanas, although there were only a few of them. I didn''t think katanas would exist in this world and era. Is it the influence of the previous generations of Heroes? That must mean that there are Heroes who came form Japan. Interesting.


    While I was window shopping, a big bald man called out to me. His face was all too familiar to not recognize who he was.


    "Zabu?" I asked, quite surprise at his appearance here. If I think about it, he''s a guard so it''s not all that unnatural but he didn''t wear any clothing that resembled a guard. He was wearing a plain white shirt and a pair of grey pants that was easy to move in.


    "Oh, if it isn''t the guy with Kuma! What are you doing here, kid?" Zabu replied while having the same carefree look he had when I first met him.


    "Kuma left me all alone at the inn when I woke up. He left a note saying that he was going to get a carriage for us to go to the capital. I thought I would do a little sightseeing in this town so here I am." I answered his question back.


    "...." Zabu kept silent.


    "Zabu, what''s wrong?" Even if I just met him a day ago, I didn''t think he was the kind of person who would go silent all of a sudden. I have a somewhat bad feeling about this.


    "...I''m not sure if I''m the one who should be telling this to you but while I was on guard duty for the other entrance, I saw Kuma leave the town in a carriage. I don''t know what''s up with him but he had this very serious expression on his face. I thought you left with him this morning that''s why I asked what you were doing here." Zabu explained, much to my horror.


    "What did you say?! He left me, all alone!?" I was beyond shocked or surprised. I was mortified and devastated. No wonder that note and the silver coin felt somewhat ominous. What if I was a normal person without Creation Magic? Damn that perverted, mean, evil bear.


    I didn''t expect him to leave me or should I say betray me. I suppose I was too trusting of him. I''m too naive.


    "I''m sorry for you, kid." Zabu said that with a pity look on his face.


    Now that I''m all alone, what should I do? I shouldn''t be pessimistic. Let''s not linger on that matter anymore. What''s done is done. Even if I don''t have anyone to rely on, I have my magic so I''m okay. Who needs him anyway? Here I am, wanting to trick someone then got tricked myself.


    I don''t think I can trust people as much as I do before this betrayal. I''m resolved. I''m will rely on my abilities alone. I''m sure I will manage.


    "...Zabu, please don''t pity me. Kuma left me but that''s all there is to it. I can manage by myself. Let''s put aside that topic for now. Now, to continue our previous conversation. What are you doing here? Are you shopping for weapons or getting yours repaired?" I asked him, trying to sound apathetic as much as possible.


    I''m a stoic person... stoic...me.... Okay, that should do the trick. I convinced myself so.


    "..Well, if you say so. To answer your question, no I''m not here to shop or anything." His answer made me raise one of my eyebrows. "You see, I''m the owner of this shop. Adore me, kid as I''m the great blacksmith who made these wonderful weapons." He grinned when he bragged about himself.


    "Really?! I thought you were only as a guard. That''s great! I want to see the best sword that you have on the shop. I learned how to use the sword just recently but since I have gotten quite used to swordsmanship, I thought I could need a better sword." I said to Zabu.


    "Sure, kid. You are lucky that the sword hasn''t been sold yet. It''s my newest creation. Come this way." He ushered me to follow him. We went a bit further into the shop and eventually, we stopped.


    "Wait here for a bit. I''m gonna go get it." With that, Zabu shuffled around the stuff he had and came out bringing a sword in a pretty scabbard.


    "May I inspect it closer?" I asked him politely.


    "Of course! Here you go. Be careful now." Zabu handed the sword to me.


    I looked at the pretty scabbard. I don''t know what it''s made of but it seems that the scabbard alone may cost quite the money. Turning away my attention from the scabbard, I slowly pulled out the sword, revealing a semi-transparent black colored sword. Its appearance looked a bit like glass. By that point, I was skeptical of the sword.


    "Don''t let its appearance trick you, kid. That ain''t glass. That sword was made from a very high quality ore that''s hard to come by. You try swinging the thing a few times then you will know its worth."


    Made from a very high quality ore, huh? Only one way to find out then.


    "Okay... Then, here I go!" I started swinging the sword in various directions and ways that I know of. When I was swinging the sword, I realized how light the sword was. It wasn''t heavy, making my swings faster and more fluid than when I use the sword that I created.


    I stopped swinging and tried to feel the sword''s flat face with my hand. I tried to estimate the thickness of the sword and also its durability. It was not too thin nor was it too thick; it was moderate. I''m not sure about the durability of it since I didn''t have anything to test it on but it was definitely not glass like Zabu said. It felt quite nice using it.


    "Ain''t it good? It''s a masterpiece of mine. If I were to sell it in the big cities or the capital, it would have been sold long ago."


    Aaah~ There he goes again, bragging about himself....


    "If it''s that good then why isn''t it been sold yet here? Is there some kind of issue with it?" I asked him.


    "There are no issues with the sword. It''s just too expensive for the adventurers here to buy so that''s why I wasn''t able to sell it. I don''t want to go far just to sell it. I don''t mind it not selling either." Zabu just scratched his bald head when he answered my question.


    "I see. How much is it?" The sword seems good enough. I''m determined to buy it. If it goes over my budget, I can just create more silver coins or even gold coins secretly when I put my hand into my pants'' pocket.


    "It costs 10 gold and 14 silver. I don''t think you have the money to buy it kid. Besides, you said you were just starting to learn how to use the sword so shouldn''t you get a cheaper sword than this?" He said, trying to convince to buy other swords since he expects me to not have a lot of money.


    I just gave him back the sword and naturally put my right hand into my pocket as if searching for money. During the act of trying to get my money to pay him, I made 11 gold coins because I was too lazy to properly create the exact amount of it.


    Of course, as I create each gold coin, I will take it out of my pocket one by one as to avoid suspicion if I were to take too long of a time without taking a single coin out, searching my pocket. After doing that several times, all eleven of the gold coins were out. I handed them over to Zabu while acting nonchalant about it.


    "Here you go. That should be enough, right, Zabu-san?" I sounded quite rude not calling him with honorifics earlier so I decided to add back the honorifics this time. Even if he insists on not using it. It makes me feel weird.


    "..Uh, yeah. Didn''t expect you to have the money though. And didn''t I tell you to just call me Zabu?" He took the coins from my hand and began searching around the area of the counter to get me my change.


    "No, it feels weird talking to you like that. You are older than me, after all." I replied back to him who was still busy at the counter.


    After a few moments, he came back with the change of 86 silver coins. He then proceed to hand the change to me.


    "Well, if you say so. I guess it ain''t bad being called with respect. Here you go. My masterpiece that you purchased. Its name is Xavier. Take good care of it you hear?" He told me so as if the sword was his baby.


    I put it back into its pretty scabbard that was also a of a black color. Only replied with, "I will, Zabu-san," and I walked out of the shop hearing him say, "Come again!".


    Now that I got a new sword, I hang it to the side of my waist where I used to hang my old metal sword. The sword I bought was light so it didn''t hinder my movement as much as my last one. I have quite a lot of money left (95 silver coins and 42 copper coins combined) so I don''t have to worry about it.


    I don''t feel like returning to the inn just yet so I figured I would visit other shops as well until dinner comes. I spent my time going to the tailor shop, the pharmacy of some sort and some stalls at the side of the street tasting a bit of food here and there.


    I bought some clothes in the tailor shop which was three pairs of black pants, also three pairs of buttoned shirt that''s similar to what I''m wearing except that it was black. The shirts were quite expensive. Furthermore, I also bought two pairs of black leather gloves at the shop. I stocked up on medical herbs when I went to the pharmacy shop earlier just in case for my journey to the capital.  While also wasting my time strolling around, I bought two new pairs of black shoes. I just love the color black.


    With Kuma gone, I needed to do all this by myself. It wasn''t too hard since it was kind of similar to buying things when you are getting ready to go on a vacation. I didn''t need to bother myself with all the carrying of the things I bought since the shops that I went to offered a delivery service to the inn. Of course, I needed to pay extra. I''m quite the big spender if I say so myself. My money is almost nonexistent by now.


    By the time I finished strolling around the town, it was already late evening. I wanted to visit the Adventurer''s Guild but I guess I will put it on hold for tomorrow. I need to extend the duration I will be staying at the inn too. Remembering which directions to take to go back to the inn, I was lost in thought as what I should do for tomorrow.


    Arriving at the inn, I was fortunately not late for dinner. As a normal customer, I just took my seat on one of the tables. The dinner tonight was the same as last night; a meat dish, a bowl of soup and a few slices of bread. Seeing the meal, it reminded me of what I had for lunch earlier today. Damn, it was good.


    Finishing my meal, I went to the counter to prolong the duration for how long I''m staying for a day. I was also told by the owner that my stuff that I bought had arrived earlier and was delivered to my room. With my business done, I went upstairs to my room.


    Looking around in the room, I finally realized that Kuma''s belongings were missing in the morning. I was an idiot for not noticing. Oh well. The room felt spacious now that I got it all for myself. Without caring much of being alone, I  started practicing by swinging again tonight except that I use my new sword. Since I don''t know what to do with the old one, I just erased it. Creation Magic is convenient to use as I can control the things I create. If I want it to be gone, then poof, gone.


    I got a nice feeling when swinging the sword. It felt light but at the same time, powerful. After a hundred or so swings that I somehow managed to pull off, I took a break from training my sword skills. It was relatively late in the night but I didn''t bother to sleep. I wanted to create more skills to make myself stronger.


    I''m thinking of creating a healing magic and a body reinforcement magic. The healing magic was a hassle to make since I needed to have something injured to heal. I ended up making a shallow cut on my right arm using a small dagger that I soon disposed of. As always, I imagined the cut slowly healing itself. The tissues mending together, making the skin and then erasing the scar. Thankfully it worked, I didn''t want to have a scar.


    As for the body reinforcement magic, I imagined that my muscles were strengthening, my body parts were as if hardened and my senses such as my hearing became sharper. It was an amazing feeling. I don''t know how long it exactly lasts but I assumed it was for about ten minutes. I bet that I can improve my magics'' effect by draining what people call mana pool relentlessly. My training method is a little bit more complex than that though.


    I have been training my magic by using my magic, Flames of Corruption and maintaining it''s form. It would drain my mana and the spheres of flames would disappear then I would need to start over again. The same goes for when I lose my concentration. I was being careful as to not accidentally burn the room or inn down.


    I am currently training my magic since I have done my sword training and had taken a break earlier. Instead of making the spheres of flames appear in my hands, I made them appear behind me in a circle of somewhat. Thank goodness, my magic don''t affect myself since if it did, my hair would have been burned already. I also noticed that I was able to make a fifth sphere of flames. This showed that I can improve my magic and not the skill would not stay stagnant.


    I was happy with the development. I also immediately try to use an idea that has been stuck in my head for about a few days already. That was the use of multiple magic. Since I have two different magic which is support and attack, I was able to put my idea into motion.


    First, I summoned the spheres of black flames then I tried to reinforce my body. To confirm that the second magic worked, I grab my sword and swung a couple of times. To easily swing the sword a few times in only about three seconds was proof that my idea worked. I then canceled my magic. After feeling exhausted having my entire invisible mana pool drained, I decided to relax for a bit.


    I''m really tired from all the strolling and shopping that I had done today. I looked to the other bed to see that it''s fully occupied by my stuff that I bought. How am I suppose to carry all of that for my upcoming journey? Large baggage is a big no-no in battle. I could only come up with one solution, magic.


    I tried to relax myself and did a little bit of meditating by inhaling through my nose and exhaling through my mouth. It made my relax more and I can feel that I have recovered most of my mana in just one hour. Letting my imagination run wild, in my mind, I pictured a space distortion in the air, opening to another dimension of some sort, being able to keep as many things as I need to keep.


    It was successful and I tried putting the inn''s pillow in it and then shortly after, I took it back. I didn''t want to waste time so I just basically threw all of my stuff in there except for my sword. Then, by my command, the distortion in the air disappeared.


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


    Since it seemed like I still have some mana left, I thought of making another magic. Telekinesis. The imagination process was simple. Just try to focus on one object and then imagine it floats in the air and go towards you. My Creation Magic rocks. I wanted to see all of my new skills so I opened my status window using my platinum plate that I had since I came into this world.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Status Window</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Name: Ren Tatsuki</td><td colspan=''2''>Age: 17 years old</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Race: Unknown</td><td colspan=''2''>Level: 8</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Statistics</td></tr><tr><td>Strength</td><td>300</td><td>Defense</td><td>250</td></tr><tr><td>Agility</td><td>450</td><td>Intelligence</td><td>1200</td></tr><tr><td>Magic</td><td>920</td><td>Luck</td><td>40</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''3''>Skill(s)</td><td>-Creation Magic


    -Language Comprehension


    -Ancient Magic: Holy Binding (Holy Magic)


    -Ancient Magic: Flames of Corruption (Dark Magic)


    -Cleaning Magic


    -Deodorization


    -Ancient Magic: Angel''s Gift (Holy Magic)


    -Sixth Sense Body Amplification


    -Ancient Magic: Space Holder (Space Magic)


    -Lost Magic: Telekinesis (Mind Magic)</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''3''>Title(s)</td><td>None</td></tr></tbody></table>


    When I saw my status, I was astonished by how much I have grown this past week. My skill list has also grown too. All was nice and dandy until I noticed something unpleasant about it. My luck which was previously sixty have decreased by twenty.


    What. The. Heck.


    What caused this to happen? Was it because I experienced a bad event or something? When did that hap- oh... Today''s event. Man, I''m starting to hate that bear even more now. Nothing I can do about it.


    Since I''m quite happy with my steady progression of overall strength, I went to bed earlier than usual.


    ~~~~~~


    I woke up early than usual since I didn''t sleep too late last night. I changed my clothes to the clothes that I bought yesterday. Black buttoned and collared shirt, a pair of black pants, and also a pair of black leather gloves and shoes. I retrieved them from the Space Holder where I put them in yesterday. My attire was all black. I just can''t get enough of black. It''s cool after all.


    I checked how I looked using the mirror in the room. After confirming that I didn''t look like a sloppy person, I went downstairs. Thankfully this time, I didn''t miss my breakfast like yesterday. Today''s breakfast consisted of a loaf of bread and vegetable soup. I was advised to dip the bread into the soup by one of the maids so that it would taste better. I did as I was told and it was true. Although the meal wasn''t as delicious as the one from the expensive restaurant, it was satisfying.


    After finishing my breakfast, I went out of the inn. I made my way to the Adventurers Guild using the directions from my memory as planned. I wanted to go there to greet Derillia-san and maybe get some new information. I will also look at the mission board to see if there''s anything that I can do on the trip to the capital. I doubt it though.


    Arriving at the building, I didn''t hesitate to enter it. There were more people staring at me than the first time I came here. Is it because of my attire?


    I didn''t pay any mind to them and just headed to where Derillia-san is; the receptionist desk. She looked quite busy as she didn''t look up to see who it was even though she knew that there''s somebody standing in front of her (me) and just asked what is my business here.


    "Yes?" She asked, still jotting down something on a piece of paper.


    "Good morning Derillia-san." I greeted her as that''s what I''m here for today.


    "This voice.... Ren-chan! Good morning. What are you doing here? I thought you already left with Kuma-chan yeterday." She finally looked up and greeted me back.


    "Well, there were some issues so I didn''t go with him. Are you busy, Derillia-san? If so, I will come back later in the day to inquire you about something." I asked, trying to not bother her as much as possible.


    "In fact, I am. The guild needs to find a someone to represent the guild to attend the Heroes'' Ceremony.  You see, a representative needs to either be a mage that''s associated with the guild or an adventurer from the guild that''s red rank or higher but there''s nobody who meets those qualifications. I wanted Kuma-chan to go as he''s the only one qualified adventurer but he already left, saying he had some other businesses to attend to. Haahh, what am I to do." Derillia-san gave out a long and tired sigh.


    What? Kuma is red ranked adventurer or higher? He lied to me didn''t he?! However there was something that bothered me more than that. I got to ask Derillia-san about it.


    "Can''t the guild just send anybody there as a representative? I thought that the ceremony is open to the public." I asked, confused about the matter.


    "What are you talking about, Ren-chan? I don''t know who you heard that from but it''s false information. Only a select few of nobles, renown mages and representatives of each guild branch can go into the royal palace, you know." She explained, earning a shocked expression from me.


    "What? It''s not open to public? Wasn''t the Heroes suppose to showcase their magic or something so that they can earn the people''s faith. So that the people can believe that they would be able to win against the Demon Lords?" I asked a multitude of questions this time.


    "Like I said, that someone who told you about it must be lying. The royal family who summoned the Heroes wouldn''t blatantly let them showcase their powers to the public. It would bring unnecessary problems. The public was only told that the Heroes have arrived to save the kingdom." She said while having an expression that says, " You actually believed that it was like that?".


    Abandoning the stab-like feeling that attacked my heart because I found out that I was lied to by the bear, I continued the conversation. If the ceremony is not open to public, I can''t go after all.


    "Then, Derillia-san. You only need a mage that''s associated with the guild right? And a mage is someone who can use magic and spells, right?" I asked once more.


    "Yes, but it seems there''s no one like that here, Ren-chan." She gave me a worried look.


    "What if... What if I tell you that I''m able to use magic?" I said in a voice that other people wouldn''t be able to hear except for the two of us.


    "What?! Really?!" People looked at our direction when Derillia-san shouted. "Ahem. So you are not joking right? You can use magic not the daily life ones but real magic. Spells." She tried to confirm what she had heard from me.


    "Yes." I simply answered.


    "Ren-chan, come with me to the guild''s backyard. I want you to prove it to me." She ushered me to come with her using a door that''s located at the back of the reception desk.


    "If I prove it to you, I can go as a representative from this guild and be able to enter the royal palace right?"


    "Of course. Now, hurry up." She said in a hurried voice.


    Arriving at the so-called backyard of the guild, I spotted a rich-looking man that looked like he''s in his late forties. Derillia-san approached the man who I would like to call old while telling me to wait at my current position. They conversed for a bit and I can see the old man being surprised for a moment. Derillia-san and the old man then finished their conversation and asked me to come over to their side. I obeyed and walked towards them.


    The old man then greeted me.


    "Greetings, it''s nice to meet you, Ren Tatsuki-kun. I''m Christopher Gurr. I have heard from Derillia that you are a mage and thus have brought you here to prove yourself. Is that correct?" The old man named Christopher asked.


    "It''s a pleasure to meet you sir. To answer your question, yes, that is true, Christopher-san. I am able to use magic so I volunteered to become a representative even though I''m merely an adventurer of the white rank." I bowed my head low before returning back to my previous position and answering his question.


    "I see. Without further ado, please, demonstrate your magic by using it to hit that dummy over there." The old man then pointed towards one of the dummies in the backyard.


    "Yes, sir." I answered before going to the dummy before stopping several meters away from it.


    As they have asked, I manifested all five spheres of the Flame of Corruption and then proceeded to launch it towards the dummy, putting it ablaze. Seconds later, the black flames soon spread towards the other dummies and burning it down to the ground. I then make the flame disappear with a thought as if it wasn''t there in the first place. But the ashes of the dummies were prove of my magic.


    "What the..."


    "T-that''s amazing, Ren-chan!"


    The old man was the first to open his mouth, followed by the praise from Derillia-san. Well, I was quite surprise as well since the flames turned the dummies into ashes in mere seconds.


    "Ah, no. It''s nothing, hehe." I replied, walking towards the old man and Derillia-san while feeling a bit embarrassed by the praise thrown by the woman.


    "...Ahem. Well, young man, since you have proved yourself as a mage, come to my office." The old man interrupted the victory dance in my head and invited me to his office.


    I looked at Derillia-san and she just nodded in approval. Seeing her nod, I followed the old man to his office.


    ~~~~~~


    "This letter is your pass to enter the royal palace on the fourth of Viska which is a few months from now. Don''t lose it now. Tomorrow, a carriage will come to pick you up at the inn in the morning after you have your breakfast. Don''t be late, do you understand?" Christopher old man handed me a letter and reminded me to not be late for tomorrow morning and also for the upcoming ceremony.


    "Yes, sir." I then walked out of the office.


    When I went to the old man''s office earlier, he briefed me about the ceremony. The ceremony is like a social gathering. My job is to get along with the other representatives from the other branches. I need to also greet the Heroes and the royal family as a sign of respect and bla bla bla. It''s basically introductions here and there and establishing connections for the guild.


    What''s fun about it is that I get to know the Heroes, see the interior of the palace and ... food! There''s going to be a buffet like feast. Lucky~ I also learned that there may be more than one representative from the other guild branches but since Corolla couldn''t find anybody else than me, I will be travelling there alone. I''m lonely aren''t I?


    I also asked if I can wear a mask to attend the ceremony and the answer was yes. But, Christopher old man discouraged me from doing that as it may be disrespectful towards the Heroes and the royal family however, I refused to listen to what he has to say about it.


    There were also some other minor details but didn''t pay too much attention to them. With all the formalities and information session given by the old man done, I headed back to the inn for lunch. I spent the rest of the day in my room, training using Xavier and magic. I only came out of the room during dinner. After dinner, instead of resuming my training, I decided to make a mask.


    The mask was white in color with only two slanted holes for the eyes; no other holes for the mouth or nose but I was able to breath just fine. I also made it so that there''s a particular  black streak near the right eye hole. It''s like a mark of some sorts that I saw once in anime. The purpose of it is to look cool. After that, I went to sleep early to prepare for tomorrow.


    The next morning, I woke up early and do my usual routine which was, cleaning and deodorizing myself and changing to a new set of the same clothes, all black. I also cleaned and deodorized my yesterday''s attire before putting it back into the Space Holder.


    I didn''t eat the breakfast from the inn but instead created my own light meal which was a box of hot spicy chicken wings that I first had in the Akasha Forest back then. I deodorized myself again to make sure I don''t smell of chicken and spices.


    After deodorizing myself, I put on my awesome mask that I made last night. I didn''t want to wear the black robe that I wore during my journey to Corolla town since it''s a dead giveaway that I''m a mage. That would be a disadvantage for me in battle. I hang Xavier to the side of my waist and went downstairs.


    With my attire, almost everybody in the inn stared at me. While all of the stares hurt, I endured it and made it out of the inn. Outside the building, as promised, was a carriage that was sent by the old man to pick me up. The driver didn''t pay much attention to my appearance and just told me to hop on. The carriage then departed from Corolla town, being pulled by two strong horses.


    I looked back at the town where I first learned of the cruelness of people and where I had the amazing golden bread. Despite Kuma''s lies and abandonment, I''m gonna miss this town where it''s the beginning of my fun adventure.


    <hr />


    A/N: Okay...so, that was one long ass chapter. Did it make you mad when I suddenly had Kuma do that? Well, it wasn''t for no reason. It will be revealed later on, so stay tuned~ A special mention to Truth for his ever so helpful comments.


    As always, feedback or even reviews (<-- currently nonexistent) are highly appreciated and thanks for reading~[th_084_.gif]

 Chapter 1: This Situation is Bananas!

    thing in front of him.


    <table style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto">


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center" colspan="5">STATUS WINDOW</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center" colspan="2">Name: Ren</td>


    <td style="text-align: center" colspan="3">Age: 17 %~?@$#?!?</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center" colspan="2">Race: ?*+@$#! Human</td>


    <td style="text-align: center" colspan="3">Level: 1</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center" colspan="5">STATISTICS</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center" colspan="2">Strength</td>


    <td style="text-align: center">30</td>


    <td style="text-align: center">Endurance</td>


    <td style="text-align: center">25</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center" colspan="2">Agility</td>


    <td style="text-align: center">45</td>


    <td style="text-align: center">Magical Intelligence</td>


    <td style="text-align: center">600</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center" colspan="2">Magic</td>


    <td style="text-align: center">300</td>


    <td style="text-align: center">Luck</td>


    <td style="text-align: center">60</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center" colspan="2">Skill(s)</td>


    <td style="text-align: center" colspan="3">


    ¡è Language ComprehensionStolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡è Magic Manipulation


    ¡è Creation Magic


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center" colspan="2">Title(s)</td>


    <td style="text-align: left" colspan="3">


    Nonenonenonenonenone


    Nonenonenonenonenone


    Nonenonenonenonenone


    Nonenonenonenonenone


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    He looked at the status window before he frowned. "A status window is fine and all, but could it not be so garbled? And why is my last name missing? What does ''Magical Intelligence'' mean? Is there no ''Intelligence'' stat because I''m too stupid? What is even the baseline for the normal statistics anyways? Aren''t these values too extreme? I mean, the other stats are far too low compared to ''Magic'' and ''Magical Intelligence''. And what''s with the title section? I get that I have none; I don''t need it to be four lines long." He fired off a series of questions. "At the very least, I think these should be enough to confirm the fact that I am currently in a fantasy world..."


    "Ah, whatever. I''ll put that aside for now." Ren scratched his right eyebrow. "Let''s see¡­ For the skills, I have the standard ''Language Comprehension'' skill, ''Magic Manipulation''¡ªI guess that already having the skill means I won''t need to struggle much for magic¡ªand¡­ ''Creation Magic''?"


    He rubbed both of his eyes with his freezing fingers. "Goodness, that''s cold." He let out a breath. "Let''s try tapping the word. Maybe an additional info will come out¡­ Seriously?" His hand touched thin air as the status window remained unchanged. "How am I supposed to know what the skill does? Should I just take a dumb guess?"


    He folded his arms to his chest, his platinum plate in his left hand''s grasp still showing the status window. Ren closed his eyes and hummed absentmindedly. ''It is named ''Creation Magic'' after all. Then, is it safe to assume that I can create anything? Is there even any limitations to it?''


    The best way for him to test out his theory was to try using the skill. He opened his eyes and dropped his arms to the sides. He held out his right palm in front of him. He imagined a blue flame appearing, radiating enough heat to dispel the coldness near him.


    A flicker of blue manifested in his palm before it burst and flared to form a flame the size of an adult''s head. The flame sitted itself just above Ren''s palm, not quite touching the skin. The heat released by the flame traveled from his palm to the rest of his body, making him sigh in content.


    "Just like I intended it, the flame doesn''t burn me, so does it rely on my intention?" He hummed and crouched.


    He directed his palm of blue flame towards the snowy ground, and the snow melted into a small puddle of water before evaporating as steam. The flame continued to burn, but before it could scorch the ground, Ren willed it to not sear the soil black.


    And, sear, it did not.


    Ren looked at the fire in his palm and gave a silent command in his mind for it to disappear. The blue flame did not even fizzle out, and just vanished into thin air. Then, with another thought, the flame reappeared in his palm.


    A grin made its way across Ren''s face as an idea struck his mind. "If I can create magic itself, that would be awesome." He reined in his excitement and kept his voice low. "First things first is to build a campfire and set up camp here."


    A while later, Ren sat on a wooden stool near a campfire he had built by burning the logs of wood with a flame he manifested on his palm. A small portable tent with the mishmash colors of green and brown was set up behind him. He held a cup of hot cocoa in his hands and sipped the chocolaty goodness.


    He puffed out a white cloud of cold breath. "Ah, this is what I call bliss." He put down the cup onto the small table beside him, and with a mere thought, a bucket of spicy hot chicken wings appeared out of nowhere. The smell wafted around but Ren was too hungry to care whether or not the wind would carry the smell elsewhere.


    He took a wing and bit into it, the juice of the perfectly cooked meat permeating his taste buds. "Who cares about dying because of some banana peel? This must be why I died in the first place, to have this heaven-like luxury." He took another bite of the wing. "Goodness, this is so damn good. I don''t feel the least bit tired from creating all this stuff, and that makes this whole thing even better."


    He took another wing, but just as Ren was about to savor it again, a sudden rustle of leaves halted the meat''s journey into his mouth. He looked around the surroundings and waited to hear more rustling, just to confirm it was not his mind playing tricks on him.


    Another rustling that came from the thicket to his right had made him stood up from his stool with wariness. Ren gulped, and his palms were sweating despite the chilly weather. The rustling did not stop, and he stared at the thicket.


    He dared not make any sound.


    His heart thumped against his chest, louder than what he would like. The crackling of the campfire did not help with his anxiety either. The rustling became louder with each growing moment, and Ren had the urge to shout just so whatever it was that was making the sound would come out already.


    Then, before he could act on his impulse, something popped its head out of the thicket. A huge brown bear quadraple of Ren''s size towered over the copse as it stood on its two feet.


    He stared at the animal predator with wide eyes. His hands holding the bucket of chicken wings shook, and his grip on it loosen; he involuntarily dropped the food with a thud, and the wings scattered onto the ground. A tantalizing aroma filled the air mixing with the smell of smoke coming from the fire he had built.


    Ren''s eyes almost bulged out of his sockets at his mistake. ''Crap! I should have been more careful of the smell!'' He needed the campfire as a proper source of heat and warmth, but he could have forgone the chicken wings. ''Stupid!''


    A deep growl came from the animal just a few meters away from him. He retreated a step while keeping an eye on the bear. Then, he retreated another step, slow and cautious. The bear had yet to make a move. He moved backwards once more, but his foot bumped into the table he had placed beside his stool, and he stumbled onto the ground.


    Ren groaned in pain, but that was stopped when the brown bear that was meters away from him suddenly loomed over him. The animal''s humongous frame cast a shadow over his figure that was small in comparison to the bear''s.


    Ren froze in fear.


    ''Shit. Shitshitshitshitshit!''


    The bear opened its mouth and revealed a set of sharp white teeth. "Hey, you okay, kid?"


    All thoughts in Ren''s mind came to a halt and his eyes grew round.


    .


    .


    .


    Did the bear just talk?