ã€ŠI Became a Superhuman in Another Worldã€‹


 1.1 - A Frightful New Beginning

    Nobody had planned for the horrific event on April 26th. The midday sun glistened on the receding, dew-covered grass, whilst metallic shrapnel and chunks litter the ground that came into view. Screams overtook the sounds of nature as creaking metal settled. The stench that filled the air was enough to make people squeamish, but it was not the smell commonly known as blood. The foul, oily smell filtered through the crisp air and blocked out the smell of burnt flesh.

    The beginning of the path that led to a young boy¡¯s fate is now in his own hands. The news would later report this being the first time only a single person had died in such a monumental event. On a train with no less than seven hundred and thirteen passengers on it at rush hour. Now then, I bet you''re wondering, how did it all come to this?

    Let¡¯s roll it back a few hours before this scene plays out. Let¡¯s say¡­ five hours? No, that¡¯s too far. He wouldn¡¯t be awake then. Let¡¯s go back about¡­ two hours? Looks like he¡¯s just waking up. Let¡¯s see how the young man lost his life in this world.

    < # # # >

    The blaring of a horn in a musical tone suddenly filled the room. A low, bassy rumble softly echoed from the bed, as a slowly moving limb stretched out, searching for the noise. After a few attempts, a lazy thump silenced the loud noise, which was replaced by gentle chirps, squawks, and distant rumbles of car engines.

    The arm, which had quickly retreated to the warmth of the duvet, belonged to that of a relatively young, twenty-three-year-old Reiki Honoka. A new rumble filled the room, followed by a face slowly peeling itself from the page of a comic. The tired look he wore could probably be from his late-night antics, but that wasn¡¯t the case this time.

    ¡®Ughhhhh¡­ Why did I stay up so damned late last night?¡¯ He mumbled, gently covering his face with his hands as he stifled a yawn.

    Groggily, he heaved his body out of the bed and dragged his feet towards his clothes drawer before heading to the bathroom. Just like anyone else, he hated early starts. But today? Today was an exception. Reiki was, for one of the rarest times in his life, excited for this very day.

    ¡®Reiki! Get up!¡¯ Came a voice from outside. That was his sister.

    ¡®Nngh¡­ I¡¯m up. Gimme a mi¡ª¡¯

    ¡®Or I¡¯ll eat your breakfast I made for you!¡¯ She interrupted his tired, groan-filled reply, followed his deeper, louder groan making it¡¯s way down the stairs.

    ¡®Come on, let me shower first, Hayley!¡¯ He exclaimed once he¡¯d finished showering and had arrived downstairs in his clothes.

    His sister was Halea Honoka. She was just over a year older than him, worked hard at her job and preferred to use her English-given name of ¡°Hayley¡±. She didn¡¯t have a model¡¯s level of physique, but she was a beauty who bagged herself a handsome partner.

    Even though he was excited about his first day at college, he was still afraid of his sister¡¯s determination to make his days feel awful. Despite living at his sister¡¯s family residence, he was looking forward to living on his own at the university. Sure, he was a bit of a shut-in, but his sister did her best to get him to experience the outside world from time to time, and it looked like that was about to pay off.

    Today was no different either. But at least his hopes were high for probably the first time in his life.

    < # # # >

    The rest of his morning continued slowly. However, his sister was still rather annoying to the extent that she was almost constantly teasing him or invading his body space every few minutes. He knew that he was the younger brother that she was being protective of, and possibly still not ready to accept that he got the grades for university, and yet he couldn¡¯t help but wish he could get on campus sooner to avoid her overbearing behaviour.

    The traffic was immense, but that¡¯s what they got for taking the bus to the train station. He knew that Halea could be overbearing at times, but he dealt with it by hanging out with her husband. They didn¡¯t talk much, but when it came to hobbies, the two of them bonded pretty quickly in the first month they spent together.

    Now, I bet you¡¯re wondering ¡°Wait, why is he living with his sister?¡±... Here¡¯s where her overprotective nature makes more sense. After their mother was caught in the middle of a hit-and-run, she managed to survive long enough to get to a hospital, but her injuries were too severe to save her. Reiki had spent the best part of a month crying over the fact he¡¯d not told his mother that he wished he¡¯d been there for her.

    Then a few months later, after her funeral, their father got sentenced to fifty years of jail time for drinking and driving whilst on a supposed job and causing about five thousand dollars in damage and running an overloaded family vehicle off a road and into a river. It was then that Halea decided that she¡¯d take her brother under her wing and support him enough that he¡¯d be able to get through the trauma they both shared.

    Halea¡¯s eyebrows raised and she stopped babbling about something she had no interest in when Reiki had unknowingly shifted his head to lean against her. He¡¯d just been thinking of his mother and how kind she was when she was one of the most active members of their local community. His sister just sat there quietly and gently wrapped an arm around his shoulders as a soft rumble came from his mouth. This was going to be a long ride if the traffic was going to keep moving at a snail¡¯s pace.

    A loud ¡®di-ding¡¯ chimed inside the bus, followed by a brief announcement that made Reiki snap his head back upright, a soft glow that looked unwanted on his cheeks. He looked to his right, trying to hide his face from his sister, who¡¯d just cuddled him for pretty much the entire journey. All he could do was mumble through his broken facade.

    ¡®Uh, you didn''t see anything, right?¡¯ He asked quietly.

    ¡®Nope. I didn¡¯t see anything. Just rest and I¡¯ll wake you when we get there.¡¯ She chirped softly, her lips gently turning up as her eyes softened. ¡®Looks like it¡¯ll be a long trip. Hope the train won¡¯t arrive or leave too early¡­¡¯ She added, as she started to babble about his future, which left him to disappear into his daydreams once again.

    Despite having a rather average build himself, excluding the fatherly pot-belly stereotype, his sister was a lady with a rare eye-catching physique. One which often caused her to get a few looks now and then, but most of her friends managed to get their community to help out after they heard of their issues with their father.

    Moving on from his thoughts of the past, he was looking forward to seeing what his future held and prayed that his mother was looking down on him from above. Just picturing her left him with a mental image of her reaching her arms out for a hug and smiling proudly at him.

    Without realising it, some of his future classmates were on the same bus, heading to the same train station that he would be taking to the university he¡¯d been accepted to. Luckily the train wasn¡¯t early, or on time. By the time their bus arrived, they were about twenty minutes late for the train.

    At first glance, they thought he¡¯d missed the train, but it seemed like there were so many other young adults like Reiki, that the trains were being delayed by how many new students were arriving and how much luggage they were bringing. This station could be considered the ¡°Capital of Student Travels¡± of all the students that get on and get off at it.

    Reiki felt shock travel down his spine when he saw how many new people were going to their shared university. Something didn¡¯t feel right to him, but he pushed those thoughts away and decided to let them drift to happier ones as he eventually got on his designated train. Albeit a rather late one with walls of bodies lined up so close to the closing doors. One that out of pure chance snaked its way through the countryside and almost directly in front of the campus itself.

    < # # # >

    As he spent most of the first hour of the trip watching the countryside fly past, his thoughts drifted slowly. Between thoughts of how his sister knew that he could do it and that he could improve and make lots of friends. She was looking forward to seeing him at the end of the year with a group of friends she could trust to keep him busy, focused and distracted. Especially from those same thoughts that she burdens herself with, to stop him from falling prey to his anxiety demons.

    No sooner than the train had sped off, did a black Mercedes with a vivid red stripe down one side take his sister home. He knew her husband¡¯s car just from a first glance as the train had left the station. Nobody in their neighbourhood had the same car. Who would figure, that out of everybody for his sister to date, it had to be the guy whose garage-built, low-budget Kickstarter project would blow up to be revolutionary and put him into the celebrity spotlight?

    It was going to be a long journey, but having a panic attack at the start of the ride was probably not a good idea. The train somehow managed to hit a bump in the tracks just hard enough that the volume of passengers in his carriage mostly lost their balance and like a chain reaction, proceeded to bump into each other.

    ¡®Ow, Hey...¡¯ A sudden voice called out, snapping him from his thoughts. Right before the source briefly fell backwards onto his leg then stood back up.

    ¡®Sorry lady, but the train¡¯s packed.¡¯ A gruff yet gentle voice replied. ¡®I¡¯m sorry for the knock and stepping on your foot, but we both know you¡¯re not the only one to have had such an experience. The most I could do for now is apologise for it.¡¯

    Reiki¡¯s face had taken on a slightly rosy hue after that brief interaction, but stayed quiet. The girl accepted his apology and turned to face the sitting Reiki.

    ¡®Sorry for falling onto you.¡¯ She stuttered, her face taking on a slightly stronger hue than his.

    ¡®It¨C it¡¯s fine.¡¯ He replied, the colour slowly draining from his face.

    ¡®Hey, are you going to Fenwick University?¡¯ She asked him.

    ¡®Uh, yeah.¡¯ He replied, patting his wheeled suitcase.

    They traded numbers and contact details once they discovered they were not only taking the same course, but staying in the same dorm building as well. The next hour and a half were used for silently messaging and learning that they were both quiet and introverted. They jointedly decided to lean on each other during their time at the university. As well as talking about other things as well.

    The train had just started to enter the city districts of Fenwick when the carriage started to pick up speed instead of slowing down and was suddenly lit with heavy orange light. The sound of mindless chatter stopped for a few seconds, then changed into a deluge of panic and screams as the train started rocking hazardously on the tracks. It didn¡¯t take too much thought to recognise that something was wrong.

    Extremely wrong.

    The jolting of his carriage, the panicked yelling of the girl he¡¯d made friends with, the increased screeching of the train along the tracks. It all started to hit home what was happening. His heart started to race, his hearing started to ring loudly, and his palms and face started to bead with sweat. Despite making no noise himself, the sound of metal scraping on metal made a nauseous chill rush up his entire body.

    Without a second thought, Reiki tried to stand, but a hand pushed against his chest a bit too harshly and at that exact moment¡­

    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    The train derailed.

    < # # # >

    His life didn¡¯t flash before his eyes like articles said they would, but instead, he saw blurry, flickering orange pillars fill his vision. He blinked a few times, then started to feel extreme pain in his chest and legs, but nothing in his right arm. As he attempted to get into a crawling position, he stopped and stared at where his right arm should''ve been.

    Instead, he simply found himself looking at nothing more than a heavily damaged stump where his bicep should have been. The sudden register of a high-pitched ringing in his ears seemed to override the scream that came from his throat. He attempted to look around but found himself with large, badly cut shards of metal that stuck out from the rest of his body.

    As he stared blankly, he barely noticed someone attempt to pull the shards from his body. He could immediately tell he was dying and he didn¡¯t want to see his mother this early. She wouldn¡¯t have wanted this. He realised that that shock from earlier could have been a sign that he was not supposed to have gotten on the train, but it was too late now.

    ¡®I guess it¡¯s too late for me now.¡¯ He thought, as his vision, senses and someone¡¯s screaming faded off into the background.

    It didn¡¯t take long, but he did feel a sense of serenity when his eyes suddenly got filled with a flash of silver light. Or what felt like silver light.

    ¡®That¡¯s impossible. I thought I was dead?¡¯ He thought to himself.

    Scrunching his nose and tightening his eyes, he felt himself getting gently lifted as if he was as light as a cloud. Then voices started conversing in a concerted manner around him as he felt himself being rested on a luxuriously soft surface. That¡¯s when he felt his right arm had returned to his right-hand side. His body didn¡¯t hurt either. It was like he was in a world of blissful pleasure.

    Focusing on the voices without opening his eyes, they spoke in a language he hadn¡¯t heard before. It wasn¡¯t English or his mother¡¯s native language of Japanese. Nor was it a language he could recognise.

    ¡®Deos, agu hol va nivelei houm aval?¡¯ Came a warm, masculine voice. His gentle baritones soothed even Reiki¡¯s suddenly raised anxiety.

    ¡®Eisa va, bi fora deto, Solu. Agu hol sei no vyi deto lin houm. Devo asa, Gea?¡¯ Replied another baritone voice. This one had some subtle signs of a higher authority to the other guy.

    ¡®Eisa koku, Deos. Deso ei venheim?¡¯ Came a refreshingly high voice, almost like church bells mixed with undefinable elegance.

    ¡®Nei, Gea. Deos di neo houm hol. Deimo, des wouka.¡¯ Replied the voice that had been called Deos, who¡¯d been replying to the voice belonging to whomever Gea was.

    The words sounded so foreign to Reiki, but he felt that they noticed he was awake. After opening his eyes, he quickly had to shut them again when the light that enveloped the bodies threatened to burn his eyes out. However, he felt no pain from the light. A surprised gasp came from the host of the female voice when he finally opened his eyes and ignored the feeling of what he could only call divine pressure washing through him.

    Before him stood three figures; one surrounded in white light with silver strands waving around, one warm red light with fewer yellow strands and the last in soft green light with only two brown, almost maroon-coloured strands.

    ¡®... Hi?¡¯ He stuttered, weakly raising a hand.

    Out of everything he could ask, he suddenly felt embarrassed beyond belief at the informal introduction with a hesitantly raised hand. The deity with the strongest glow reached out and briefly touched his forehead. He felt an awkward buzzing in his head just before his mind felt dizzy which left him feeling a little queasy afterwards.

    ¡®So sorry about that, we hope you can understand us now.¡¯ Spoke the strongest glowing deity after Reiki¡¯s senses stabilised, which had left him crouched low, down on his knees and elbows, on the non-existent yet existing floor.

    The one with the white light looked at him, bent down a little and held out a hand. Not acting hesitant anymore, Reiki reached out and grabbed his hand. He was promptly returned to his feet.

    ¡®I¡¯m sorry that you didn¡¯t survive that little accident. I tried to save everybody, but you were the only fatality. You see¡­¡¯

    Reiki just looked at the person before him, confusion slowly spreading across his face, from his eyes to his expression.

    ¡®What do you mean?¡¯ he asked.

    ¡®Well¡­ It was part of a bet that was to demonstrate that I¡¯m not all that miraculous of a God,¡¯ replied Deos.

    His eyes shot open at the word of ¡°God¡±.

    ¡®Wait, you¡¯re¡­ why are there three of you? Are you actual Deities that stand before me?! I thought they were just fictionalised from religious beliefs!¡¯

    ¡®Good question. I don¡¯t even know why ther¡ª Anyway, we need to make sure you¡¯re okay with knowing that we¡¯re indeed real and not figments of imagination or anything.¡¯

    ¡®Okay. I¡¯m going to guess that this has something to do with my death?¡¯

    As he subconsciously prodded at the places where he¡¯d been impaled, all three of the Gods nodded in sync. The other two who now sat at a table that wasn¡¯t there just a few seconds ago started idle chatting whilst the current Deity was preoccupied with Reiki.

    ¡®I¡¯m fine with whatever you¡¯re going to give or tell me. But please, give my sister a sign that I¡¯m okay. Despite feeling clingy at times, she has been a lovely sister and I wouldn¡¯t trade anything in the world for her safety. Could you do something, like a sign from something around her falling, or something to remind her of me when she starts daydreaming, or when she looks up a flock of birds appear in the shape of a midd¨C¡¯

    ¡®Okay, fine, I¡¯ll send your sister some sign that isn¡¯t so obvious as to what your last request was going to be.¡¯ Deos sighed.

    Despite the atmosphere around the two of them, the Goddess who¡¯d overheard struggled to stifle a laugh at the imagery Reiki had given her. This caused the main God''s left eyebrow to start twitching so the young man decided to hold back his comments just to let the God before him finish talking.

    He was aware enough to quickly realise the Deity before him had no harm or threat in his words. It felt more like he was amused and was near perfect at hiding it.

    ¡®Right, ahem.¡¯ He coughed.

    ¡®Oh?¡¯

    ¡®It seems like we¡¯ll need to introduce ourselves. Probably starting with the God who thought it was a good idea to bet on saving everybody on that train from your world.¡¯

    Reiki shook his head and then slapped his cheeks, looking forward to learning their names.

    ¡®I¡¯m Reiki Honoka, well, my real name is Reiki-naki, but my family and close friends call me Reiki whilst my online friends know me as James Gourde... You probably didn¡¯t need to know that last bit.¡¯ He replied, rubbing the back of his head out of habit, which got the others to chuckle warmly.

    ¡®Haha, it¡¯s fine, young boy. If we¡¯re introducing ourselves, my name is Solu, and I¡¯m the Sun God. I¡¯m the other one who bet that he couldn¡¯t save everyone.¡¯ He pointed jokingly at Deos, his older, much wiser friend. ¡®The one you¡¯re talking to there is Deos and the goddess before you is Gea, the Earth Goddess.¡¯

    ¡®Nice to meet you? So, what¡¯s the plan now? Seeing how I¡¯ve reached my untimely demise, I don¡¯t think I could last much longer... Mentally that is.¡¯ Rubbing his forehead with his fingers, he focused on keeping a weird headache from forming. ¡®...I might start to think this is a hallucination or something soon.¡¯ He added under his breath, as he tried to chuckle away his worries.

    ¡®Okay then. One thing that surprises me, is that you''re the first person we¡¯ve met here who hasn¡¯t lost their mind upon meeting at least one of us, let alone three.¡¯ Gea replied, summoning another fresh cup of mint tea.

    Reiki was expecting something to happen, but as time went by, nothing happened and Reiki got his hopes up for nothing. It only took a few relatively long minutes, which felt like hours to Reiki, for a golden light to suddenly emit brightly from the floor and spread out into shapes and symbols unknown to Reiki and got so bright he had to cover his eyes.

    ¡®Guess I¡¯m just lucky then.¡¯ Reiki replied, his lips quivering as he joked. His predicament.

    ¡®Oh, where are my manners? Reiki-kun, come sit down with us.¡¯ She gestured with her hand in a ¡®come hither¡± motion, which also created another chair around the round table. ¡®It¡¯s poor manners to leave people standing you two.¡¯

    ¡®Sorry Gea.¡¯/¡®Condolences, my lady.¡¯ Deos and Solu spoke simultaneously, Solu bowing in a pose similar to Reiki¡¯s memory of how the Japanese bowed.

    ¡®It¡¯s all right boys.¡¯ She brought a hand to her face to stifle a small snicker. ¡®Now, unfortunately, we can¡¯t send you back to your work, but there is an alternative, but I can¡¯t perform the ritual for it. Deos, could you call on Kaeo for me?¡¯

    ¡®Oh, sure. Shouldn¡¯t be too hard to get him to ¡°summon¡± himself to us.¡¯ Deos replied sarcastically.

    Deos whipped his hand through the air a few times, a trail of some golden ether flowing from his palm, then a golden ball blipped briefly when he snapped his fingers

    When the light simmered down, Reiki uncovered his eyes from the golden light and heard a voice coming from where it had just been.

    ¡®¡ªnd this is the reason why I need more of a forewarning when you say that you need my help!¡¯ Came the voice, soft yet authoritative. ¡®Oh... Right... I see. You¡¯d like me to attempt sending his soul to that world?¡¯

    A stern look fell upon Deos¡¯ pained expression, which cause a bead of sweat to comically drip down the side of the newly arrived God¡¯s face.

    ¡®Kidding! I¡¯m kidding! I briefly read that bit about him being the casualty of a bet, but to be the only casualty is a testament to that crazy amount of power you have.¡¯ He bowed to Deos, as if out of respect for his powers, despite having His limits.

    It didn¡¯t take him long to join the group at the table, pulling out a chair that hadn¡¯t been there previously. It appeared in the same way as Reiki¡¯s current chair, but this time with a noticeable, dark red flame that seemed to flow like liquid from out of nowhere. It was warping and twisting around as if it was made from a liquid fire until it vanished and a solid, pearlescent white chair replaced where the fire just was. The situation suddenly dawned on young Reiki that he was indeed dead in his world now.

    ¡®Right... Let¡¯s get you ready for this New Earth of yours. Not to worry, they essentially have the same days, months, years et cetera and also call it Earth, so you¡¯re good there.¡¯ As soon as he eagerly clapped his hands together, a sudden rush of wind billowed around Reiki.

    ¡®Wait, don¡¯t I need a new identity or something before I go? That¡¯s what I read in all those mangas about characters reincarnating!¡¯ Reiki panicked, before a gentle hand rated on his shoulder.

    ¡®If you''d like to live under an alias, that''s for you to decide. After all, we aren''t always able to do what everyone believes we can do. Deos is a good example of this.¡¯ Turning his head, he looked at Gea and her soft smile whilst her head was surrounded by oddly floating but relaxing shapes and colours. ¡®Even so, what name were you thinking of using?¡¯ She added, with an openly curious interest..

    ¡®Well, I''m normally a bit of an emotional shut-in, so I''ve been using the personality of a character I''ve used in an online roleplaying game whilst speaking with everyone here. His name is, uh, well was James Gourde.¡¯ He replied, habitually scratching the back of his head. ¡®But now, well, I might just stick with my real name.¡¯

    Smiling, Gea uses her finger to trace a few lines with a minty-green coloured trail that formed a few small circles, each imploding into a ball of light in her palm. Reiki, no, James couldn''t hear the words over the sudden increase in the sound of the column of wind rushing past his ears, but he knew it was probably a gift being blessed onto him. Just before he left, all three seated Gods waved goodbye to him as his vision was blinded.

    ¡®Well, I guess this is it.¡¯ He thought, as an odd feeling entered his chest and his vision suddenly went completely dark.

    This was the new beginning of his journey into another world. But it wasn¡¯t what he was planning it to be. Anything going through his mind now felt foggy, as if waking up from a dream. His body felt like it was as light as air, drifting in the vast void around him. An odd pressure around him flowed like the surface of a soft, cotton duvet fluffed to almost absolute perfection.

    For young Reiki, he couldn¡¯t describe in words how relaxing and freeing it felt to be in this void of pleasure until a brief spark lit up the vast, comfortable blackness around him like fireworks had gone off all around him.

    At the same time, sparks flew not just in his vision, but in his mind as he reflected that this was the last time he would ever have a connection to the world he was once a part of. His last wishful thought, making what felt like his facial features stretch out and his cheeks heat up, left a fuzzy feeling where he felt his chest was.

    Not so much a buzz, but a warmth that slowly spread through his body in his mind''s eye. The thought?

    ¡®I hope my sister gets the sign that I¡¯m okay.¡¯

 1.2 - An Unusual Arrival

    That unwanted rush of falling uncontrollably in a dream is always a horrible thing. The same couldn¡¯t be said for James, who was curled up like a napping cat on the side of a very worn, but well-kept road. Around his body, leaves tossed and turned in the air currents. The gentle and shallow rising and falling of his chest matched a leaf, as it swung in the air, spiralled for a few seconds then came to rest on his cheek.

    As he came to, he squinted groggily, then reached up and gently flicked the leaf off his cheek with a flick of his wrist. Slowly opening his eyes, he was expecting to find himself back in a hospital and all that had been a dream. However, picking up the leaf he¡¯d touched, he realised that it was all too real.

    He was in another world.

    < # # # >

    It hadn¡¯t even been a few minutes when he¡¯d found himself pacing around aimlessly beside an oak tree larger than one he¡¯d ever seen before. It felt as wide as a bus and whenever he dared to look up every few seconds, it gave him vertigo. His hair, now sunset ginger instead of dark brown, was scrunched up in his hands as he gritted his teeth.

    ¡®What way do I go?! What if I stumble across some clich¨¦ event? What do I -¡¯

    His thoughts pretty much followed a familiar character¡¯s inner monologue, but he was so deep in thought that he almost missed the vehicle coming up the worn-down, underdeveloped road; a carriage pulled by a four-armed, four-legged creature he¡¯d never seen before. The creature''s legs protruded at weird but seemingly natural angles as it sped towards him.

    Without thinking, he tried to run but in the process of turning, it only took a few steps before he tripped up over a large, fallen branch. In the process of tripping, he stains his clothing with a few patches and smears of mud and grass as he uncontrollably rolled under a thick bush. Staying still, his heart started beating quickly, beads of sweat slowly moving down his face as his body temperature started raising, yet he felt an increasing gust of cold washing over his skin.

    It got even worse when he heard two gravelly, almost bass-boosted voices reverberating around him.

    ¡®Hey, kid where¡¯d you come from?!¡¯

    ¡®Who you talking to Rapheus? I don¡¯t see any lowly scum out here.¡¯

    ¡®I swears I saw someone, Freuk. They must be in this hawth bush.¡¯

    A bead of sweat dripped from his chin, creating a quiet but audible ¡°ploip¡± into a small puddle under him. Hoping it wasn¡¯t loud enough, he let out a breath of air he didn¡¯t know he¡¯d been holding. Unfortunately, letting his guard down was a mistake. Within less than two seconds, the bush above him was yanked to the side and a bag was placed over his head.

    ¡®GOTCHA you son of a b- OOFOWW! You broke by bose!¡¯

    Reiki had instinctively thrown his head backwards, and in the process managed to break his capturer''s nose. However, this only encouraged the other man to get down from his seat on their carriage and grabbed him by the arms, his grip like a vice. He couldn¡¯t see anything, but he felt the slam of his body against a hard surface followed by the sound of metallic clinks and clanks.

    ¡®...are you okay?¡¯

    A gentle voice called out to him. It felt out of place to him, but the alluring voice calmed him down. Just a little, but enough to stop him from panicking. The bag that had been covering his head was removed, and a young face was looking down at him, her eyebrows furrowed and covered in a few splatters of mud. and dressed in a torn dress.

    Flecks of pink and white tried to show through the ragged seams near the bottom of the dress, yet most of the dress was torn and ripped. Ragged and mud-stained hair hung from her head, clumped haphazardly together. A few scars and scratches were mostly visible on her exposed arms.

    ¡®I¡¯m okay. Thank you for removing the bag.¡¯

    ¡®It¡¯s no problem. I just hope that we don¡¯t travel too far. We''re all pretty much kidnapped you see.¡¯

    Flags went off in the boy''s head, the ride getting bouncier now and then, shaking him around as he struggled to sit normally. Whilst in the back of the old carriage, the time passed quickly, as the sky had done two full cycles and the driver and his assistant had managed to snatch up two more young children. Two males to be exact.

    After a while, the road, or what could almost be called a road, suddenly turned away from the increasingly backed-up main road and the barely awakened Reiki began to watch as the road turned into a small track with two lines of dirt surrounded by dense trees and bushes.

    ¡®Where are we going?¡¯

    A bead of sweat rolled down his cold cheek, his mind jolting awake from the sudden rocking and banging the carriage was experiencing off the main road.

    ¡®I don¡¯t know. I¡¯ve never been this way before. I know roughly where we are, but I¡¯d remember if this was a route I¡¯ve been on before or not.¡¯

    It was the same girl from earlier. A few groans and grunts of pain from around him suggested that some of the people in the back with him required medical help. One child suddenly fell onto the cold, wooden floor of the carriage. The sickening thud of his head bouncing now and then caused an older girl to gasp over the sound of the struggling children.

    As he looked up at the rest of the children, all dressed in poorly maintained clothing and some even with patches of red in places, he finally saw the girl who stopped his head from banging on the floor.

    ¡®No, Callam! Not now! No! Please! Please wake up!¡¯

    She wailed, tears flowing profusely down her cheeks as she cradled his head and body close to her chest, her hair draped over her shoulder on one side and the other with a short and badly made pigtail holding her hair up. The boy had gone from groaning to shallow breathing.

    ¡®OI! What¡¯s all the ruckus back there?¡¯

    ¡®It¡¯s nothing.¡¯

    The young girl who¡¯d taken the bag off his head replied almost instantly. The carriage came to a stop and the girl shifted and shuffled her butt to make her way over beside him. But Reiki wasn¡¯t having any of it. He immediately got up, his back no longer awkwardly leaning against his bound hands. Unbeknownst to Reiki, his hands appeared to blur rapidly and randomly as he got up shakily to his feet and crawled towards the unconscious boy.

    ¡®Here, let me take care of that for you.¡¯

    ¡®But your ha¡ª HEH?!¡¯

    Without even realising it, Reiki had forgotten his hands were tied up and instead they were both checking over the young boy''s head, carefully sliding to check for a bump. Rope free. Two muffled gasps came from behind him, but he paid no attention as he started to gently press the boy''s chest. A repetition of a few pumps of pressure followed by him leaning down, mouth to ear, went on as the cart slowed to a crawl.

    The sound of slurping and squelching echoed into the back of the carriage, the two kidnappers shovelling around the carriage as the patter on the roofing started to increase in volume when the boy''s pale blue skin erubesced.

    ¡®Phew¡­ Close one.¡¯

    ¡®...¡¯

    ¡®... What?¡¯

    The sudden silence, not an awkward one, left him feeling embarrassed. A soft glow on his cheeks and a skittish movement to his eyes, combined with a hug of his knees, caused the eyes of the young beauty who spoke to sparkle through her crusty mud-covered face.

    Without any thought, she grasped him from behind and rested her chin on his shoulder. A gentle sigh of relief escaped her lips as the corners turned up. The carriage started moving again once the pattering of rain started to ease. In the following twenty minutes, Reiki had started to open up to the rest of the boys and girls in the carriage, finding out they range from thirteen to seventeen years of age.

    ¡®I hope my father is putting a search out for me.¡¯

    ¡®I¡¯m just glad nobody else has had any issues besides a few bumps and bruises.¡¯

    He flicked a piece of wood towards the tarp roof, where a small puddle rippled, then eventually slid off when they hit a bump again.

    ¡®Curse that sudden downpour. It messed up our schedule. We¡¯re already ten minutes late!¡¯

    ¡®Don¡¯t have to tell me twice. We had to dig out the parts that sunk into thick mud too.¡¯

    The two kidnappers grumbled their hatred for their job but still kept quiet as they trudged towards the city¡¯s secret gateway. Reiki had allowed the girl who¡¯d been compassionate to fall asleep on his shoulder as they trundled onto a badly built stone-brick road. The inside rumbled from the surface change, but they didn¡¯t rock and bounce like earlier. The rain had stopped and the inside briefly dimmed as they made their way under the thick walls.

    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

    A muffled conversation started at the carriage slowed to a stop, and then the carriage shifted shoddily as the two men stepped off. The view out the back, through some metal bars, showed the gate get a faint, deep green glow before it mysteriously shifted and dissolved. As if it was never there in the first place.

    As Reiki shifted his focus on the muffled voices, their conversation appeared to have introduced a third, and maybe a fourth voice. Out of nowhere, a face with a smile that almost reached from ear to ear and a scar from forehead to under their chin peered in from the top of the tarp covering everyone.

    ¡®Ooh! Lookie what we have here! More slaves for us to sell!¡¯ A jarring laugh came from his throat as a glint appeared in his eyes.

    Without warning, the metal door swung open and the man quickly swung into the carriage. Everyone that was still awake from the trip backed away in fear at his stance, his broad shoulders and straight back tied with his devilish grin. His eyes darted around, looking between the kids as they huddled in groups of two or three. Some scrambled backwards, some burst into silent tears. The reactions were varied, but expelled one clear emotion; fear.

    ''Who... Who the hell i¡ª?!¡¯

    A voice rang out from beyond the gently wafting tarp.

    ¡®Oi, Bruckel, get outta there! You¡¯ll ruin the merchandise!¡¯

    The gruff voice made everyone flinch and leave the back in a similar way to how he entered. Reiki wanted to sucker punch him so badly, but after seeing the wall return to normal and hearing the number of voices around them. He didn¡¯t want to risk his chances until he got an open window. After all, how was he to know he¡¯d be caught up in an illegal slave trade ring, along with seventeen other teenagers?

    ¡®I need to find a way out of here fast, but what should I do with this girl who¡¯s grown attached to me? I bet they weren¡¯t expecting me to ¡¯ He thought as he found himself sitting with his hands hugged around his legs, and his chin positioned on top of his knees.

    A gentle breath of air slowly washed over the left side of his neck, coming from the direction of her head resting carelessly. They shared a cloth so thin, that he could barely keep enough warmth to himself. Especially with the girl sharing it with him. After waiting in the foul-smelling carriage, with the torn-up wood covering, it wasn¡¯t even less than an hour later when the carriage ground to a halt, and bags made from a strange material to stop any light from entering them were harshly placed on all their heads.

    Someone had shoved him, but he couldn¡¯t hear a thing. As he focused on his surroundings through his other senses, he instantly got a strange feeling tingling across his entire body that washed from his head and hands down to his feet and almost as if it flowed into the floor. Almost like his sense of touch briefly expanding from his immediate surroundings.

    But the moment didn¡¯t last. As soon as he¡¯d even sensed his surroundings in such clear detail, that feeling vanished.

    ¡®Oi, move it. We¡¯re not being paid for those that stand around doing something fishy!¡¯

    ¡®Ironic much?¡¯ Reiki thought, then proceeded to mentally scheme a way out of the place whilst considering taking the girl with him.

    Upon being shoved onto a floor, the cover over his head was yoinked free from his head. Finally looking around the room, he initially noticed smears of dirt across the unevenly tiled floor and numerous patches of mould between the bricks on the badly built walls. The room had lots of space, but that¡¯s when he noticed four of the kids on the ride with him.

    ¡®Hey, mister.¡¯

    He turned his head in the rough direction the reverberating whisper carried from. There were three young girls and two young boys all huddled in a corner. The voice was very young and was higher pitched than any of the boys in the room. It was a hard time for him to realise it was the same sick boy from the carriage ride that was clinging to the older girl, the one who¡¯d spoken.

    ¡®Thank you for saving my younger brother earlier. He has Blue Skin Syndrome. Not many people know how to reduce it the way you did.¡¯

    ¡®Don¡¯t mention it. Anyway, where are we?¡¯

    ¡®We¡¯re either in Hibel or Froes¨¦. At least one of their minor areas, I think.¡¯

    His eyes expanded a little, glinting slightly from the brightly lit torch on the wall outside the cell. His eyes shifted to the left slightly. The voice carried a yawn and a soft, yearning calmness to it that he recognised from the ride into he can now confirm was a city of some sort.

    ¡®Hee-bell? Froze? What types of city names are those? Anyway, wait, is she¡ª?¡¯

    His thoughts were interrupted as his gaze rested on the girl who¡¯d been resting against him earlier that day. He immediately forgot about the city names, and after getting a good look at her, his heart felt like it was beating loudly in his ears. Not the odd illness kind, but the kind that left him with erubescent cheeks and a slightly fluttery feeling in his chest.

    ¡®Oh, okay then. Well, if it helps, I¡¯ve kinda been orphaned just before I was captured. My parents kinda died after a dog-like monster attacked and I got away strangely unscathed. I¡¯d been walking for ages before I was kidnapped.¡¯

    He had pretty much lied to everyone in the room, not even a bead of sweat appearing as he lied about his situation. Having said his part, something in his vision blipped up. For a few seconds, he just stared at the floating, green menu before him.

    ¡®¡­ wait, I¡¯ve heard of this trope. Is this an RPG hud?!¡¯

    The menu before him displayed a fuzzy window, angled down by his left side. A glitchy outline started to shift, the symbols and shapes within it shifting around until it resembled something startlingly similar to English. A quick raise of his gaze to check the room confirmed to him that the menu was only visible to him before he return his gaze to a better-focused message box.

    [ Congratulations! You¡¯ve created your backstory! ]

    [ Would you like to view your stats? (Y/N) ]

    He didn¡¯t know how magic worked in this world and he could hear footsteps coming closer to the cell. He quickly flicked two fingers hidden behind his legs, as if swiping at something that was there, and the menu slid to the other side of him. When he snuck out his index finger to tap the yes button, it vanished in a puff of digital, glitch-filtered glass shards, then reformed into a bigger panel that displayed his personal statistics.

    His eyes grew a gentle glint of appreciation at the stats he could see. Despite them mainly being blank, some displayed interesting base statistics for his current condition.

    [ PROFILE ]

    [ NAME - Reiki Honoka ]

    [ ALIAS - N/A ]

    [ AGE - 17 ]

    [ PROFESSION - N/A, N/A ]

    [ STATUS - Kidnapped ]

    [ LEVEL - 1 ]

    [ SKILLS ]

    [ Active Skills ]

    Unknown - Lv. 1 | N/A - Lv. 0

    [//ERROR//]

    [//ERROR//]

    [ Passive Skills ]

    N/A - Lv. 0 | Translation - Lv. 1

    Analysis - Lv. 1

    Leveller - Lv. ¡Þ

    He tapped the air, closing the panel, as he pondered what most of it meant. Right as it closed, a high-pitched yell came from a girl who¡¯d just been grabbed by a guy with muscles that were pulsating strongly as they moved and flexed.

    ¡®I don¡¯t want to get on his bad side.¡¯

    Just as he started to look away from the helpless struggle, his mind did a double take on the image of the girl''s face. His eyes widened as he watched her being dragged away, a soft thumping increased in volume in his ears yet the sound of her struggling breath, albeit muffled and the ragged huffing of the guy who dragged her off was crystal clear whenever he closed his eyes.

    He closed the stats window as he began to formulate a plan. Running out of time became a real risk now. He wished he could run away from this place. The start of his new reality couldn¡¯t have been made any worse than an immediate kidnapping. A quiet cacophony of young voices flittered around the cell.

    ¡®I wanna go back to mommy.¡¯

    ¡®Shush, they¡¯ll hear you!¡¯

    ¡®I don¡¯t feel safe here.¡¯

    ¡®I hope that girl they took is okay. Something felt a little off with her today.¡¯

    Some of the kids in the room started to worry about being in a room that started to stink similar to that of a body that hasn¡¯t been washed in weeks. Some were holding their noses as they tried to avoid throwing up at the stench surrounding them. Making up his mind, Reiki noticed a small patch of loose dirt in the centre of the room.

    ¡®I have a plan to get out, but this is my first attempt at escaping from a place like this so I won¡¯t be able to bring any of you along. So if you want to be able to see your families or friends again, please let me know you¡¯re ready to wait for the rescue.¡¯

    Some of the older kids nodded their heads as he started to describe his plan, using his pinkie finger to roughly sketch out an idea. The eldest girl in the room to him, a wolf-girl, was on the lookout in case they were to overhear his plan to escape. Turns out her race had an exceptional hearing ability and she desperately wanted to do anything to help out.

    A few times they almost got caught because she hadn¡¯t been paying attention, but Reiki managed to pull out lines from an Action-RPG or two that an online friend of his loved to play. Turns out that in this world, some seemed to work as distraction techniques. Waiting for the right moment to escape was going to take time and luckily, they all had nothing else to do.

    He hadn¡¯t told any of them about his RPG ability, which he desperately wanted to keep hidden. Without realising it this had unlocked his passive Hide Profile ability and after his initial surprise, levelled it up by two in the thought of hiding it from everyone in the room. In case someone could see his stats differently.

    ¡®Okay, it¡¯s time. Their schedule seems to have relaxed a little. I hope you can save that girl.¡¯

    ¡®I sure hope so. Promise me you¡¯ll keep the kids safe whilst I¡¯m gone.¡¯

    ¡®I shall. Don¡¯t forget us once we¡¯re free either, y¡¯got that?¡¯

    ¡®Yes, I¡¯ll make sure to find a way to keep in touch.¡¯

 1.3 - A Futile Escape

    The young girl he¡¯d conversed with soon revealed that her name was ¡°Sapphire Simona the Third¡± when she presented herself as the lookout. He¡¯d been taken aback at how similar her level of calm was to his, but hers was from the circumstances that lead her to be there with them. As waiting time progressed, she had also told him directly that she wasn¡¯t of any royalty, upon him asking her, but she was the third female in a row in her family to share the same name, hence the number.

    The others were well-versed in knowing this of the Beast-kin race, yet a little slip of surprise still appeared on his face when he found that out. Luckily, when he snuck out of the cubicle, he immediately went to work. As quickly as he possibly could, without making noise, he started heading in the direction he¡¯d been told she¡¯d gone. The floors were sticky underfoot since they took his shoes. His clothes had taken the trip with him to this world and he didn¡¯t expect them to only be interested in selling his sneakers.

    ¡®That¡¯ll be their downfall, as long as they can¡¯t sell them.¡¯

    Changing his focus, he had covered more than the distance necessary to figure out things on his own, but a nagging thought kept his doubt that he could find her in time. The sun was setting as he made it up a set of stairs after avoiding what he thought were two patrolling slave traders, and the dimly lit corner where the door opened worked to his advantage.

    Looking into the centre of the room, he noticed that the girl from earlier was either asleep or knocked unconscious and still fully dressed. A few bruises on her face to match a few new open areas in the already badly torn clothing she wore, but that seemed fair in comparison to where his mind had gone regarding the tropes he¡¯d read about back home. Looking at his stats window again, he found himself with some time to kill and found the window that displayed his agility, defence and strength stats.

    He was about to grab her and make a run for it when a heavy whumping sound resonated from the walls and heavily muffled yelling that was barely audible stimulated his ears with the deep tones. Dust trickled down from the exposed rafting, Once settled, after two gentler thumps that didn¡¯t expose as much dust, it had covered some of the objects in the room with a light dusting. After scanning the room, he¡¯d noticed the room looked like a closed-up blacksmith store with an unlit forge.

    ¡®I gotta get her outta here with me. This looks like an illegal setup hidden within a blacksmith.¡¯

    He was about to go and grab her when he saw a shadow being cast at the foot of the door. Instinctively, he froze, then quickly but quietly tried to climb up to the exposed beams above. Luckily, after finding his upgradable ability window just a few minutes prior

    ¡®Year after year, and we still don¡¯t have enough to buy a better safehouse?¡¯

    ¡®Beats me. Besides, at least we can repair our tools here, unlike in our last place. We should be grateful that the Boss found us this spot after all.¡¯

    Two new voices from below changed his focus from the girl to the two guys below. One was a chubby guy, his baritone voice keeping in sync with his appearance. His chin had a thick brown beard, yet his hair only started from his ears downwards. The other guy, a more average-looking human, had a creepy squeaking that affected his usual speech patterns. His higher-pitched voice tied in with his small eyes and his constant grinning, on one side of his face. These features suggested to him that he must have had some major event to leave his face in a permanent half-grin.

    ¡®I¡¯m gonna call him Smiles, and the other one Muscles.¡¯

    After waiting for what felt like an age to Reiki, it took them a while to take out some heavily damaged items and a few small bags that clunked like money when they landed on the table. He watched patiently, waiting for them to leave the room before he attempted stage two of his plan. Luckily, it seemed this room wasn¡¯t as run down as he thought and he could use that to his advantage.

    Smiles and Muscles had started to professionally work on the items. They often discussed a few interesting details that are vital to keeping them running. He found that a little odd, but kept as still and as quiet as possible in the rafting beams as they quickly fixed the tools. After a minute, a pure black crow appears with a roll of something in its beak. Muscles promptly stopped what he was doing and snatched the paper from the crow, reading it thoroughly.

    ¡®Hey, Sqeike.¡¯

    ¡®Yes, Argel?¡¯

    ¡®Could you come with me for a sec? There¡¯s a heavy crate that¡¯s just arrived for our package.¡¯

    ¡®Fine. I was hoping to sharpen my custom blades.¡¯

    Around a minute after they left, Reiki immediately dropped to the floor. As quietly as possible, he attempted to unchain the girl bound by the shackles that attached her to the chair. Looking back at the table, he noticed the weapon looked something like a Peshkabz; the hardy, robust-looking handle with dinks and dents and the blade battered, with a chipped tip as if used in a particularly difficult battle.

    After removing every shackle holding her down, he checked the girl over for anything serious. In his mind couldn¡¯t tell if she was either unconscious or sleeping until she started rousing. He sat her back down as she slowly lifted her head and looked around the room. It didn¡¯t take her long to realise her surroundings. However, as soon as she saw Reiki, her eyes went wide when she was about to talk.

    He quickly covered her mouth with two fingers and furrowed his brows and straightened his mouth, as he focused his gaze on her. He waited for her to calm down enough so that she would be able to nod in response.

    ¡®Can you be quiet for me?¡¯

    She simply nodded in response. Like she knew he was going to help get her out of there. She watched and followed him as they both steadily worked their way through the empty corridors. Occasionally checking rooms carefully for food and drinks if they were left open. They were nearly at the exit to the world beyond when a hand wrapped in a cloth clamped over the girl''s mouth and she let a loud yet muffled yelp escape.

    Before she could succumb to the weird smell that overpowered her nose and her senses, she managed to grasp the man''s arm and wrench it enough that she could get a message to Reiki:

    ¡®RUN! Forget about me, just RUN!¡¯

    ¡®I''ll be okay.¡¯ She expressed solely through her eyes. The determination shimmering in their glow of strength.

    At that very moment, everything seemed to slow down to just over half the speed it was moving previously. He stared at the girl, then the guy he missed. He had well-built arm muscles and big, muscular hands that stretched out from a patch of shadow.

    Whilst watching her slowly getting yanked backwards, he was about to set his resolve to save her, when the look in her eyes connected with his. It felt to Reiki as if she trusted him with her life. Feeling a wet surface slowly shift from his eyes, he turned and ran off.

    Unbeknownst to him, what the girl saw was him standing there one second, then a flash of bright, electric green light flashed as she succumbed to the darkness the smell was forcing her to go to. He ran until his brief spurt of energy caught up with his lack of nourishment. Despite searching for food earlier, they had found barely any to almost no scraps at all.

    ¡®I''ve gotta find someone to help me out! This place is a cesspool of illegal activity¡­ At least I sure hope it is.¡¯

    When he stopped to catch his breath, he noticed a man in pale blue armour with a wide longsword on his back. Beside him, was a woman who didn''t look a day over thirty in a purple and white outfit. The closest thing he could picture in similarity, from his time back home, was something akin to a kimono. The exception for this design had focused more on agility, and being battle ready.

    The first thing he noticed was the single red shoulder pad hidden behind the ponytail that hung over that shoulder. Without accidentally staring for too long, he noticed the bottom hem, knee-deep on the outfit, had a single black line with a red and purple lacy spiral flowing randomly along the centre.

    Taking a few steps from the not-so-well-lit alleyway, he barely sensed something coming from behind and quickly made his way to the two of them. The man noticed him first, his eyebrows furrowed slightly when their eyes met. His eyes shifted from their previous glow of joy to a darker, sombre look.

    Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

    After noticing that her friend was paying less attention to her teasing, she also shifted from a happy mood to the second pair of furrowed eyebrows.

    ¡®H-Hey. There are some people after me and I need your help.¡¯

    That got their attention like moths to a lamp. Unfortunately, the sound of raised voices was getting closer. He ran over to the two of them as quickly as he could and then grabbed the woman''s soft hands. He¡¯d never been so bold before, but this was a time-sensitive mission in his head. His expression and his actions made the woman¡¯s eyes bulge a small bit, the guy placing a hand on his back.

    ¡®Please, when they get here, please pretend you¡¯re potential buyers and you caught me running!¡¯

    As if understanding what was going on, Reiki sensed a big shift in their behaviour. To him, it was like they were experienced with shifting personalities. The wave of hostility overrode the sense he previously detected akin to a mother¡¯s protectiveness. Partially worn out, he slumped to the floor by their feet.

    ¡®Aah, there you are, you filthy rascal! You should be grateful I found you wandering those roads outside the city all those miles back all alone. Back to the cell with you. Your new friend will be perfect for an important customer.¡¯

    Without noticing it, the boy, the slave trader and the adventurer never noticed the woman¡¯s eyebrow twitch ever so slightly at the mention of him being chucked into a cell. Luckily, taking Reiki¡¯s words on board, she steeled herself for the side-quest before returning to her current job at hand.

    ¡®I¡¯m so sorry. This rascal ran into us and we didn¡¯t notice he was one of yours. What¡¯s your name again?¡¯

    ¡®Oh, I¡¯m Geordo. Nice to meet you. What brings you to the town today?¡¯

    ¡®Nothing much, just looking for someone to do some stuff so that it won¡¯t be traced back to us.¡¯

    The men began talking as the woman hastily grabbed Reiki by the wrist and hauled him awkwardly to his feet and continued to hold his wrist until they got to the entrance of what looked like a worn-down warehouse. Once inside, she let go as soon as the door was locked with an S-shaped key. Initially shoving him in front of her, she managed to steer him behind her as the two guys slowly walked down the abandoned halls.

    That¡¯s when he noticed that they were in conversation about him and the girl he was hoping to save was not in the room they just entered. He had hoped to see her at least one more time, but it looked like she was moved somewhere else entirely.

    ¡®Aah, so I take it that you want to hire this boy to do some of your deeds then? Seeing as he managed to get out from under my fingers, he might be a bit of trouble for you¡­¡¯

    ¡®You don¡¯t need to worry about that. I know how to whip him into obedience.¡¯

    Clashing his knuckles together, the adventurer managed to create a short gust of wind that gently blew around the room as his smile stretched wide. In an almost convincingly mischievous manner. As he stood behind the other adventurer, Reiki noticed that after she¡¯d walked in front of him, she was gesturing with her hands behind her back and out of sight of Geordo. Some looked familiar, like the fingers across the palm, but others he wasn¡¯t sure of.

    He could make out words like ¡°many¡±, ¡°tap¡± and ¡°count¡±. He didn¡¯t know what she was asking until she repeated the hand signals after a brief pause to answer the question. That¡¯s when he put it together.

    ¡®Oh, is she asking how many there are by tapping her hands? I guess randomly remembering some stuff from a BSL video has finally paid off.¡¯

    He mentally shook his head whilst keeping his head hunched over, hiding his face. He could hear heavy banging faintly through the wall and after tapping about seven times on her arm discreetly, she gave him a thumbs up.

    ¡®Seems like she¡¯s been through this before. Why don¡¯t they recognise her though if she has?¡¯

    Pondering this, he started to focus on a soft shrill mixed with a muffled twang from the room over. He then considered it to be coming from the metallurgy room. The two adventurers and the slave trader then wrapped up the conversation and got up from their seats.

    ¡®I hope some of the kids in the cell with me are still there.¡¯

    Taking the route back, the stench of the damp and heavy sweat down the hallways assaulted his nose once again. Previously, he¡¯d had a bag on his head. Now, he could see numerous cells on both sides of the corridor he¡¯d snuck out from.

    The girl was nowhere in sight and he had to hold himself back from making another run for it. Upon walking past his cell, two of the girls saw him and they tried to get his attention. All he did was put a finger to his lips as soon as one of them went up to the crisscrossed bars and held onto them at head height. He pointed at the two undercover adventurers and gave a discreet okay-hand signal.

    ¡®So these first few cells house some of our latest arrivals. One of which was a very generous one, despite her clothes being the worst out of all of them.¡¯

    ¡®Oh is that so?¡¯

    ¡®Yup. Hey Beomund!¡¯

    ¡®Bwuh, wha-?¡¯

    ¡®Get off your fat arse and help these fine couple out! They¡¯re looking for another slave.¡¯

    A smaller, five-foot-four man with gentle stubble walked up. He stifled a huge yawn when he saw the boy that escaped had returned with two adults in tow. He looked about Reiki¡¯s age, but his deep baritone voice had a few telltale signs of what race he was.

    ¡®Wait a second¡­ THAT¡¯S A DWARF!¡¯

    Reiki¡¯s thoughts screamed internally as if he couldn¡¯t believe what he was seeing.

    ¡®He looks so¡­ normal. Human-like even. Guess the stereotypes aren¡¯t always true. Plus, he¡¯s a good-looking guy too.¡¯

    The dwarf went through all the cells, using a poorly made pile of paper to describe what each one of them is good at. The list was small but detailed. Upon seeing all the kids, the lady accidentally let slip a display of her true, almost motherly side at the poor conditions the kids were in. Geordo even picked up on this subtle change.

    ¡®Are you sure you¡¯re here to get a slave?¡¯

    ¡®Oh, definitely Geordo. It looks like the one we¡¯re specifically looking for isn¡¯t here though.¡¯

    The woman attempted to place a hand on his shoulder, hopefully giving off that she was gentle enough to only do housework. However, due to Geordo and his team being on edge, he briefly took this to mean something else. Raising his hand to pinch the bridge of his nose, he let out a breath he didn¡¯t know he had been holding.

    ¡®Ey-ey, wotcha hands, Miss¡­ Come to think of it, I never caught your names.¡¯

    ¡®Oh, that¡¯s on me! I¡¯m Reya. Reya Mei.¡¯

    ¡®And I¡¯m Brend Neuman. We¡¯re good friends.¡¯

    Reiki noticed that the two of them didn¡¯t courtesy or bow when introducing themselves. The guy had shown a mischievous glint along with one side of his mouth raising into a smirk. Despite being adventurers, they didn¡¯t show any signs of either politeness or hostility due to it being a shady part of town that they were in.

    ¡®Right this way then, if you will, Miss Mei.¡¯

    Reiki couldn¡¯t help but chuckle a little at the choice of words. Not out loud, but in his mind. He hoped he was portraying himself as a ¡°well-behaved slave¡±. The halls he¡¯d just escaped from continued just a little further, where they came across a strangely well-cleaned and highly maintained room just like here they had been discussing earlier.

    They sat down to talk about potential choices and they brought in an even mix of boys and girls. One of them stood out from the rest. That was the girl he¡¯d bonded with earlier; between another girl with blonde, shoulder-length hair and a boy with auburn hair and long bangs covering one of his eyes.

    Her wrists had remnants of red marks. Reiki¡¯s mind immediately thought of the straps that held her down. The girl¡¯s eyes glistened briefly as she spotted him. He was a little captivated by how well they managed to clean her up from the tattered clothing she had previously been in. They must have some women on staff to tend to all the kids.

    ¡®Here¡¯s today¡¯s selection. One is currently under pre-order by an anonymous client, but we¡¯re using her to display how our services are top-class. I hope at least some of these slaves today are to your liking, Master Neuman and Miss Mei. As the Head Trader, I hope there¡¯s one we can agree over.¡¯

    When the Head Trader flicked his wrist and waved towards himself, the girl who¡¯d recognised him stopped staring absentmindedly at him and stepped forward. When she bowed, only Reiki glimpsed a circular mark on her neck that was previously hidden by her hair. This mark was on the opposite side to both the host and the two adventurers, so they were unable to see it.

    Letting out a sigh, he shifted his sight to the corner of a piece of yellow parchment that seemed to poke out of a small bag on Reya¡¯s belt. The young lad only just twigged the two adventurers were using false names, as the two letters he could barely make out were ¡°R¡± and ¡°E¡± followed by what looked like a cut-off ¡°W¡±.

    ¡®On second thought, it looks like the girl we were looking for seems to be here. We should be grateful, instead of heading to the other place we were heading to. Isn¡¯t that right, Brand?¡¯

    ¡®I bet we were gonna get some cheapskate price too... We¡¯re lucky we found you Geordo.¡¯

    ¡®I¡¯m grateful to be in your service, you two. I would like to know who it was that had said their service had our merchandise.¡¯

    His left eyebrow twitched wildly at the thought of someone else in the same business saying they had his merchandise. To Reiki, who imagined how this was to play out from here, the two adventurers both seemed as if they¡¯d found their chosen target; the girl he¡¯d made some kind of friendship with. But the moment was short-lived.

    Without any notice, two hooded figures came from the doorway to the corridor and fell to the floor. The walls shook from the force of the door opening and the two were breathing heavily.

    ¡®Boss, you gotta help us.¡¯

    ¡®Yeah, what ¡¯e said!¡¯

 1.4 - Unwanted Attention Arises

    This only allowed Geordo¡¯s anger to turn his face even redder. He was trying hard to keep his emotions down whilst in front of his potential customers, albeit fake customers at that.

    ¡®One of the Guild Members was watching the alley these two came down when following you and they saw us coming from it and attempted to chase us down. We think we lost ¡®em, but we didn¡¯t look back to check.¡¯

    This just made his anger boil even further and it was almost as if steam was about to billow from his ears. Then, calming himself down, he rested his head in his hands for a few seconds then pinched the bridge of his nose once more.

    ¡®Get everyone here to watch the Topside. We don¡¯t want them finding out there¡¯s more than one secret entrance to these cells.¡¯

    ¡®Onnit Boss!¡¯ The fitter figure huffed, fixing his garment and snuck out the door.

    ¡®Right. I guess it¡¯s time for this merchandise to come with me.¡¯ He grabs the wrist of the girl still standing forward and begins to storm out of the room. ¡®Forgive me for this, but it looks like I¡¯ll have t¨C¡¯

    He froze when he turned around to see the longsword and a gently glowing rapier pointed directly at his throat. Both the girl and Reiki weren¡¯t expecting this to happen. A few beads of sweat slid down the Head¡¯s face before an awkward smirk darkened the atmosphere in the room.

    Out of nowhere, a black mist enveloped the room and it blocked the sight of mostly everyone in the room. The one person who could just see a vague haze of the surroundings and other people in the room in the mist was none other than Geordo himself. Without knowing it, the boy closed his eyes and tried to focus his sense of direction based on his mental image of the girl.

    The world slowed ever so slightly, but enough that his senses heightened to the point that his hearing enhanced just enough to roughly sense the room around him. By this time, the girl had been dragged out of the room yet the black mist still filled the room.

    ¡®I need to get to the girl.¡¯

    Pushing out his senses and fueled with an adrenaline rush of the sudden smokescreen from nowhere, he felt like he could not only sense the room but feel it. It was as if his sense of touch and perception heightened wildly mixed in with the adrenaline and he. Opening his eyes, it was still pitch black, but his mind perfectly overlaid a three-dimensional mental map of the room.

    ¡®This is wild. It feels¡­ It feels like a gentle hand¡­ or a thin cloth enveloping everything in my surroundings. This feels surreal. But first things first; I need to save that girl. She¡¯s in danger if she stays here. Including everyone else down below.¡¯

    Despite dwelling on his thoughts, he didn¡¯t know what to do. As the sensory phenomena subsided, he still felt the want to race after the guy who had a vice grip on her wrist. His blood boiled at the thought of any harm coming to such a gentle girl. The black veil suddenly lifted leaving only the two adventurers in the room with him.

    The male adventurer didn¡¯t start with any pleasantries and immediately went to knock down the only door into the room. No good. It wouldn¡¯t budge an inch, no matter how much effort he put into it. During their attempts to escape, Reiki¡¯s blood began to boil at the thought that Geordo was going to take her somewhere he couldn¡¯t possibly find her in, and then sell her to his private customer. He wanted, no, wished he could get to her as fast as he could run.

    He barely registered a window that popped up, swiping it away after briefly reading what was displayed. The energy in the room seemed to slowly drift towards the young boy, who stared at the door for what felt to him like a long few seconds when he started sprinting.

    To the two adventurers with him, one second they saw him glaring at the door as if daring it to burn from his gaze alone. The next, a sudden trail of vibrant, neon-green lightning stalks blasted backwards from the spot he was just standing in and connected straight through the door. The guy who had just stopped swinging twitched a little as a tip of a bolt grazed his elbow as they quickly faded into the door.

    At this exact moment, everything but the boy had slowed to a measly crawl no faster than a raindrop falling a centimetre, relatively speaking, for about two seconds. Because he had reacted without thinking, and with his mind in a frenzy, his newly wished-for ability to run to a place as quickly as possible had manifested itself and had briefly allowed him to phase through the door... and whatever had been blocking it. Yet unfortunately, he was unaware of this development.

    Finally noticing a strange sense of speed wash through his body, he stood still just down the corridor and looked back. Two large boxes had ever so slowly started to lift from the floor. On either side of the boxes, two unknown assailants appeared to be slowly knocked back by a wall of something invisible. It took him a relative time of two minutes, by which the bottom box had lifted twenty-five centimetres into the air.

    Solidifying his resolve, his brows tighten and his eye glinted with determination. As he was about to reach the cells, his ability slowly disabled itself as he stumbled down onto the floor. As soon as he fell to the floor, a boom went off behind him and he cradled his head. He peered out from his obstructed face after the shockwave blew past him, to see various kids in different coloured and battered clothing. They started to move from protecting the younger kids.

    ¡®I¡¯m glad they weren¡¯t affected by that. I think I took the worst of it.¡¯

    ¡®Hey, mister! What was that?!¡¯

    ¡®I don¡¯t know buddy, but I do know one thing; those guards are out for the count.¡¯

    He had looked at the two guards when he added that second part. The boxes that had blocked the door had exploded into small fragments. In some places, it had even become sawdust. A spark or two of green lightning snaked across the tiles around the two bulky, unconscious men. Raising his hand, Reiki closed his eyes and focused on the electricity. He could feel it snaking around, but it was fading quickly.

    ¡®Don¡¯t think I have that ability yet. Wait, no, she¡¯s the top priority right now.¡¯

    His eyes glinted again, this time accompanied by small sparks zapping briefly at the edges as his mouth widened into a mischievous but gentle smirk. To the kids who¡¯d made it to the bars of their cells, the only thing they saw was him standing there one second, then a flash of green lightning at the same time all their cell doors opened simultaneously.

    Most were in shock. Two of the oldest kids stepped out cautiously, their eyes bugging out of their heads and a single bead of sweat rolled down their cheeks as they saw the guards nowhere to be seen. They walked closer to the door, only to find the cells on either side with each of them bound and gagged somehow. The two of them agreed to keep it to themselves until the door opened up from the inside and the two adventurers walked out of it.

    Meanwhile, as they were getting consoled by the two adventurers, the speed of the young man had been breathtaking to him. He¡¯d been running around looking for the girl, but somehow, two assailants with wide, devilish grins on their faces had escaped his sight. In the time since helping the kids escape, he¡¯d stumbled a lot. His energy was not ready for what he was doing and he¡¯d turned his new ability off to save some energy.

    During this moment with a lack of superspeed, two other assailants who had been watching from the side had hidden themselves to wait for that exact moment. Right now, he was being carried to the man who had orchestrated the entire system. He¡¯d cursed at himself for letting his guard down. Just having an ability doesn¡¯t mean you¡¯ll always get it right the first time after all.

    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    ¡®You¡¯re coming with us, twerp. I think the boss would love to see you.¡¯

    ¡®Oh good, I was wondering where he went.¡¯

    The guy who spoke to him huffed and rolled his shoulders a little. He wasn¡¯t expecting that response. As he was being hustled forward he could feel his body, albeit tired, starting to regain some strength and stamina. Closing his eyes, he focused on the image of the girl in his head.

    ¡®I wish I had the strength to save you¡­¡¯

    [ ...NOTICE ]

    [ ... TEMPORARY ACCESS GRANTED TO ]

    [ ABILITY: Telepathy Lv. 1 ]

    [¡­if only I could see where you are.]

    [¡­e-ehh? Wh-who¡¯s doing that?]

    Reiki¡¯s head snapped up almost instantly as he was dragged into a darkened room. He focused again on that sudden sensation and the voice. The sides of his mouth turned up when he realised what was happening.

    [Calm down, it¡¯s me. The boy from earlier. I¡­ I think this is happening between our minds.]

    As if sensing her calm down, he sensed a tightness on his wrist briefly appear. But nobody had grabbed him there, as he was being lowered by the armpits into a chair. He waited for them to go before seeing another window briefly flash up to him saying he just forced a temporary ability unlock.

    ¡®Huh. Two abilities in one day. I hope this one stays.¡¯

    As he tried to imagine his abilities, a large wooden door swung open slowly and got his attention. The creaking echoed into the large open space. He saw Geordo enter the room, along with the girl. The two men who¡¯d escorted him into the room briefly bowed, dropped to a knee and a palm touching their foreheads, pinkie and middle fingers raised, before taking their leave through the open door.

    [¡­ Can you still hear me?]

    [¡­Ye- Yes. I- uh, I¡¯m here. Is that you? They¡¯ve roped you up good over there.]

    Geordo placed her in a seat on a stage Reiki hadn¡¯t noticed until just now.

    [Listen to me carefully, do you know if any adventurers are on the way?]

    [um¡­ I saw the two who were with you, but it looked like he convinced them to leave. I don¡¯t want to be sold. I want to get out of here.]

    [You can trust me, okay? I promise you we¡¯ll get out of this.]

    [Wait, tell me yo¡ª]

    ¡®I¡¯m gonna have to figure out how to hide my telepathy. It¡¯s going to be a brilliant trump card someday.¡¯

    He broke the mental connection, which she noticed instantly. His attention briefly lapsed, but his attention turned to the pompous man before him.

    ¡®Listen here boy, you shouldn¡¯t be able to escape this time.¡¯

    ¡®Yeah, like escaping wasn¡¯t that hard earlier. Barely any guards around. Almost like it was a piece of cake!¡¯

    ¡®Oh, we have a bragger here! Let me teach you a lesson, Boy.¡¯

    Before he could react he briefly heard a scream of distress as a ringing appeared in his ears and a heavy sting appeared on his cheek. Surprisingly, his pain was short-lived. Whatever had hit him just moments before now felt like a child had slapped him.

    ¡®What, that¡¯s not right! I backhanded your face with an enchanted leather glove! That obedience spell should¡¯ve worked!¡¯

    Before he could respond, he felt a small woozy sensation briefly make an appearance, before a strong metallic taste flooded his mouth. He turn his head away from where he saw the girl and expelled the taste from his mouth. A puddle of blood glittered with a mixture of yellow and purple sparkles. Of which faded away into the air.

    ¡®NO! He¡¯s immune?! But nobody¡¯s ever been immune to that spell!¡¯

    ¡®Suck it up, fatty. Now then, let¡¯s do things my way.¡¯

    The corners of his mouth curled up a little as he stood up from his chair.

    ¡®That¡¯s not right! They tied him down! How on Earth is he suddenly standing?!¡¯ cried the man¡¯s mind, to which nobody could answer.

    ¡®Let¡¯s begin, shall we? Let¡¯s see if I can undo my shackles.¡¯

    The whites of his eyes widened, and his previously shocked expression turned into one of pure terror. The clanks of the metal casing used to bind his legs and hands together reverberated around the room. A bright green, electrifying aura briefly glowed from Reiki¡¯s body as Geordo watched in fear as his eyes were drawn to his ankles.

    For some reason, he couldn¡¯t focus on them. They looked out of focus, and as he stepped forward, they seemed to pass through the shackles on his feet before coming back into focus.

    ¡®OI! I NEED HELP!¡¯

    The volume of the yell didn¡¯t phase the boy. Until the other battle-ready thugs of the illegal activities started to make their way into the room. Despite having an unaffected grin, he was panicking internally.

    ¡®That¡¯s more than I could handle earlier. I don¡¯t think I have the time to knoc¡ª¡¯

    ¡®DON¡¯T GIVE UP! I BELIEVE IN YOU! PLEASE GET ALL OF US OUT OF HERE!¡¯

    That sudden shout from the girl who was terrified of the situation widened his eyes. He changed his stare at the guys before him into a glare that made even the stronger wince in fear. His aura returned, sparking all over his body before he vanished in a puff of air. A sudden maze of electric green lightning suddenly appeared out of thin air. In the blink of an eye, Geordo abruptly vanished and appeared in the wall to their collective right.

    ¡®Whuh?! What the f¡ª¡¯

    To the thugs, their boss went from being stood before the child, then turned to see him embedded in a wall, upside down and unconscious. The neon-electric walls of electricity slowly moved closer to them as they immediately turned tail to escape the strange ability before them.

    However, as soon as they found themselves outside the different warehouse, a group of about nine adventurers were all standing there, abilities at the ready and mid-march. Almost as if they were about to raid them that very moment.

    ¡®We¡¯re screwed.¡¯

    Meanwhile, as the group of thugs were outside, Reiki had seen this as an opportunity and managed to gather all of the kids from the cells into the large open space. He had also locked Geordo up in the cell with the thickest bars and what looked like the most-complicated looking lock system he could find.

    After a short while, he found his energy draining as he made his way to the room with the last two kids in tow; the girl on his back and the boy in his arms he saved from earlier. Luck was on their side, and right as he made it into the room, the female adventurer from earlier forced the door to open as quickly as possible on its creaky, well-worn, rusted hinges.

    ¡®Right everyone, make sure you¡ª huh?!¡¯

    She raced forward to catch Reiki struggling, without his superspeed, to carry the two children. He was barely awake from all the effort he¡¯d just gone through moving everyone from their cells to the room.

    ¡®I¡­ did¡­ it.  I¡­ got¡­¡¯

    He only uttered those last few words before he conked out in the adventurer¡¯s arms. He missed her questions entirely as the rest of her team entered the room.

    ¡®¡­Did what? Wait, did you do this?!¡¯

    Her colleague came over and noticed who she cradled in her arms. He placed a hand on her shoulder as she stood up, carrying him gently. The two shared a silent gaze, along with a gentle smile, between them.

    ¡®He will need to be rewarded, but I don¡¯t think he¡¯s awake right now.¡¯

    ¡®Let¡¯s tell him what he¡¯s done when he wakes up.¡¯

    ¡®Sure thing.¡¯

 1.5 - The Return Trip

    Not every day do you accidentally stumble into and destroy an illegal slave trade ring. It¡¯s a strangely empowering feeling. Often found to be similar to a heavy dose of serotonin. But that was the least of Reiki¡¯s concerns at this very moment.

    ¡®These clothes are so itchy. Why do I have to wear these?¡¯

    ¡®I didn¡¯t mind what you were wearing previously, that unique style you were wearing, but it looked burnt as if it was worn in battle, so the next best thing was this royal attire.¡¯

    Reiki started to pull at the collar of his shirt and proceeded to unbutton where it was uncomfortably tight around his neck. It felt like someone had put a vice around his neck and then tightened it. The girl beside him shifted a little in her seat. She was dressed in a knee-length, pink dress with a few rose designs, that one could easily dismiss as a skirt, and a single-shouldered white blouse under a fuchsia jacket. He had been told the symbol on the jacket was a royal brooch. Her thin headband wore the same design. It was also revealed to be her family insignia.

    ¡®It¡¯s a tight fit, and maybe not my style. Is there anything else I could try on? Besides, you know that I explained one of the reasons why it was burnt.¡¯

    ¡®Ugh, please be more grateful when offered nice clothing next time.¡¯ She uttered under her breath, hoping he wouldn¡¯t hear her. ¡®...Anyway, I¡¯ll make sure to find you somewhere useful to shop. On one condition; you¡¯ll have to wait until we get back to my father¡¯s kingdom if you need to loan out any money.¡¯

    ¡®What you have on is what was available in the storage at the back.¡¯

    The male adventurer from earlier had told him about the wares in the box on the back of the carriage.

    ¡®Well, it¡¯s still scratchy and feels too royal to my liking, but that¡¯s fine with me if I have to deal with it for the time being. Still can¡¯t believe you¡¯re the daughter of the King.¡¯

    As he messed with the neatly stitched clothing against his neck, the lining finally stretched and shifted a little and finally gave way for him to breathe a bit more clearly. Letting out a small breath of air, he finally got most of the annoying itch to stop. Thinking back to earlier, he still couldn¡¯t believe what he had become a part of. He decided to go over how he came to this point in his new life.

    < # # # >

    <hr>

    Just a day earlier, a heavy bang of metal on metal echoed in the street as a set of heavy doors swung shut. The soft thuds of wheels on pebbles faded into the background mixed with the ambient sounds of Hibel. The two adventurers had stayed around after the girl heavily requested for them to stay.

    ¡®Well, that¡¯s him sent off. I¡¯m surprised the boy managed to fight off the level nine Shadow Elementist.¡¯

    The group of adventurers soon disbanded after the last person from the now-abandoned warehouse had been chucked into a barred carriage. The protection spells imbued into the surfaces were designed to keep them from escaping, but there was still a chance of it happening. Luckily, the number of adventurers and guild members hanging around had kept them from doing anything drastic.

    ¡®It¡¯s interesting, is it not? He even knew a way to extend the lifespan of someone with Blue Skin Syndrome when I first met him.¡¯

    ¡®It¡¯s a little odd he knows what an Apprentice Medician can do. But I guess you¡¯re right, Princess. Why don¡¯t you head back to your father in Froes¨¦? I¡¯m pretty sure he¡¯s worried about your disappearance.¡¯

    ¡®Please don¡¯t suck up to me just because I¡¯m royalty.¡¯ She let out a long sigh. ¡®I wouldn¡¯t be here right now if it wasn¡¯t for that boy. I¡¯d rather wait for him to wake up before returning. I still need to thank him for saving everyone who was in there with the two of us, not just myself.¡¯ She added, a slight spring in her step as she turned and continued walking.

    ¡®She¡¯s as stubborn as always. At least she has for a good reason this time.¡¯ The female adventurer shook her head, letting her lips spread into a gentle smile before following after her.

    After sending off the crooks who controlled the illegal activity, they opted to find the cosiest place to rest the boy. It only took them ten minutes to find themselves situated in the most restful inn with the least residents that they could find; the ¡°Muscovy Marauder¡±.

    ¡®Thanks for letting us stay here, Mrs Breubel!¡¯

    ¡®You''re welcome, my dear! After the repair work from that wildfire last month, your father''s resourcefulness needed the debt to be repaid and this seemed like the best option.¡¯

    The matured girl, now in a smarter but scraggy outfit usually for kids who pretended to be adventurers, could feel her ears burn and her cheeks glow at the gesture.

    ¡®You sure you don¡¯t want me to pay with my allowance?¡¯

    ¡®Dearie, if it''s what you''d prefer to do, I''ll take you up on that next time your in town! Oh! If you need anything, just flow some mana into the small ball in your designated room. It¡¯s usually right by the door and either my husband, myself or one of my assistants will head up to help you out.¡¯

    The older woman smiled warmly, her face grinning wisely from ear to ear. The adventurer who had been behind the young girl stepped forward, bringing the unconscious boy into view of their current hostess.

    ¡®Is it possible to set up a private room for this young guy? He unintentionally helped us take down someone of high importance who has been eluding our team for year''s.¡¯

    ¡®Oh my! He looks hurt! I''ll make sure he gets the best room for the next three days! I hear he''s pulled off such an incredible feat, but I just can¡¯t believe it¡¯s true.¡¯

    As the owner briskly stepped around the tables, the adventurer barely got through the swarm of chairs as they were pushed aside just ahead of her. She was struggling to maintain her balance whilst carrying him, when a gentle gust of wind blew the rest of the chairs just enough to allow her to bee-line for the stairs. She turned around at the bottom to see a bespeckled guy waving his hand nonchalantly in a circle motion.

    His flat, stylised black hair contrasted with his pale hazel-coloured eyes. His emotionless face looked almost robotic, but a slight curl on one side of his lips broke the illusion.

    ¡®Thank you, Damon.¡¯

    ¡®Don¡¯t mention it, Sofya.¡¯

    As the trio headed up the stairs, Damon turned back to his table and continued talking with one of the off-duty assistants. The owner, Aurella Breubel, just tutted and shook her head side to side at the two of them.

    Upstairs, the boy, Reiki, had been placed in the room with the comfiest bed the place could offer, due to his condition. He couldn¡¯t remember much of what the two girls, the young princess and the older adventurer, had told him. The story went a little hazy from here. Almost like they were trying to keep their comments private. Twenty to twenty-four hours later, around the time he had woken up, he found himself in a room he didn¡¯t recognise at all. To make things easier, he was glad to be the only one in the room.

    ¡®Where am I? And why am I in a bed almost as comfy as home?¡¯

    As soon as he¡¯d stepped out of bed, he completely ignored the creaking floor when he put any weight on it. Almost like it was designed to say ¡°Look, I''m up now¡± to the other residents. Just as he was rubbing the itchy dryness out of his eyes, some gentle yet quick and assertive thumping came from beyond his bedroom door. The thumping of their feet stopped as they stood outside the room.

    He could hear some voices just beyond, but he couldn¡¯t make out the words being spoken. Just beyond the door, the adventurer and the girl were quietly having a heated discussion. Luckily, he couldn¡¯t hear what they were conversing about, as his thoughts changed to focusing on the clothes on the chair near the bed. There was a surprise in the room for him, which was a small en-suite to wash himself in.

    ¡®This isn¡¯t right, what if his behaviour changes?¡¯

    ¡®Then I¡¯m ready to accept it. When we were on that horridly designed cage cart, he treated me like I wasn¡¯t of any nobility... despite the fact that all my clothes were mud-ridden and just started tearing to shreds.¡¯

    ¡®But you¡¯ve got to know that he¡¯ll probably treat you differently. Some people have changed their behaviour after learning that they¡¯re talking to royalty.¡¯

    ¡®I don¡¯t care, I¡¯m just grateful he got me out of that horrible mess of a slave centre... I just want to thank him for what he did then be on my way.¡¯

    ¡®You might not be able to, p¨C Aerys.¡¯

    She stuttered with her words just then, as he¡¯d opened the door, interrupting their conversation. Before opening the door, he had been focused on the smell and texture of the new clothing he¡¯d been given, along with a rather worn bag almost like a travel suitcase with scratches on the corners and edges in the leather. He was awake enough to figure out she was a princess, but he was too tired yet refreshed to care about exposing her. He decided to just be himself, his online self, and ignore her status.

    ¡®...So your name is Eris?¡¯

    ¡®No, it¡¯s Aerys. Slight difference.¡¯

    ¡®I¡¯ll ask how to spell it later. How long was I out?¡¯

    ¡®Would be nice if I knew how to spell her name.¡¯

    ¡®A day or two, but nothing changed much. I¡¯ve changed my usual routines slightly just so I could wait for you to wake up.¡¯

    ¡®She said it would be rude to leave a saviour behind who fell unconscious after a battle. We¡¯re just glad you¡¯re okay.¡¯

    The adventurer finally interrupted the conversation, eager to move on. That got him to notice they were talking about him.

    ¡®Wait, I was in a battle? Why would I engage in something like that? I just remember feeling rage... and moving really fast.¡¯

    After realising where they were, the three of them headed downstairs to get some morning delicacies. Upon arrival, there were a few sweet and savoury assortments, but the most popular dish mainly looked like oaty cereal which he soon learned was sourced and delivered from a small farm village a bit further south. With some bread on the side, they each ate in silence.

    ¡®I wonder if I can recreate that ability from the other day. What was it again? Oh right, that superpower; Telepathy.¡¯

    A brief holographic window popped up with a message as he attempted to use the ability. To his surprise, this was a warning window.

    [ABILITY WARNING]

    [ This ability was previously activated during a Life Event ]

    [ The user does not have the required level to activate it ]

    [ Do you wish to use 4 stat points to unlock and activate (Telepathy - Level 1)? ]

    [ Y/ N ]

    He scratched behind his head as he slowly ate his food, wondering how to see how many of these ¡°stat points¡± were actually available. Obviously there were more than four, but he didn¡¯t know how many. He was also vaguely familiar with this type of stat system, but to use four of the points to activate it... weirdly felt right to him.

    ¡®If this was an actual game, it would force the player to think wisely with their choice.¡¯

    As he finished up his food, he took note that neither of the two ladies in front of him could see what he was seeing. Instead of tapping the ¡°Y¡± button in the window, he attempted to use his mind... to no avail.

    ¡®I think I get how this all works, but I still have yet to view that window I saw earlier with my stats on it.¡¯

    A soft tickly buzzing, almost like an irresistible itch, slowly built up just behind his right ear as they stepped out of the door. The young girl promising to visit again someday as he was guided to a building with an odd shape that closely resembled a sword cutting through a circle wearing a pirate hat. Just as the tingling sensation got to the point of it feeling sore, he scratched at it. He stopped in his tracks when more than just his previous profile window popped up.

    ¡®Woah. That was... unexpected.¡¯

    He kept as strong a poker face as he could whilst he looked at his player stats. The window covering his cereal didn¡¯t change as his hand and wrist passed through it. It quickly blurred out as another window appeared before his eyes again.

    [ONE-TIME NOTICE]

    [ You have opened up your Player Statistics window for the first time! ]This window will not appear again ]

    [ you be awarded 1 INT stat each time you find/open a new window once a day ]

    [ Award: 1 INT Stat Point ]

    ¡®Tch... Only one stat point for accessing it the first time, but having more than four to unlock an ability? Man, this sucks. Well, at least it¡¯s not like those tropes I¡¯ve heard about back on Earth.¡¯

    He hoped that someday, he¡¯d be able to close the windows that appeared without touching or gesturing towards them. Unfocusing from his ability screens, he brushes his ear again and finding it closes the pop-up of his stats window. Along with the warning screen.

    ¡®So, kid. Young Aerys and I are heading out for a while. Would you like to join us?¡¯

    ¡®Don¡¯t call me that! ...But yeah, come with us if there¡¯s nothing else for you to do.¡¯

    ¡®...You know, I mgiht actually take you up on that.¡¯

    ¡®Sweet! See you outside in five minutes! C¡¯mon, Sofya, let¡¯s go!¡¯

    The two of them left Reiki alone for a few minutes, giving him time to finish his breakfast. He left after thanking the Inn-Keeper, who was glad to see him on his feet so quickly, who subsequently waved him off. Outside, the girl and the woman were waiting for him, abruptly stopping their discussion once again as he made an appearance.

    ¡®Ahh, that was quick! I swear there was way more food on your plate for you to finish it that quickly!¡¯

    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

    ¡®Wasn¡¯t much left to eat. I was starving!¡¯

    ¡®Let¡¯s get going then! Onward to the shops of food!¡¯

    Aerys skipped across the courtyard, just ahead of Reiki and Sofya. During the tour of Hibel, the three of them met up with the male adventurer he¡¯d met when he got dragged back to the place he¡¯d been held captive in. Shuddering, he shook his head to release the anxiety from that debacle and focused on the present.

    It didn¡¯t take long to learn that the woman with her apparel was highly regarded amongst the citizens. After a brief and simpler version of twenty-questions, He¡¯d learnt that Sofya¡¯s full name was Sofya Pyrrins and is a Water Mage. The male adventurer Markus Braunfel, despite his appearance with his beefy biceps, was an Air Elementalist. The two different professions they had were vital to how strong their affinity was with their element.

    An Elementalist was someone who was naturally born with their element of magic, but had to train to use their talent. A Mage, on the other hand, had to learn a new element from scratch and had the choice to get a promotion to a High Mage or stay as a Mage but with a different coloured tag on their identification card. Reiki found this interesting and wanted to learn more, but held back those thoughts during the conversations.

    It was only an hour or so, before Aerys turned to him with an inquisitive look adorning her face.

    ¡®Hey, you never told us your name.¡¯

    ¡®Well, I¡¯ve only learnt your first name, so I¡¯ll need to learn yours too. Which I have to say is a really cool name!¡¯

    ¡®Why thanks! I¡¯ve also met some other people who¡¯ve tried to compliment me on my name or my appearance, yet your comment actually feels genuine and not forced. After all¨C¡¯

    ¡®Why should it be? Mine... Uh...¡¯

    ¡®...Hmm?¡¯

    ¡®In that case, let me introduce myself. I-I¡¯m James Bourde.¡¯

    Stuttering his introduction, he kept a relatively straight face as Sofya and Markus glared at him. It felt like two beams of ice were trying to shoot through his face and freeze his body. He quietly activated his telepathic ability gently and focused on Sofya, who he assumed reacted first when he started his introduction.

    [You don¡¯t seem so sure of that, Young Reiki. What are you hiding?]

    He felt their glares again after the not-so-long mind-reading of his. In his defense, he just avoided looking at them, but kept his gaze almost completely locked on to Aerys¡¯ eyes. He decided to give in a little, but trying his best to hide that shy side of himself.

    ¡®I-I¡¯m not really hiding anything, but I am a little behind with the times.¡¯

    The lie was obvious for his age, but he hoped the stats he¡¯d looked at earlier were He didn¡¯t so much as see but sensed the two adventurers shift uncomfortably. His comment had easily shaken them up. Like he¡¯d struck a nerve they didn¡¯t expect him to hit. Looking at him, they wondered how he had read them so easily. Luckily, Aerys didn¡¯t read the room clearly enough to notice. It was either that, or she simply doesn¡¯t care about the situation as much as the adventurers did.

    ¡®Oh? James? That¡¯s¡­ not very original. There was a guy from a few months back with your surname, but he never mentioned a family member called James who looked so young.¡¯

    ¡®I¡¯m seventeen.¡¯

    ¡®Gwehh! You¡¯re seventeen?! You look way younger than that!¡¯

    She grabbed him by the wrist and jogged as she dragged him to the closest store she knew of with a clear enough reflection. The click-clacking of her shoes on the large pebbles that made up the roads helped him to catch his footing and keep up with her antics. As they came up to a closed bakery, he stared at his reflection. He was glad he remembered his age from his stats window. It was a blessing in disguise.

    He poked at his cheek until the two adventurers caught up to them. His cheek felt sky smooth, almost like that of clothes made from a very soft cotton.

    ¡®See? You definitely look younger than seventeen!¡¯

    ¡®Yeah, I guess you''re right. I haven¡¯t seen how I¡¯ve looked since I lost my family. I¡¯m kinda all alone by myself now.¡¯

    ¡®Well that can¡¯t do at all!¡¯

    After this, the situation around Reiki¡¯s false name was briefly diverted. The reason for the diversion was Aerys needed some food, with mention of words that surprised him. Those mostly being ¡°sugars¡± and ¡°carbohydrates¡±, or ¡°carbs¡± for short. It turns out that to Reiki, there is some level of medical knowledge in this world, unlike most others he knew about from manga and light novels. Aerys appeared to have the first symptoms of diabetes, but he decided not to make that observation verbal.

    ¡®At least they¡¯ve recognised some conditions aren¡¯t curable or treatable. This is a much closer similarity to what I remember from England.¡¯

    It didn¡¯t take long to find a small roadside caf¨¦ to wait at as Markus went off to meet someone. After they got seated, Aerys pulled out what looked like a small, neatly cut, rectangular scrap of old paper with some odd symbols on it, he couldn¡¯t help but be curious. It had three three-quarter circles, a dashed line through two of them, and a single line up the right-hand side with a fancy-shaped triangle pointing towards the other side. She placed it on the back of her arm, which instantly made it glow.

    ¡®I take it back, this is nothing like how diabetes is monitored... How did they even figure this out?¡¯

    ¡®...¡¯

    ¡®Wait a second...¡¯

    That was when he registered what had been bugging him during the kidnapping; the reason she kept looking sleepy is that she was likely a type-one diabetic. His eyes opened wildly at the thought of someone knowing this level of medical knowledge. Then his eyes slowly started to drift and look around the area they were in during the conversation. Occasionally flicking back to the paper magically sticking roughly where her tricep was.

    ¡®Hey, Aerys...¡¯

    ¡®Y-Yeah?¡¯

    The sudden comment surprised her from focusing on the paper¡¯s glow that had just started receding.

    ¡®What¡¯s that you¡¯ve got on your arm?¡¯

    ¡®Oh, this? It¡¯s to measure something in my body my Royal Medician was taught about. After all, as a princess, I need to keep my health in check and these Medi-Sigil patches help to monitor that.¡¯

    ¡®A royal medi¨C You¡¯re a princess?!¡¯

    He didn¡¯t yell it out loud, but being seated in a small roadside caf¨¦, it did make a few heads turn from the tables on either side of them. As luck would have it, none of them got up to meet her. This was a little odd to Reiki and he didn¡¯t know how to deal with such a situation. After their drinks and snacks arrived, they continued the conversation.

    ¡®Eheh, please don¡¯t do that.¡¯

    ¡®Do what?¡¯

    ¡®What do you mean do wha¨C ¡­You knew, didn¡¯t you?¡¯

    ¡®Well, it doesn¡¯t take an idiot to figure it out when an adventurer standing outside your bedroom door called you ¡°pear-iss¡±.¡¯

    ¡®Touch¨¦, James.¡¯

    ¡®Heheh. If you prefer the way I¡¯ve been treating you, just say and I¡¯ll continue doing it. After all, I bet that royalty doesn¡¯t get many people who¡¯d happily just chat casually with them.¡¯

    ¡®I agree. It¡¯s so much easier to converse normally without someone tripping over their words on what to say to respect you. Shame the greedy or ignorant types prefer the grovelling if you ask me. Such poor behaviour.¡¯

    Sofya had been quiet during the entire conversation, but a small smile tugged at the sides of her lips whenever she looked at the two of them prattling along with each other. Unbeknownst to the two of them, Reiki had his telepathy on search mode since Markus had shot off.

    During the conversation, his ability could only reach within roughly the area of his line of sight and he had to focus on individuals passing by to read the thoughts in their heads. The conversation lasted about thirty minutes, maybe twenty, before his eyes briefly snapped sharply a few times to a thick bush nearby. During the next lull in the conversation, he focused his telepathy on the bush, hoping to glean something from the mind he felt.

    [...hat was close. I hope she didn¡¯t detect me. Why is he pointing? He can¡¯t have detected me, my skills are immacula¨C ¡­ why is he coming this way?]

    In the time, that he¡¯d been reading the observer¡¯s thoughts, he¡¯d spoken quietly to Sofya. As luck would have it, or lack thereof, she couldn¡¯t detect the person in the bush nearby. He¡¯d informed her that he¡¯d felt something odd about the bush. Nor did he explain how or why he felt that way. When he got up, he made sure to disable his telepathy and focused on the direction he felt it coming from.

    Just as he neared the bush, he sat down on a bench beside it and the princess promptly made her way over after the adventurer paid for the meal. The person in the bush pretended to ignore him as if he didn¡¯t know they were there. But that changed when a hand reached in and dragged the person out.

    ¡®Well, looks like you were right, James. There was someone here.¡¯

    Sofya had managed to sneak around and yank the person from the bush from just under his collar.

    ¡®Excuse me, but could you please put me down?¡¯

    ¡®Oh sure, after you explain why you¡¯ve been following us.¡¯

    ¡®I was tasked by the Guild to see if she was indeed the princess who was kidnapped almost a week ago, nothing more, nothing less. Now please put me down!¡¯

    Dropping him to the floor, he looked a little older than Reiki himself, but he didn¡¯t look like someone used to battles or offence. He closed his eyes and took a little bit of pity for the boy. Before he could run, Reiki decided to ask him a question.

    ¡®Hey buddy, how old are you?¡¯

    ¡®I¡¯m sixteen. Uh, sir.¡¯

    ¡®Sir? Oh, he must think I¡¯m an adventurer too.¡¯

    ¡®Well, in that case, I¡¯m seventeen and...¡¯

    Leaning in, he stage-whispered just loud enough for only him and Sofya to hear: ¡®I¡¯m not an actual adventurer... Yet, I am the one who saved the princess, so why don¡¯t you go and report that she¡¯s safe?¡¯

    The boy''s eyes flew open wide. He immediately relaxed and after apologising for hiding, he greeted Aerys with a respected yet casual manner, then he shot off to get the head of the nearby Guild.

    ¡®Well, James. That looked like you said something to spur him into doing the right thing and reporting it.¡¯

    ¡®Eh, I just knew it would calm him down and excite him enough to do the right thing. Besides, I¡¯m pretty sure Aerys preferred the way he spoke. The respected, but casual approach.¡¯

    ¡®...You¡¯re very insightful.¡¯

    ¡®...¡¯

    At that, he couldn¡¯t help but feel embarrassed. She just chortled and punched him gently in the shoulder, earning a laugh from him in return. A green spark flew unknowingly from his shoulder to the two of them but Aerys, who was behind them, spotted it. Her head tilted in curiosity after seeing the spark flitter across into his neck, before waving it off with a grin and a warm rosiness in her cheeks.

    The day continued with people greeting Aerys mostly the way she preferred to be spoken to. It seemed to him like her request to relax or chat normally is a big thing all the citizens enjoy when she¡¯s visiting. Some even prayed that she¡¯d be saved after getting news that she¡¯d been kidnapped.

    < # # # >

    <hr>

    ¡®Whew! That was eventful. Looks like we¡¯ve got another... hour or so, maybe?¡¯

    ¡®An hour until what, exactly?¡¯

    ¡®You¡¯ll see!¡¯

    She winked then strode off. The wind blew her hair around as the sun started setting. The rays streaked past the peak of the mountain to the west as the shadow of the terrain slowly drawn across the city. They didn¡¯t have time for sleep tonight. Unbeknownst to Reiki and Sofya, the boy who¡¯d gone to the guild had met Aerys during one of her shop visits and had later requested that a Royal Carriage be delivered to the inn they were staying at for the following noon.

    Upon returning to the inn, Mrs Breubel greeted them for one final stay. Reiki was worn out from all the walking, but he was glad to learn some of the histories of the world. Despite being an atheist, he wondered if he could pull off that trick that kid did from that manga series involving a smartphone to speak to the Gods. Yet his thoughts still raced with excitement from being in a brand new world.

    ¡®I can¡¯t wait for what the world brings my way.¡¯

    The rest of the night went by slowly. After saying goodnight to Aerys and Sofya just an hour earlier, he began his first well-rested night since, well, ever. His bed back home, in his sister¡¯s house, was cramped and felt badly made. The beds in this world, despite being what looked like centuries older than his did, were even comfier than he could imagine. Maybe it was because he had spent a day getting his energy back, or because he had such an eventful past few days.

    One thing was for sure, he was glad his abilities were like light switches; they could be mentally turned on or off without any hassle at all. So as he slept, he didn¡¯t accidentally read minds, or run around super fast. By the morning, he knew he would be well rested. The last thing he thought of before drifting off completely, was how his sister was coping with him not being on their Earth anymore.

    < # # # >

    <hr>

    The following morning, Aerys and Reiki both hung out in what she liked to call the ¡°lower hub¡±, which was previously part of a lower ring a few centuries earlier. The monsters that attacked had nothing to gain by attacking, yet some residents still spent their time in the area to help protect their city when it needed help. The two teenagers were sat in the middle of the square from the day before, just down the road from the Muscovy Marauder Inn.

    ¡®So Froes¨¦ is where you were born and raised, spent the rest of your days, then got kidnapped?¡¯

    ¡®Odd way to describe it, but yeah, pretty much.¡¯

    The two of them were sitting on a long bench by the cobbled road that separated them from the open square, where the market from the previous day had been. The luck that they had to be found and rescued during the day of a farmer¡¯s market left the odds high, but not impossibly high. It was probably the only miracle Reiki was going to have upon his arrival, but he didn¡¯t know that. He was also glad he was allowed to use his online alias for the time being.

    ¡®Hey James, look over there!¡¯

    ¡®Look ove¨C WHAA?!¡¯

    The moment after he had turned to look, the sight of a four-armed, four-legged, and four-eyed creature pulling a carriage immediately blew his mind. She had managed to capture his shock, giggling warmly at his reaction. During their discussion whilst sitting there, he had told her that there are lots of things that will surprise him since he lost his family. It dulled the atmosphere a little, but she took a second before waving a hand to forget about it.

    The creature had a muted sheen to its skin; the mix of a dark turquoise shifted into a soft yet dark green, which was most vibrant around the base of the small spine blades that lead from the top of the tail to the back of its head. It was a creature that he was fascinated by. It was like an alien horse but carried a stronger feeling of sentience.

    ¡®That¡¯s a Vaikyren. They¡¯re a horse-like species that used to live in the far north until two Demon families took over their territory for a battle over power. It¡¯s so small now, that the two families had to agree to look after them as part of a truce. Since that truce was created about a hundred years ago, it has allowed them to avoid extinction and they¡¯re a part of a small group called the ¡°Endangerment Trust¡± and they¡¯ve been reintroduced to other regions to bring their numbers back up.¡¯

    ¡®I wasn¡¯t expecting such a historical reply, but thanks for the backstory. Are they usually friendly with normal horses?¡¯ He replied, a brief flash of annoyance flung across his face.

    ¡®Yes and no, but we can cover that another time.¡¯ She replied, waving a hand nonchalantly to move from the topic.

    Staring at the creature again, he wondered why it felt weirdly perfect as a creature similar to a horse. Then again, this was a new world to him, so he reminded himself that he would be in for a lot of surprises over the coming few weeks. Reiki noticed that there was

    ¡®Come on, let¡¯s get going. Let¡¯s go visit my step-cousin in the Upper Sanctum.¡¯

    And with that, she dragged him off by her hand. Sofya muttered under her breath to herself before following suit. The two teenagers and the adventurer both made their way into a normal, horse-drawn carriage and travelled through the city streets. On their way, they passed through a gate to what she just called the ¡°Upper Sanctum¡±. The walls between the regions, or Sanctums, were much lower than the wall that surrounded the cityscape, yet they did have enough height to consider it a boundary. He was amazed at the size of the city and hoped to see more, but Aerys stuck up the conversation again. Luckily, the walls of the taxi-like carriage seemed good at blocking out most sound to him.

    ¡®You¡¯ll need to answer to the King of my home city when we get back.¡¯ She stated, her eyes losing their glow as she stared out of the window. ¡®Being away from home is a bit unnerving, it was such a pain in the a¨C Oh, we¡¯re two streets away!¡¯ She added, her gaze glowing once again.

    ¡®Before that happens, I¡¯d like to let you know a little something.¡¯ He replied nervously, scratching the back of his neck once again.

    Her head shifted so she could glance curiously at him. He looked at Sofya and despite her skyme, a scornful glance sideways at him, she quickly nodded to let him continue.

    ¡®Oh? What is it?¡¯ Her curiosity peeked, causing her to turn and face him directly.

    ¡®It¡¯s my name,¡¯ He replied, ¡®It¡¯s not James Bourde... It¡¯s...¡¯

    His hesitation caught the young girl''s interest, but she played it off as if she didn¡¯t really care. However, she did wonder what his true name was.

    ¡®So his name isn¡¯t James? I wonder what it is. I wonder if it¡¯s going to be worse or better than his current one.¡¯

    After a minute of waiting patiently, the carriage started to slow down as they approached a large open path between two very ornate columns on either side of a copper-coloured double-gate. A blue circle glowed on the gate near a strange lock, vanishing just before the gates slowly opened by themselves. Before they had made it entirely onto the private land, he steeled his resolve.

    ¡®M-my... my name is Reiki. Reiki Honoka.¡¯

    ¡®... That¡¯s actually much cooler than that previous one.¡¯ She replied after a short pause. ¡®That one was a bit boring and generic, if you ask me.¡¯

    They stopped discussing names, or anything for that matter. He felt a weight on his shoulders vanish a little after revealing his true name. The carriage drew up to the front of the large building, causing hm to take a peek out of his window. Luckily for Reiki, he was on the side facing the building, which was awe-inspiring and he wondered if it was a mansion.

    Luckily, they didn¡¯t spend much time there. She just wanted to drop by and say hello, which ended up taking about fifteen minutes, then left after she asked one of the butlers to send off a message to her father. He¡¯d played along long enough with the fact that he forgot she was a princess, until she retold her cousin the story of her kidnapping. That took another thirty minutes. Including a few details Reiki was lucky to haven¡¯t noticed at the time.

    Needless to say, she was surprised when Reiki continued to treat her the same once they were back on the road. After a change in clothes, they swapped over to a Vaikyren-drawn Royal Carriage and started the trip to Froes¨¦. Needless to say, it was a long journey back to her home city. Yet something felt slightly off to Sofya once they picked up Markus, who¡¯d been out to buy some food and collect some wares for the ride.

    She couldn¡¯t put a finger on it, but something just felt off about their co-driver.

 1.6 - An Ambitious Ambush

    The first few hours of travel went by without a hitch. To think that there were some things to do whilst on the trip was impressive to Reiki, who was currently watching Aerys practice her magic. With support from Markus of course. The forgotten thought that this world had magic came back to bite him in the butt when he was told that they¡¯d be practising magic as one of their activities during their pit stops every few hours.

    The Vaikyren that pulled their carriage were currently eating away at a queach covered with a variety of berries and fruits. They don¡¯t usually need to stop for food on long trips, but after their emotional displays, they conveyed that they hadn¡¯t eaten in a few days.  The use of subtle squawks, chirps and gentle clicking of their beaks was part of their way of communication with the other races.

    ¡®Hey, Reiki! Take a look at this!¡¯ Aerys yelled, pulling his attention from the fish that leapt every so often from the glistening river that slowly flowed by.

    His gaze was distracted by a flowing bubble of water over the river a bit further down from himself. His eyes widened with what looked like a ball of water sloshing around in the air over the river. His jaw dropped at the sheer volume of water her ¡°Air Element¡± was carrying. The reason he knew about the magic, was because they¡¯d been teaching him how everyone has different levels of affinity for each of the ¡°Core Elements¡±.

    He had found it very interesting that there was also some level of randomness to who got certain Elemental Affinities. Despite some gifted people having their through hereditary gain, or from the Elements matching their personality; at least to a certain extent. Public reports of these Affinities had shown that the top three Elements were Earth, Air, and then Water. Aerys had been an Air and Fire Elemental; she excelled at the Air element, Fire... not so much.

    However, it didn¡¯t take long for Aerys to lose control. She had been holding the water in her Air element for a little too long. The water started to splash everywhere as the surface of her ability started to move around and fluctuate. Then, as a final measure, she stopped using her magic before she lost control and made it any worse... It still got worse.

    ¡®BWAAH! ppth-ftth-wahhhh!¡¯

    The splashback from the large volume of water she¡¯d been holding in the air soaked both her and Sofya, her current tutor. It took a few seconds, but everyone started giggling at the misfortune of Sofya and Aerys getting soaked and Reiki getting a few splashes on himself.

    ¡®Heheh, oops!¡¯

    It didn¡¯t take long for Sofya to speak up. Acting as a tutor and temporary mother figure for the trip, she had grown accustomed to her role rather quickly. Even Reiki was genuinely impressed at how she was able to switch between different personas and social masks.

    ¡®That was a little reckless to keep it going like that, Aerys. I might have to restrict your snacks from now on until we get to Froes¨¦...¡¯ She teased, hoping to get a childish reaction.

    ¡®Geh, Whaa...?¡¯ Aerys said, flustered and speechless at the thought of having her snack access revoked.

    ¡®Relax, she¡¯s only teasing you.¡¯ Reiki piped up, rubbing his head in a fairly clean, egg-shell white cloth.

    He had seen a symbol just to the side of Aerys¡¯ head briefly pop up. It was a little fuzzy from their distance until he¡¯d spoken. It had almost like a paralysis icon, but he decided to just ignore it. Luckily, Aerys performed a spell, uttering words that mostly didn¡¯t translate to Reiki¡¯s native language.

    <# Aeros Vox Fryl Drasi: Dry Blast #>

    (Aeros Vox Fryl Drasi: Dry Blast)

    A small, symmetrical pattern below the feet of Aerys and Sofya glowed a vibrant sky-blue. He couldn¡¯t see it yet, but the air started to gently whirlwind around both of the women. The dampness in their clothing started to fade away and after a few more spell casts, they were as dry as before. Give or take a few unreached areas by the focused wind.

    ¡®On another note; how are we going to sleep on the way to the Capital? Will it be in the carriage en-route, or...?¡¯ He asked as Markus came from from the queach just down the river from them, where it was calm enough to catch fish.

    ¡®Oh hey, Reiki!¡¯ Markus replied, walking up with a bucket jiggling oddly. ¡®We¡¯ve got some tents we can put up when we find a place to camp. We¡¯ve got a fair distance to travel, so we might need more than one stop along the way.¡¯ He¡¯d pointed down the road in the direction they have yet to continue.

    ¡®That¡¯s good to know.¡¯ Reiki replied, leaning back and watching some four-winged birds with long, thin tails and shorter tail feathers flying overhead.

    Placing the bucket down, he started to take apart and pack away his makeshift fishing equipment. Reiki had offered to help, but being the guy that he was, Markus declined. It didn¡¯t take long to pack up after their little stop, so they were on the road less than a quarter of an hour later. The two adventurers, as well as Reiki himself, hoped the trip would be quick and swift.

    < # # # >

    Sunset quickly approached as they slowly made their way through a forest, the light density of the trees offering an almost perfectly moonlit view of their trail. Entering a small open area, the carriage pull off the track and came to a stop. Reiki helped Markus to unpack and pitch the tents up whilst secretly using his speed to gather sticks and branches for the anticipated warmth that comes with making campfires. All whilst Aerys and Sofya were setting the scene for their late-evening meal, but not cooking it though.

    Surprisingly to Reiki, Markus was the best ¡°on-the-road cook¡± out of everybody present in their group. After a barely seasoned fish, that tasted a bit like mackerel mixed with a bit of salmon or tuna to Reiki, they all got into their sectioned areas after wishing each other a calm night¡¯s rest.

    Reiki couldn¡¯t help by lay awake whilst he spent his first free night just overwhelmed by everything that had happened since his arrival. He felt like he could stay awake for hours talking to himself about it. Unfortunately for him, Markus had forgotten to check for an extra tent before they left and now they had to share. As he couldn¡¯t sleep, he remembered his sister and her little teaching she gave him, and feeling a bit empty on the inside, he gather up a little courage to open up to the adventurer laying beside him.

    ¡®...Hey Markus, if you¡¯re awake, would you mind it if we talked for a while?¡¯ He asked, turning his head to look at the man on the other side of the tent.

    ¡®What¡¯s up? Can¡¯t s¡ª?¡¯

    The sudden lack of any sound outside the tent caught the attention of both Reiki and Markus. The dead of silence broken when a cracking of a twig echoed across the open space. Before Reiki could react, Markus was quick to equip some of his armour as he stepped out of the tent. An almost imperceivable dim wave of blue light spread across the tent as a series of loud clashes, crackles and whooshes filled the air. Reiki attempted to sneak a peek outside of the tent, only to have his hand forced back in a dim flash of blue.

    ¡®I¡¯m being shielded?! Actually... That might be a good thing. I can check out my ability window in peace now.¡¯ Thought Reiki, as he scratched behind his right ear.

    As the battle continued, Markus kept Reiki protected by implementing his ¡°Shielding¡± enhancement on the tent.

    ¡®Tch... I wish I could use my Artys Shield, but I had to imbue it on that tent to protect the kid.¡¯ Markus thought, as his longsword swung impossibly fast to block a short blade from one of the covered assailants. As he slipped a knee up to kick them away, he grabbed at a piece of apparel that looked loose. Then tugged it downwards with such force, that the ground cracked slightly.

    ¡®Gyack!¡¯

    The assailant¡¯s weapons clattered to the ground as they stared up blankly into the night sky.  Arms limp, long and shallow breathing, the occasional cough. That¡¯s when he moved on to the next three assailants. Performing different takedowns on each of those who remain. His personal technique - ¡°Braunfel Sword-Fist: First Form Defence¡± - was just as potent as the one on his first assailant. Markus wasn¡¯t a B-Rank adventurer just for his strength, but for his intellect and battle sense too.

    Sofya, closer to the centre of the small glade, was using her Elemental skills and her Elemental Blade techniques to keep her assailants fixated on her and not Aerys. With her battle-adapted mindset from the years of fighting in arena events and participating in monster swarms, she knew how easy it was to mess up. As the encounter continued, Reiki found himself more acquainted with his menu system. In the few minutes that he had been left alone, he¡¯d found out that his abilities were ¡°level-locked¡± and required him to gain enough experience to unlock them.

    ¡®So not only do I have to gain the necessary amount of points, but I also have to level up my main player level to get more abilities. Even for my sub-abilities... Man, this sucks. I hope Markus is doing okay outside.¡¯

    Laying back on his makeshift bedding, a soft thud sounded again as Markus disarmed and knocked out another assailant. The floating window before him followed his movement when an orange icon appeared just to the side of what he was looking at. A few quick successions of clanging followed by the sound of something crumbling made him glance at the tent cover briefly, worried that he¡¯d have to find a way to bypass the weird protective layer. Shaking his head lightly, his focus was brought back to the now flashing icon.

    ¡®Huh? This is new. Let¡¯s have a look.¡¯

    Tapping the small icon, the icon expanded and moved behind the floating window which he promptly closed. Within the span of a few seconds, the icon exploded into a bunch of voxelated boxes, before displaying some kind of very zoomed in, Atlas-styled display of the open space around the tents.

    ¡®... Drat, I can¡¯t change the scale or anything. It¡¯s just a single area.¡¯ He mumbled to himself.

    Two half-coloured, gradient, greenish-white dots dashed between a few of the unusually dawn-tinted dots. Upon contact on the map, he couldn¡¯t know what was going on, but up to a few minutes later, the dawn-tinted dots either faded to a deep grey or turn completely black. It didn¡¯t take too long before all of the dots were a smorgasbord of greys and blacks on a soft, tanned background colour. He swiped a hand down through the window as one of the half-coloured dots started heading towards the centre of the display; promptly closing it in a misty cloud of voxels.

    ¡®¡ªight, thank god that was sorted out.¡¯ Markus said, as a dim flash of white cascaded from the tent, almost like shattered glass. ¡®I see the tent held up against that javelin someone threw. Not even a scratch.¡¯

    That was news to Reiki, he didn¡¯t even know that the tents were being targeted. With a bit of prompting, Markus told Reiki about the attack and how most of them were focused on Aerys¡¯ tent, but some were after this tent as well. They had both been keeping an eye on the surrounding area, but nothing could be done for those who came after them.

    ¡®At least nothing bad happened. After all, he did say they were all tied up now.¡¯

    The night went by quickly as everyone finally got their rest before hopping into the carriage the following day.

    < # # # >

    The early morning was a good start if they planned to get to the Capital City of Froes¨¦ before sundown. However, this briefly led to an almost awkward confrontation between Reiki and Aerys. Luckily, neither of them were aware of the other and they were a fair distance apart; they were briefly skinny-dipping to clean themselves before leaving their temporary camp area.

    ¡®Hey, Reiki.¡¯ Aerys asked, using a dainty brush to straighten her hair out.

    ¡®Yeah?¡¯ He replied, turning his head from the window once again; automatically closing the display window he was actually reading from.

    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

    ¡®When we get to Froes¨¦, you might need to stand before my father and his retinue before doing anything else.¡¯ She said, as her brush briefly got caught in her hair. ¡®After all, it would be nice to show you around the city with a proper escort.¡¯

    ¡®Wait, I have to stand before your father and his lessers? He¡¯s not the King by any chance, right? I¡¯d rather just have a small audience with you and your parents in some kind of meeting room, rather than in front of a bunch of people.¡¯ With that comment, she just stared at him incredulously before her gaze softened a little.

    ¡®First off, they¡¯re not these ¡°lessers¡± you say they are. They¡¯ve been with my family for years.¡¯ She clarified, as she finished with her hair and put the brush in the small netted pocket in the side of the carriage. ¡®As my father¡¯s retinue, they¡¯re there to help him as his bodyguards, advisors, or what have you.¡¯

    That silenced him a little too quickly for his own liking. Yet, he preferred this over arguing about it any further. Sofya joined the conversation to ease it away from te tension it had grown.

    ¡®For a noble lady, you are a little intense in your words towards your saviour, Princess.¡¯

    This made her clench a fist then take a few deep breaths to calm herself down. The ride was less tense after calming both parties down; Reiki from his humble denial of remembering anything from seeing her tied up to finding himself in the bed of an inn and Aerys from her heated moment of protecting her fathers image.

    It took a bit longer for Reiki, but they both apologised soon after and then proceeded to discuss what they liked and didn¡¯t like. Reiki, being reincarnated, didn¡¯t know much about the world he was in, so he had asked what types of games there were for long distance travel. When he was told, he was shocked.

    ¡®Is that really the only game for long distance trips?!¡¯ He exclaimed, his brows raised, eyes widened and mouth agape.

    ¡®Yeah, that and one other game not so well used. I¡¯ve always felt like we¡¯ve needed more, but nobody has any idea for things to do.¡¯ She replied, leaning onto the roughly cushioned armrest and resting her head in her hand. ¡®At least that¡¯s from what I¡¯ve heard.¡¯

    ¡®Well, I might have some ideas for future travellers.¡¯ He replied, getting looks of curiosity from pretty much everyone in the carriage. ¡®But I don¡¯t think given them now would be such a good idea, if it affects the local economy.¡¯

    ¡®I hope it¡¯s not like it does in all those other manga and anime I¡¯ve seen and read.¡¯ He added as a personal afterthought, the edge of his lips quivering at the thought.

    Almost immediately, the other three agreed with his statement but for different yet similar reasons. As the trip continued, mostly in silence after a rowdy and hyperactive discussion about the night before, Reiki couldn¡¯t help but wonder if he would be able to get there on his own, but to appear courteous, he had decided to stay in the carriage with them. Luckily, a few games of ¡°Guess What I See¡±, this Earth¡¯s version of ¡°I-Spy¡±, and a bit of small talk kept them busy and awake.

    The day was quickly over, even the next rest stop was a surprisingly quiet one. Especially after that previous night. The lack of bandits at the second spot suggested that they hadn¡¯t travelled out that far since the night attack. They kept their hopes up on the remaining hours of the day, and as luck would have it, only a few horse-drawn carriages appeared which were either stationed on the side, or moving much slower than their arriage.

    It didn¡¯t take long, but one such confrontation ended up with Markus getting Reiki to help him. An old couple had lost two wheels, damaged the third wheen and somehow the front half of their carriage had collapsed. With the extra help, they were able to pull the carriage to the side of the road and help with fixing some of the structure work. Reiki couldn¡¯t do much, but the older guy was ale to use limited skills in getting the carriage into a good enough shape.

    ¡®The company behind their model is known for selling bad units, but this looks like the handiwork of their laziest worker.¡¯ Scratching his head, he stared roughly in the direction of their destination. ¡®I hope they can get it back to the Capital, or at least a few more miles.¡¯

    ¡®Who on Earth could that be?¡¯ Aerys spoke up, after removing another one of her Medi-Sigils and not meaning to sound sarcastic and rhetorical. ¡®I can have my dad look into it.¡¯ She added after a long second of silence.

    ¡®While that would be nice, I think having a hands-on team to infiltrate and assess the company is the best case I can think of.¡¯ Sofya replied, as she sat down beside Aerys and patted her head gently. ¡®At least for now.¡¯ Markus added with a wink.

    They all agreed, despite lack of input from Reiki, that a note to the Fruntall Guildhouse in Froes¨¦ would be the best option. Aside from that, the trip was pretty much lacking in any form of activity. Because of that, he spent most of his time staring out the window. The variety of fields, forests, glades, and open plains mixed in with various terrains left the routes into and out of some small villages and towns along the way. The kind that aren¡¯t usually visible, unlike Google Maps or Google Earth where you could zoom in to see them.

    ¡®Hey Reiki,¡¯ Aerys asked, as she leant over him to watch the carriage crest another tall hill. ¡®Out of curiosity, what are your abilities?¡¯ The question caught him out of the blue, so he didn¡¯t have an immediate response ready. It was earlier than he expected it, but he knew that it wsa going to crop up eventually.

    ¡®Uh, I¡¯m not sure how to describe them exactly.¡¯ He replied, subtly rubbing his right ear to bring up his stat window.

    Surprise briefly scatter across his thoughts as the green window plastered itself against the glass. His status and skills listed clear as day for him. He noticed that his superspeed and telepathy abilities would make him stand out, but the three glitched out abilities below them were all fuzzy. He looked over his stats again, but this time noticed that his Mana Pool, MP for short, was staring him right in the face.

    ¡®...Why is my mana at zero?!¡¯ He screamed mentally, his brow furrowed as he stared at his MP and then at his health; labelled as ¡°LP¡±. ¡®At least my health is listed as Life Points. I think.¡¯

    ¡®Reiki? You okay?¡¯ Aerys said, snapping him out from his reaction.

    ¡®Ah, uhm... I¡¯m good.¡¯ He tried to keep on his previous bored face, but it was obvious to her that something was bothering him.

    ¡®Hmm, if you say so.¡¯ A look of concern and a less-furrowed brow sat on Aerys¡¯ face as they slipped into silence once again. Apart from another game of Guess-What-I-See with Aerys and Sofya.

    The window blipped and vanished once again into a digitized dust as his finger brushed his ear again. The chance that he was leaning on his right hand helped out in hiding his action to display his stats. As his luck would have it, his boredom wouldn¡¯t last long; the crest of the hill had been crossed. As they continued forwards and took a corner to the left, the trees of the hill-side forest gave way to a spectacular view down into the vast fields of plains. The city in the distance that his eyes snapped to made his breath catch slightly.

    After passing through a village who promised to help the older travellers who were heading their way, they finally got into a line of carriages that lead for a good kilometre or so from the gates. At this distance, the walls looked old but had a strong appeal for anyone who not only visited, but lived within them.

    As their carriage slowly crawled towards the gates, Adventurers and the cityfolk could be seen walking, jogging or running back and forth along the sides of the road. The path shifted from some grass-less form in the surrounding plains over a short but well-designed cobbled road.

    The occasional yell muffled by the walls of the carriage, the crunking of the wooden wheels on the cobbles, and the gentle arome of some foreign meats floating into their vicinity gave the place an atmosphere that would be very easy to come home to. The western walls lit up in the glow of the sun as it began its descent towards the horizon.

    ¡®This place looks amazing. I wish we¡¯d come here sooner.¡¯ Reiki said, as he carefully peeked out from a curtain.

    ¡®We could have been here earlier, if it wasn¡¯t for stopping to help the older couple from earlier.¡¯ Replied Sofya, who briefly messed with the ends of her hair. ¡®Besides, you should stop looking. We couldn¡¯t have people looking in through the windows and seeing their princess here now, would we?¡¯ She added, a serious and concerning look making him snap he hand back form the curtain.

    He couldn''t help but notice Markus had been quiet for the majority of the trip since the bandits attacked. The carriage rolled slowly forwards once again, two adventurers could be heard chatting idly as they slowly walked past. Taking a very quick and final peek, he saw one was holding a crate of something and the other was hauling some kind of cargo trailer. The trailer had a gold insignia on the side of it, but he couldn¡¯t quite make it out from his angle before dropping the curtain down.

    ¡®Huh. I think some people are gonna get through before us.¡¯ He stated, leaning back against the wall behind him.

    A few seconds later, Markus visibly relaxed as they pulled one carriage closer to the gates. Without realising it, Reiki had missed the fact that his eyes had been closed for the majority of the ride back.

    ¡®There¡¯s nobody here who can or could detect Princess Aerys nor us.¡¯ He stated, grabbing the hilt of his sword. ¡®It¡¯s a little odd, but it¡¯s also a good thing.¡¯

    Their little carriage didn¡¯t have any royal insignias or colour schemes that really stood out in the queue, but they were aware of the length of time in the queue they were using up. But before long, they continued right up to the gates, where the sounds of a bustling city started to fliter through the small gateway. The clatter of the wheel passing over the wooden drawbridge made Reiki wonder why he hadn¡¯t seen it when he was looking, but didn¡¯t bother to ask. He¡¯d figure out why it was there at a later point.

    Upon stopping, they could hear some raised voices outside and the carriage started jostling about. The voices went from a heated argument to a concerned duo of voices after the third voice suddenly stopped speaking. They both got clearer as they approached the door and both were bassy, male voices.

    ¡®¨Cave him there for now. He can¡¯t go far.¡¯

    ¡®Okay then. So¡­ What illegal goods do we hav¨C Ow!¡¯

    A third voice suddenly cut in as they approached the door. Sofya gestured for the two teenagers to swap seats so the view from a partially opened door would be the two adventurers first, rather than the two teens.

    ¡®What do you two think you¡¯re doing?!¡¯ It was female.

    The authoritative and demanding tone caused the two males to apologise profusely. The door opened and a head poked in.

    ¡®I¡¯m so sorry, some newbies thought your driver was a potential target for a recent kidnapping.¡¯ Her tone was ridden with sorrow as she pulled her head from her hand she¡¯d facepalmed into.

    After spending a second glancing into the distance, as if wishing for something, she looked at the two adventurers and did a double take. Her previous demeanour overridden by a sudden wave of excitement suddenly present in her gentle smile and warmer-looking eyes.

    ¡®Are... Are you two Sofya and Markus?¡¯ She recognised them almost immediately whilst keeping her formal role as the boss to the two guards. Who¡¯d taken their tied-up driver to a cage in the walls. ¡®I¡¯ve heard so much about y¨C¡¯

    ¡®Indeed they are.¡¯ Aerys spoke up, as she leant forward and interrupted her. ¡®You must be Kae. I¡¯m so glad to see you again.¡¯

    ¡®P-p¡­Aerys?! You¡¯re back?!¡¯ Kae almost screamed out of pure surprise, but kept it to a whisper... then she noticed Reiki. ¡®Who¡¯s the fellow? You¡¯re not cheating on your boyfriend, are you Aerys?¡¯ She whispered into the carriage.

    Aerys just giggled and told her the basic details of how she was brought back to Froes¨¦. Reiki was introduced to Kae Rumine, the ¡°General of the Guards¡±. What that meant flew over the head of Reiki, but he definitely noticed the emblem on her breastplate was different to the ones shared by the males.

    Luckily for them, they were able to bypas any checks, but Markus had to get back onto the front of the carriage. It would later be confirmed that their driver had been part of their bandit attack, but that information would be known to them a little later on.

    As they approached the castle, the young adult was in awe at the mansion before him; Runatyria Castle. The commoners like to call it the House of Runa, in homage to the kind and caring nature of Aerys¡¯ family and their bonds with the people who live and work within the city. A thing many were enthralled to be a part of.

    Time flew by quickly when Aerys almost stepped out of the carriage carelessly, only to be met by a throng of people who were worried about her. Reiki was surprised when some of them were worried about her health and her wellbeing. The mixture of the races before him were mostly human focused and he would later learn that this was a city for all of the races to enjoy just being themselves without any issues raised against them.

    He wanted to make sure that she would be okay getting in, when they all parted and made a straight line after a rather loud cough. That was when he noticed an older couple before them and knew he had to own up for saving her. Especially since the worst thing to do right now, was to use his powers to run off and hide.

    Without realising it, he¡¯d followed Aerys with the two adventurers behind him until he was invited inside the large structure, away from what he thought were the prying eyes of the people. But when he looked out of the closing doors, everybody was already hurrying back to their homes or some evening jobs.

    ¡®I¡¯m so glad you¡¯re home, my Little Aerys.¡¯ The woman cried out as soon as the doors slammed shut. ¡®We¡¯ll need to make sure you don¡¯t get caught off-guard like that again. Won¡¯t we, Malachi?¡¯ She added on as she smothered her daughter just enough that she started to push herself away. It was almost comical, if not for the fact their attention turned towards him.

    ¡®Indeed, Aurelina. Aerys, who is this boy you¡¯ve dragged in here?¡¯ The oddly cheerful tone in his voice didn¡¯t match the glint of menace in his eyes as he briefly glanced at Reiki.

    ¡®Father, this is Reiki Honoka. He was a Nab-and-Run who helped us escape from the centre of the kidnapping operations. Including myself.¡¯ She finally managed to pull away from her mother, and walked over to him as she introduced him.

    ¡®Well. I¡¯d never have known a young boy like him to pull anything like that off. They¡¯ve been causing us issues for weeks!¡¯ Her mother replied curtly. Her motherly attention is no longer present and an air of confidence and logic resonated from her. They stayed silent, until Reiki realised he needed to speak up.

    ¡®... Um, Ma-lah-kye, sir, I¨C I just did what I thought was right.¡¯ He said timidly, bowing his head slightly.

    ¡®I¡¯m glad you thought that way, young man.¡¯ He replied, surprised that he¡¯d gotten a curt and to-the-point response.

    What he didn¡¯t know is it was Reiki¡¯s social persona that allowed him the ability to talk in front of the man before him. But what made him react in the most unexpected way possible was her leaning in to whisper to him. The closest any other girl than his sister had been.

    ¡®Hey Reiki, that''s my father, The King of Froes¨¦, and he¡¯d like to reward you for saving me.¡¯

    ¡®...Wh¨C?!¡¯

    At that... Well... He fainted in front of everyone.

 1.7 - A Faultered Introduction

    Normally, according to a brief once-over with Aerys, meeting a Royal would either be because of a heinous act or a righteous one. Today, it was for the latter. That would be true in most cases, but for Reiki, it felt like his luck was soon going to run out. Especially when it was overwhelming to be standing before so many people. After all, he wasn''t expecting such an audience.

    He would¡¯ve been fine if it was with just Aerys, and Maybe her parents too. However, her parents had invited a few of her extended family. Three of which were also present, including a few adventurers and two trustworthy guild members; both from Froes¨¦¡¯s most popular guild, ¡°Fruntbell¡±. Some adventurers were cautiously sceptical, and rightfully so, that some random kid took down the head of an illegal system faster than any guild was able to. This almost began a misunderstood rumour about him, but King Malachi quickly caught it before it could spread to the public.

    After that debacle was when he learned, from the Princess¡¯ closest Maid, that royal names were sometimes hereditary due to birthmarks. Aerys is the fourth family member in her family tree to take on her name. Reiki found the system interesting, but he would learn about it later on. The reason? Aerys¡¯ father wanted to have him meet the rest of his family. A family who at the time wasn¡¯t available for the morning until their duties caught up to them. This was why Reiki was currently overwhelmed.

    Although Aerys had been a member of royalty and had to uphold a level of royal posture, she usually preferred to simply be herself. At least when no other royals were around, or when she was in public. Reiki wasn¡¯t to put on a similar facade, no matter what anyone thought of his unintentional feat or for being considered as her ¡°unintentional saviour¡±. To their surprise, it was only the size and status of her family that had caused him to faint. Luckily, after his fainting session the previous day, he¡¯d been given immediate medical care to make sure he hadn''t damaged his head on the stone floor.

    He¡¯d woken up in a room the size of a top-notch hotel suite back on his Earth. He had been informed how he¡¯d banged his head rather loudly on the floor and her parents, Malachi Runa and Aurelina Runa The Second had called for their Royal Medicians. The maid that had been assigned to him had given him the biggest info dump of her family history to the point that he wasn¡¯t sure he¡¯d be able to remember it all on the spot.

    After learning of their escapades, Aerys¡¯ father pulled a few strings to explain how the guards who were on duty had lost sight of her two weeks prior to her return. It was also revealed that her mother looked to be tough on her daughter, but it was just a display to be put on around other royals. In case they got any ideas.

    At the present, Reiki could be found in the room he¡¯d woken up in. Sat in an eggshell white tank-top-like shirt with a frill in place of the sleeves and a pair of lime green underwear. The clothes he¡¯d arrived in had been torn and muddied beyond belief and had been thrown out before they¡¯d left for Aerys¡¯ home. He was unaware he had been swinging his legs as he stared out across the city. Having the bed beside the window did help ease his anxiety. Well, until there was a brief trill of knocks on the bedroom door. The sudden sounds made him jump and he raced to hop back under the covers of the bed.

    ¡®Is the young master occupied, or can I come in?¡¯ A voice called out. It wasn¡¯t Aerys¡¯ voice, nor of her parents, but had a young and unrecognisable tone to it.

    ¡®I¡¯m... I¡¯m decent.¡¯ He called out after a cough, in turn prompting a young maid to enter the room.

    ¡®Okay, I¡¯m coming in.¡¯ They replied. The door creaked slightly and they appeared, entering backwards with something occupying both of their arms.

    The first thing he noticed was a pair of pointed, brown animal ears above brunette hair, styled into a short, twin ponytail that turned into a plait. Their maid dress didn¡¯t hand outwards like it did in the usual anime or manga Reiki had seen online. It hung close to their legs and emphasised their body shape. A wide but short, fluffy, white-tipped tail that matched their hair puffed out from behind them as they twirled into the room, the door closing slowly.

    ¡®Here¡¯s your set of clothing, as requested by Aerys.¡¯ They placed the clothing down on the back of the seat by the wooden table, and then stood attentively. ¡®She thought you¡¯d prefer something that didn¡¯t make you stand out... I also heard that you mentioned the clothing you arrived in the Capital was a little irritating around your neck. After mentioning this whilst you were unconscious, our Royal Seamstress has modified it slightly. We hope it¡¯s to your liking. I¡¯ll leave you in peace to change, but I¡¯ll be outside if you need anything else.¡¯

    After that, they promptly left the room after reminding him to rap twice on the door when he was done changing. Reiki was surprised at how quickly that had just occurred, then got up after reminding himself that he needs to get dressed. There weren¡¯t any showers open to the public, but to his surprise, there was one in his suite. It was more like the public showers found at campsites back in Europe and England, but it was better than nothing.

    In the span of about ten minutes, he finally felt refreshed once again and managed to put on the clothes that were gifted to him. He rapped twice, and the maid opened the door then proceeded to guide him through the vast building. She answered a few of the questions he had about some of the rooms they passed, especially that of the library. During the walking, he managed to paint a rough map in his head of where he guessed everything was. He found it a bit of a surprise when the map in his head didn¡¯t seem to vanish into a hazy memory like it normally did. But to avoid looking weird, he kept on going, mapping out the place with a top-down style picture in his mind. Then he remembered his odd minimap feature and that it¡¯s now mapping out his immediate surroundings for him. Even though it no longer showed up on the upper corner of his peripheral vision like a videogame¡¯s heads-up display.

    After a short while, his sense of anxiety over getting lost had lowered significantly as the maid slowly guided him out towards the front of the building until her eyes shifted. She guided him down the stairs to the mid-way landing before bowing slightly and escusing herself from his presence. Just as he turned to head down the stairs, Aerys¡¯ mother had just stepped out from a side room and had started walking towards the stairs.

    The instant she spotted Reiki coming down the stairs, following the maid, she stopped and briefly stared at him before relaxing her mind as she met his gaze.

    ¡®Good morning, Reiki. I¡¯m so glad to see you¡¯re unharmed.¡¯ She said gently, as he finished the last step off of the stairs. ¡®I trust that the Medicians treated you well?¡¯ She added, briefly glancing slowly at where the maid had walked off to.

    ¡®Uhm, Good¨C Good morning, Queen Aurelina.¡¯ He replied, offering a curt bow as they came to an appropriate talking distance. ¡®Yeah, they were nice and friendly once I stopped panicking about how I reacted.¡¯

    ¡®Well... That¡¯s to be expected of them.¡¯ She hesitated, an openly amused expression suddenly appearing on her face.

    Clearly, she hadn¡¯t been expecting such a casually formal response as she briefly snapped her head around to look at him and started heading back into the maze that her mansion was to him.

    ¡®Is it? Oh.¡¯ He replied, following her as he strolled off to the side of her. ¡®I was sure there would be a repercussion for fainting in your home.¡¯

    ¡®Don¡¯t you worry, young man,¡¯ An unfamiliar voice spoke from behind Reiki, making him visibly jump and giving off blink-and-you¡¯ll-miss-it sparks of his neon-green lightning.

    The queen visibly kept her calm body manners, excluding her genuinely humoured smirk, but internally she giggled and was wholeheartedly amused at his skittish reaction. Their conversation continued as they walked down a few corridors, with a few turns - left, straight, right, left, straight, left - until she approached her destination.

    ¡®¨Cut he¡¯s not even up yet!¡¯ Came a young girls voice on the other side of the doors. ¡®That boy must be given a highly ranking profession!¡¯ She exclaimed. ¡®Or at least he could date me for a short while.¡¯

    ¡®That boy saved your cousin before she had permanent damage done to her body, Reubyssa!¡¯ Came a stern voice, so loud that the door had shaken audibly. ¡®Don¡¯t think for a second that I¡¯ll give you preferential treatment even if you are just her sister-in-law!¡¯ The bellowing continued.

    Reiki visibly jumped at the volume of that last comment, while Queen Aurelina was used to such outbursts. Luckily, the door was blocking most of the voice out, yet it was clear that the voice had been very loud when a young girl, with triple-tailed plaits interwoven through her hip-length, maple-brown hair raced out. As she passed the two of them, he noticed she had a pair of twin-tailed plaits down the back of her head and raced out of the room holding her ears and bawling strong tears.

    ¡®Who¡¯s that?¡¯ He asked Aerys¡¯ mother, curious about the girl.

    ¡®That would be my daughter-in-law, Reubyssa.¡¯ She replied curtly as the sound of the girl¡¯s wailing faded into the distance. ¡®As my husband is now the ruler of the Froebel Empire, he¡¯s required to have at least two wives in case one is unable to have a proper childbirth or if they¡¯re incompatible with each other.¡¯

    His eyebrows raised quickly as his face gave away his inner feelings at that very moment.

    ¡®... That¡¯s... that¡¯s actually quite interesting.¡¯ He responded after a few seconds, regaining his composure as he struggled to find the right words to say next.

    He would¡¯ve continued thinking about it, but her next comment caught him off-guard.

    ¡®If it¡¯s all the same with you I¡¯m not too fond of the rule myself, but I do see the few benefits it has had for our family bloodline.¡¯ She added as her forced face vanished briefly, the brief hint of her lips curling up in distaste at such a thought crossing her mind. ¡®I¡¯d rather not reveal this to anyone outside of our family. It¡¯s a bit of a big deal.¡¯ She added after a deep sigh.

    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    ¡®Got it. Avoid mentioning the royal contingencies in public.¡¯ Reiki reminded himself, he nodded quietly in response, as they finally entered the room.

    The room consisted of two walls with large shelves almost covered with various objects. The third wall was less of a wall and more of a connected, wide balcony that overlooked a fairly large open space within the confines of the building itself. What drew Reiki¡¯s attention was the man he¡¯d briefly seen earlier before passing out sitting behind a large desk with a stack of books and some lazily placed sheets of paper around him.

    The man seemed to him like he was under a lot of stress. But after entering the room, the King not only did a double take, but he stood up so quickly that some papers flew into the air. He composed himself, collected the papers and sat back down. Coughing in the process to hide how he¡¯d acted.

    ¡®Young man,¡¯ Spoke King Malachi, his slightly wavering tone anything but strong and royal-like. ¡®I¡¯d like to say a big thank you for saving my daughter, Aerys.¡¯ He added, shifting his weight as he rested his elbow on the table, chin in his hand.

    ¡®I think it was just a big stroke of luck, your Majesty.¡¯ He replied, hoping to keep some level of formality between them. ¡®I could¡¯ve made it out completely and gotten better help, but I don¡¯t think she would¡¯ve been alive by the time I¡¯d return for everyone.¡¯ He bowed slightly as he finished talking.

    ¡®We¡¯re just glad she¡¯s safe,¡¯ Replied Queen Aurelina, as she sat down across from her husband. ¡®Now come, there¡¯s no need to be so humble and formal with us. Despite my husband¡¯s messy desk, it¡¯s actually a rather small amount to deal with today. Now sit, and tell us how you got drawn into all this.¡¯ She¡¯d added, patting the armrest of the chair beside her.

    This lead into a full length disclosure of how Reiki felt, what he¡¯d seen and what he experienced during his time in the illegal operation. From the discovery of his superspeed, to the rage-induced sense of speed at the end. Within that time, they had been interrupted two times by three more visitors. Two guards, a tiger-girl a wolf-man, along with Aerys herself had made an appearance whilst Reiki had been wrapping up his side of their escape. The guards that hadn¡¯t known anything of how Aerys¡¯ rescue ensued were astonished at the descriptions Reiki was giving. Especially the guard who seemed to be nervously shifting on their feet, as their ears twitched every time their head shifted to look somewhere other than at the King and Queen.

    ¡®...and that¡¯s how I ended up in your care.¡¯ Reiki said, as he finished his telling of the events from his perspective. Excluding the gods and how he previously lived on another Earth, but including his cover story that his parents and grandparents were dead.

    ¡®That¡¯s incredible.¡¯ King Malachi exclaimed, obviously on the edge of his seat from the events he¡¯d just listened to. ¡®We have to get your abilities checked out. Would you like to take a visit to the Adventurers GUild, Fruntbel?¡¯ He asked after a few seconds of thought as he¡¯d rubbed his thin-bearded chin.

    ¡®That would probably be a good idea.¡¯ Aerys finally interrupted. ¡®I could take him down now if he¡¯s up for it. That way, both of us can avoid my sister-in-law for the rest of the day.¡¯ She quickly added, her voice going quiet as if Ruebyssa was on the other side of the door, listening in.

    Which there was no need to, as she was not. She was sulking in her room, cuddling a pillow from her, ironically named ¡°king-sized¡± bed. She sneezed twice in succession, then crawled over to her dresser to take a sip of water.

    ¡®I would normally say that it¡¯s not a good idea to go out so quickly after yet another kidnapping of yours Aerys.¡¯ One of the guards quickly responded, as a new thought entered their head.

    ¡®Please tell us what you were thinking, Ephyr.¡¯ Malachi asked, a brow raised slightly as he leant back in his high-backed chair.

    ¡®The young man and the young lady should now be safe, seeing that the large slave-ring operation has finally been shut down.¡¯ Everyone in the room turned to look at the guard as they finished talking. To Reiki¡¯s internal surprise, she was a tiger-girl.

    ¡®That¡¯s cheap, coming from you, Ephyr.¡¯ Scoffed the other guard, his wolf-ears pointed forward and attentive to the discussion before him.

    ¡®Quinn, what did I tell you about running your mouth before my parents?¡¯ Aerys said, letting the side of her mouth curl up mischieviously as her head tilted down slightly whilst she glance sideways.

    In his haste to rectify his outspoken comment, Aerys just covered her mouth slightly to stifle a giggle that threatened to escape her mouth. The discussion continued and it shifted to accusing and as a surprise to Reiki, consoling the Royal Guard. Whose name was revealed as Ephyr Fortuna and one of Aerys¡¯ small number of Personal Guards. Reiki was glad that this world felt more like his when they heard that she was to be demoted to a General Guard. That didn¡¯t stop her from continuing to protect her though.

    ¡®I was merely fulfilling my duties. It is, well, was my duty to protect you, but I was lapse with my focus on keeping you safe.¡¯ Answered Ephyr, her voice gentle and calm. Aerys opened her mouth to protest but then closed it. ¡®For that, I am sorry for failing you and your family.¡¯

    ¡®Apart from me almost not being able to live properly for a few days, I¡¯m fine with it.¡¯ Aerys said, as she ignored a brief but stern glance from both her parents.

    The room then idled down into a general chat amongst everyone. Reiki sat quietly as he absorbed everything they were talking about. At least the things they would say verbally. He triggered his Telepathy secretly whenever something didn¡¯t add up and reading the King¡¯s mind seemd to give him some form of understanding behind this world¡¯s economic logic. He was surprised when he could use his ability without being detected. It hadn¡¯t levelled up or anything, but this base level allowed him to read surface thoughts as well as choosing to project his own.

    ¡®If all is well now, then I think now would be a good time to step outside.¡¯ King Malachi spoke after a long while. ¡®I have a letter that needs to be delivered soon but the Regal Delivery Office is just so slow lately. Even adventurers who can run fast still take more than a day to reach the closest cities to us.¡¯

    ¡®Hey Dad, weren¡¯t you going to take¡­ um, Reiki to see Fruntbel?¡¯ Aerys said, which reminded him of when he¡¯d said that. ¡®Also, he still needs to do that thing before them as my savior still. Not that I¡¯m complaining mind you.¡¯

    ¡®You¡¯re right,¡¯ King Malachi replied, opening a drawer on his desk and fishing around for something he was after. ¡®This should suffice as a letter of introduction to the Guild for us.¡¯ He added between brush strokes, applying his signature hastily to the page.

    He handed the sheet over to Aerys before he ushered the four of them out of the room. He wanted to speak to his wife privately about something before he¡¯d meet them down at the Guildhouse.

    They all started making their way to the entrance, Reiki between Aerys and the two Guards. The guards hadn¡¯t known much about Reiki or his ability, but now knew that he was nothing like they¡¯d heard before. After a brief scan through their minds from Reiki, he discovered they really wanted to see what he could do in the Trials. He could quite see memories yet, but it sounded like something that tests how strong you are against someone stronger than you.

    Reiki kept his mouth shut as they hopped into a royal-gold-coloured, Vaikyren-drawn carriage. The cobbled roads shook the carriage a little once they left the grounds of Aerys¡¯ home. The ride was supposed to be short, but the amount of people moving out of the way whilst trying to get the attention of Princess Aerys was slowing the carriage down. They got slow enough to the point that Aerys decided to poke her head out of the window.

    ¡®Hello everybody!¡¯ She exclaimed as she stood up through the roof hatch that had been unhinged from inside. ¡®And yes, as you can see, I am safe once again!¡¯

    She continued her little spiel for a short while to the crowds, keeping Reiki hidden from their curiosity. Before she had the chance to ask if they could be allowed to get to the Fruntbel Guildhouse before her father, the crowd suddenly parted. After arriving at the Guildhouse, the General Guard Reiki had met earlier, Kae, had revealed that she and some of her off-duty men had push the commoners aside.

    ¡®Thank you, Kae!¡¯ Aerys yelled as the carriage sped off, with Kae and some of her Guardspeople riding inside and hanging off the carriage. ¡®Right, let¡¯s head inside, shall we?¡¯ She added after a pat down of the hem of her dress around her waist, followed by a shuffle of the hem around her neck.

    When they entered Fruntbel¡¯s entrance, the sight of about thirty adventurers milling about, waiting or discussing quests and adventure, made his eyes light up. He almost forgot Aerys, Ephyr and Quinn were with him.

    ¡®Hey kid, why don¡¯t you go and take a look around with Ephyr whilst Aerys and I go and talk to the guildmaster?¡¯ Spoke Quinn, as he looked around. ¡®If anything happens, just make sure Ephyr steps in to make sure you don¡¯t get into trouble.¡¯ He added before he walked off, with Aerys leading.

    ¡®Uh, thanks?¡¯ Reiki replied to thin air a second later, confounded by Aerys just leaving him there.

    For a full minute, he felt very awkward just standing there until Ephyr motioned to him to make He started to look around and was intrigued by some of the quests on the wall. He never made a show of it, but he could feel a deep glare being aimed his way by only one individual. Activating his Telepathy, he skimmed the minds of everybody in the general area until he felt the presence of a male mind fogged over a little with an odd, foggy image of his general area forming before it vanishedinto a hazy fog again.

    ¡®People can get drunk whilst working?¡¯ He thought, shocked at the individual¡¯s condition. ¡®Man, what type of world... Wait, nevermind, it¡¯s a different Earth. Obviously there¡¯s going to be some slightly different rules.¡¯

    ¡®Mytal Bugs¡­ Resonating Crystal collection¡­ Demented EarthFrog¡¯s Tongue¡­¡¯ He muttered as he read through the core parts of all the different quests he looked at. ¡®Herb collection¡­ Battle of Strengths with a Demon Warrior¡­ these sound like real challenges. Some even require cores from dead labyrinths.¡¯ He added, as he stopped to read more about the quest beside the labyrinth one.

    It was for an urgent delivery of a unique blood sample for research purposes with a few paragraphs of text. The contents below the opening paragraph were just strange mashup of numeric-looking shapes and symbols.

    ¡®Hey Ephyr, what¡¯s this one about?¡¯ He asked, as the man he¡¯d mentally scanned loudly got up and clumsily made his way over to them. ¡®I can¡¯t read this lower half.¡¯

    ¡®Oh that half is in Dymoq.¡¯ She replied, as the man came up to them and stood just off to the side. ¡®It¡¯s the home language of the Demons. It must be for the research of that new condition they¡¯re looking into. The one that Princess Aerys has.¡¯ She added, blatantly ignoring the man behind the two of them.

    ¡®Hey miss, I¡¯ve never seen that kid in town before¡­ S¡¯He new in town?¡¯ The man barely slurred, as he turned his attention to Reiki. ¡®If I were you kid, I¡¯d get some combat training in. Your arms and legs look a little thin.¡¯ He added, with a strong pat on Reiki¡¯s back before turning around and returning to his seat.

    Reiki did not expect such a clear-cut response for someone who¡¯s mind felt drunk, intoxicated and foggy.

    ¡®I guess adventurers are good at holding their liquor.¡¯ He thought to himself, until a different idea came into his mind.

    ¡®Wait¡­ Does my Telepathy skill not work on drunk minds?¡¯

 1.8 - A Guilds Surprise

    After that unexpected moment with the adventurer, Reiki felt more relieved. However, it didn¡¯t take long for the guild¡¯s members to register that he was here to meet the Guildmaster. As he was seated, Ephyr was explaining to him how their language system worked. After getting permission from the currently staffed receptionists to take it down to show him. The high quality paper like the one used for the request he held was rarely seen in public. At least that¡¯s what he was told, when he¡¯d asked just a few minutes prior, during his wait, about the differences in paper quality on the open Questboard.

    ¡®So for this sound, I don¡¯t do it at the top of my mouth?¡¯ He asked, pointing at an odd shape made up of what looked like a triangle pointing to the top-left, on a hollow circle with two lines parallel to the long edge, the one furthest from the triangle shorter than the other.

    The language model was a bit confusing to him, but also very intriguing. It had a symbol that resembled something akin to a clicking tone made by placing the tongue on the left, or when flipped, right side of the mouth before making the clicking noise. Some sounds were very foreign to him, to the ponit that he felt invested in learning and upgrading his Translation skill. A skill he¡¯d briefly noticed on his personal status window.

    Ephyr didn¡¯t know much about the language, but she knew enough to teach him a few of the sounds she¡¯d learnt during a monster raid on their borders she¡¯d been assigned to one time. According to the brief history she¡¯d remembered, the language is most common in a country much further west of their empire, called New Draconia. Often labelled by adventurers as ¡°Land of Dracka¡±.

    ¡®I¡¯m guessing they speak other languages there as well?¡¯ He asked, after counting the symbols that represented the clicking sounds.

    ¡®Not all of them do, but yes. They have a young dragon interpreter who is rumoured to know up to five languages fluently excluding two they¡¯re trying to learn, but I¡¯ve never met them to confirm that.¡¯ She said, before she noticed Aerys, Quinn and another human had appeared at the top of the right-hand set of stairs. ¡®Looks like our time is up.¡¯

    She added that last part as she took the request he handed back to her and hung it back up on the Questboard. By the time she came back, the other three had made it to their table.

    ¡®Hey Reiki, meet Ren Morrow. He¡¯s the Guildmaster of Fruntel.¡¯ Aerys stated, gesturing with her left hand casually, palm up, towards him.

    ¡®Hello there, lad.¡¯ He spoke, the subtle baritone under his chipper tone in his voice giving Reiki the impression he was a strongly motivated man. ¡®I hear that you¡¯re new here. Would you like to sign up to our guild?¡¯

    ¡®...¡¯

    Reiki was left speechless as the words sank in. He¡¯d completely forgotten why he¡¯d come to the Guild in the firstplace. Not only that, he¡¯d soon learn that he¡¯ll need to make and earn an income of his own to stay alive. Luckily, he had these people he could turn to for advice, ideas, and answers to any questions about being an adventurer.

    ¡®... Uh, right. Yes, I¡¯m here to sign up.¡¯ Reiki stammered, as he slowly made his way across the lobby to the stairs.

    Both sides were seemingly guarded with two armoured adventurers sitting at the bottom of each of the banisters. Neither stopped them, but they both gave Aerys a wave and a warm smile, which Reiki guessed he could see on her face from where he was walking. Upon reaching a room somewhere above the reception area, Ephyr and Quinn both stood outside the entrance.

    ¡®Go on, it¡¯ll be fine.¡¯ Assured Ephyr and Aerys simultaneously, which they both giggled at after noticing how in sync they were.

    With a final and gentle pat on his back, Reiki stepped into the office. It was roomier than he expected it to be, but that didn¡¯t change how anxious he was at being in a room with no support to keep him calm. Then again, this was probably a side effect of him being attached to his sister, despite being a low-level ¡°shut-in¡± for most of his life.

    ¡®If you feel uncomfortable, I will allow you to bring in one of Aerys¡¯ private escorts.¡¯ Ren stated, as he took his place behind the desk with his back facing the slightly dimmed lighting coming in from the guild¡¯s entrance it overlooked.

    ¡®... Can I bring in the¡­ um, the tiger girl?¡¯ He said anxiously, wondering what was about to happen.

    ¡®Ephyr? Why not Quinn?¡¯ Ren replied with surprise, as he¡¯d thought Reiki had wanted another male to be present, instead of a female. Then quickly reminded himself to understand that some people have various reasons for their actions and waited patiently for his response.

    ¡®She was the one who brought me here and guided me through one of the languages I noticed on the boards.¡¯ he said, a little quieter than he would¡¯ve liked.

    Ren noticed that he had not been sitting this entire time, having chosen to stay standing, and was displaying very obvious signs that he was anxious. Instead of gesturing to sit by the table that allowed him to look out over the entrance, he got up from his seat, directed him to sit on the sofa-like seats with the knee-high table between them. Within the time that he¡¯d sat down, Ren had opened the door and brought in Ephyr.

    ¡®I had no idea you were acquainted with Miss Ephy¨C¡¯

    ¡®Mrs now, sir.¡¯ Ephyr interrupted, lifting her right hand up. ¡®I¡¯d just been proposed to prior to coming out here today.¡¯

    That was a bombshell that had surprised both Ren and Reiki into silence for a few minutes, before Ren broke it with a short congratulatory speech.

    ¡®Uh, congratulations!¡¯ Was all Reiki could give in response. ¡®Who proposed to you?¡¯

    ¡®My boyfriend of four years. You¡¯ll recognise him when I say he¡¯s broad-shouldered and muscular, whilst also having the ability to¨C¡¯ She began, quickly divulging a story that, long story short, described her fianc¨¦ and that he was a well-kept adventurer. She apologised profusely afterwards, not meaning to sidetrack the real reason for this meeting.

    ¡®Right, thank you Ephyr.¡¯ Ren cleared his throat before continuing. ¡®So¡­ Ree-kee¨C¡¯

    ¡®It¡¯s Reiki¡­ sir.¡¯ He interrupted, quickly applying the formal title in his haste to fix the mispronunciation. ¡®Like a sun ray, with a key. Ray, Key. Reiki.¡¯ He added, giving a description for the way each part is pronounced.

    ¡®Huh. That¡¯s actually a cool name.¡¯ Ren said, to which Ephyr simply nodded heer head in response to.

    To Reiki himself, he could tell that Ren was being honest about his name. He noticed that Ren came across like he had a calm, courageous and outgoing yet caring personality. Before his mind could drift off, Ren returned to the matter at hand.

    ¡®So, Reiki¡­ How does it feel to have exposed, and potentially defeated one of the biggest political threats to our country?¡¯ Ren asked him, leaning forwards enough to show he was being attentive but not enough to show that he was being deadly serious about it.

    ¡®I¡­ I don¡¯t know. I just wanted to escape that place, but I don¡¯t remember anything after feeling dizzy.¡¯ He replied, then recapped his story of waking up fuzzy headed in the middle of nowhere, recalling his cover story of dead relatives through to how he woke up in Hibel, the Sister-City of the Capital, Froes¨¦.

    ¡®Wow¡­¡¯ Ephyr exclaimed after she had heard about his little adventure.

    Neither her, nor her Royal Guard colleagues had known about the conditions Aerys had gone through, but for her to be in such a delicate state causing Reiki to

    ¡®Are you able to picture the two adventurers you¡¯d bumped into?¡¯ Ren asked, grabbing a shoddy looking quill and a misshapen piece of material that looked like a badly crafted piece of paper.

    ¡®Uh, I think so?¡¯ He replied, as he started to recall those memories as best he could from his heightened state of mind back then. ¡®The man had a long jacket that came down to his knees at the back, or something like that, a thin black and red longsword on his back with some symbols on it, the woman had a¡­ I don¡¯t know how else to describe it, but it looked like a battle-ready purple kimono with gold hemming to me. The details might be slightly off, but that¡¯s the best I can remember, sorry.¡¯

    ¡®It¡¯s perfectly alright.¡¯ Ren replied, as his lips curled up gently whilst jotting this all down. ¡®Can you remember their name at all? I think I might know of them.¡¯ He added, as he placed the paper down on the low table¡¯s surface.

    ¡®I¡¯m sorry, sir, but I don¡¯t.¡¯ Reiki replied, with complete honesty.

    ¡®It¡¯s alright, kiddo.¡¯ Ephyr piped up, nudging him gently with her exposed shoulder, the side with leather armour.

    ¡®Besides, I think the king was going to give you a massively overcompensated reward for taking down a major criminal activity hotspot,¡¯ Ren spoke, as his eyes drifted to the windows and looked to Reiki as if they¡¯d defocused. ¡®...but if anything, I think you should at least deserve the chance to prove yourself as an adventurer.¡¯

    It was revealed briefly to him after the mention of the prize, that King Malachi had also listened to his daughter and the two adventurers that Reiki had met. They¡¯d come to agree that a young man like himself shouldn''t be rewarded with various jewels, or other older standards for defeating such a large illegal act.

    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    Instead, he¡¯d been given the chance to see if he¡¯d be able to handle the job of an adventurer or, if that doesn¡¯t work out, another well-paid job. After brief consideration, he decided that the choice to be an adventurer with his current skills would be amazing to deal with. But there was just one concern of his which unsurprisingly didn¡¯t feel right.

    ¡®...The adventurer job, do I need to just sign up and get a card, or is there something else I have to do?¡¯ He asked, looking Ren directly in the eyes with obvious concern.

    ¡®You figured that out?¡¯ The edge of the Guildmaster¡¯s smile rose slightly alongside the raise of his eyebrows, a hearty smile grew after his brief surprise. ¡®You¡¯re the first to ask that in the past few months. As it turns out, we have a training system in place in this country of ours.¡¯

    As he said this, he got up from the sofa and went behind his desk. It didn¡¯t take him long to find what he was looking for, but it did take a few minutes. After searching through four different drawers on the left side of his desk before a cabinet on the right, he¡¯d found what he was looking for.

    ¡®Aah, here¡¯s what I¡¯m looking for!¡¯ He pulled out an ornate device, setting it down gently onto his desk.

    Reiki eye¡¯s almost popped out of their sockets when he immediately realised what it was, his timid thought overridden by his knowledge of magical artifacts. As he stood up, Ephyr joined him by the desk as Ren turned the device around to face him. Upon closer inspection, it was adorned with a crest similar to that on Aerys¡¯ dress he¡¯d spotted, with a ring of variously shaped and coloured orb, crystals and gems circling between two gold rings surrounding a larger orb in the middle.

    The artifact had a slightly rusty yet nostalgic feel to it that, if he asked the right question, would also include some nostalgic history behind it.

    ¡®Is this what I think it is?¡¯ He asked, to which Ren responded with a gentle nod.

    ¡®Yes, it¡¯s an older model of what we currently have to register elemental affinities. It was gifted to use by Aerys¡¯ great-grandfather.¡¯ He added in response, as he pulled out a bronze card-like object with two gems embedded in it from the top-most draw to his left. ¡®I tap this once on the central gem to activate it, then I can deactivate it by flipping it over and tapping again. A rather crude but simple way to protect the device from being overloaded in a short amount of time.¡¯

    ¡®That¡¯s incredible, how it¡¯s lasted so long.¡¯

    ¡®It sure is.¡¯

    ¡®...¡¯

    ¡®Why don¡¯t you give it a shot?¡¯ Ren asked after the brief silence, as he pushed the device a tad bit closer to the teenager before him.

    ¡®...Really?¡¯ Reiki¡¯s eye lit up with passion as he watched it get turned on. ¡®How does it work?¡¯

    ¡®Well¡­ In the beginning, we just had people touch different gems of each element, excluding what we now know as the Null, Void and Light elements, to measure their affinities. However, this was a very tedious method. Someone with a rather quirky personality had taken it upon themselves to develop a multi-elemental Sigil they called an Affinity Reader.¡¯ Piped up Ephyr, as she pointed to the two white and black crystals at the top and bottom of the device, and the orb in the middle that was three times larger than the stones circling it.

    ¡®I¡¯m impressed you remembered that from your classes, Ephyr.¡¯ Ren mused, with a two-clap on top of that.

    ¡®What can I say? I had a good tutor.¡¯ She beamed, before bowing her head slightly, but noticeably. ¡®Although, it¡¯s currently the only thing I can remember from the session of magical artifacts.¡¯ That additional response confirmed to Reiki that they did call them artifacts in this world.

    ¡®Wait, so there¡¯s stuff I need to learn to be an adventurer?¡¯ Reiki spoke, finally registering what was going on before him.

    ¡®Yes, that is the case for everyone here.¡¯ Ren replied quickly. ¡®After all, we did have a period where people were abusing their adventurer title a few decades back, so we adopted a system that forces people signing up as adventurers to take on a slightly grueling training course.¡¯

    Reiki¡¯s face paled a little at the sound of such a course. After all, he was hoping he didn¡¯t have to spend ages sitting at desks or spend countless hours honing specific skills. But he was wrong. His hand he¡¯d raised slowly retreated to his lap, clasping the other one as he stared out of the window. It didn¡¯t take him long to work up the courage to change the topic.

    ¡®So, I don¡¯t know what Aerys has told you, uh, Ren,¡¯ He started, getting the guildmaster¡¯s attention after the brief yet not awkward silence. ¡®But I have a power that I don¡¯t think is all that common here.¡¯

    ¡®Aah, I read in her letter something about that.¡¯ He threw a letter, with a freshly opened and broken wax seal, towards him. ¡®Feel free to read it. She even mentioned how your unusual abilities helped with a case that the King had been trying to solve from his predecessor¡¯s now retired Royal Advisor.¡¯ He added, as Reiki grabbed and opened up the letter tentatively.

    It described in her persiective of this gentle yet powerful green aura that emanated from him in waves of lightning. It didn¡¯t look like they knew what electricity was, but her description was very accurate. It didn¡¯t take long to finish reading it. It also said to let him read it right at the end, with a very heartfelt thank you for saving her life.

    ¡®I¡¯m at a loss for words.¡¯ Reiki mumbled after a few minutes of silence, shifting to holde one arm up by the elbow as he started to think of how to describe her analysis of his powers. ¡®The mention of my voice in her head is what I call Telepathy, and the way I moved at great speeds is just simple superspeed. I had no idea that she was lucid enough to see what I¡¯d done before her, despite the fact that from my perspective before my mind completely blanked over.¡¯

    The two looked at him in surprise, for a good twenty seconds too.

    ¡®What, what¡¯s wrong?¡¯ He asked, when he¡¯d finally had enough of the silent treatment he was getting.

    ¡®You see, only a tamer has the abil¨C¡¯ Ephyr started, but was interrupted by a man who¡¯d barged into the room, the door stopping just short iof hitting the wall as he was being held back by a few staff members.

    ¡®What is it Vincent?¡¯ The look of dread adorned his face, as a wolf-man with a half-wolf face and almost fully covered arms of fur in a sleeveless armoured vest and partially covered chainmail .

    ¡®Sir, pardon the interruption, but a Guard just called around to let you know that the leader of that operation in Hibel has just come too and has stated where your daughter was being held!¡¯ The young man exclaimed, causing the guildmaster to immediately stand up.

    ¡®This meeting with you is adjourned for, Reiki.¡¯ He said, as he abruptly apologised, put the device away and left promptly with the wolf-man guiding him away. Not without briefly stopping at the door. ¡®We can test your abilities in an our or so, if I¡¯m back by then.¡¯ He¡¯d added, before he rushed off.

    Down in the lobby, they could hear it, but upon approaching the window they could see three guards and Kae, their General, being surrounded by a large group of adventurers who kept a big gap from them as the guildmaster strode with intensive purpose.

    ¡®Well, that was interesting.¡¯ Ephyr stated, as she carefully picked up the device and card, then put them back in their respectful places. ¡®But as I was saying before the interruption, the last time we heard of someone sharing their mind in anothers was with a level five tamer, who had a very deep connection with their contracted critter. Shame they weren¡¯t an adventurer, but their skill let them be entertainers for a short while until their partner silently passed in her sleep in their arms.¡¯

    He found this very impressive, but he wantedto know what the limits were to his abilities. After all, he could detect that he couldn¡¯t read some of the minds below when he attempted to send out a psychic pulse. A mild one, due to his Telepathy only being around a level 1, but one that wasn¡¯t detected apart from one person who immediately snapped her head up to the window. He recognised her just before his mental scan reached Princess Aerys.

    ¡®Ephyr, I hope you don¡¯t mind keeping this between the guildmaster and Aerys¡¯ family, but I discovered that there are limits to my Telepathy just now.¡¯ He stated openly. ¡®There are a few men and women down there I can¡¯t read mentally, who I think are over-intoxicated. At least that¡¯s something I can trust you with delivering the news to?¡¯

    ¡®You can do that?¡¯ She was astonished that his ability hadn¡¯t taken a toll on him, until she looked at him.

    His face had gotten a thin layer of sweat that neither she noticed nor Reiki himself knew about. She grabbed something from within a hidden compartment on her arm and hastily forced it to glow. Before turning completely towards him.

    ¡®Your face is coated in sweat. Are you sure you¡¯re okay?¡¯ She asked with a hint of concern for him. ¡®Do you mind if¡­?¡¯

    ¡®Uh, yeah. I do.¡¯ He said, getting offered the material with the circular, moon-like silver glow that looked embroidered into it.

    However, as soon as she let go, the glow immediately shattered into a fine and wispy dust with a sound similar to a broom sweeping glass over a rusted metal surface. Her eyes widened in surprise at the way her basic cleansing spell, from what she knew the commonly used Null spell ¡°Fast Cleanse¡±, disintegrated before her eyes as he brought it up to his face and wiped the sweat off it.

    ¡¯I forgot that mental strain would show up with sweat.¡¯ He said, only to get no response for a good minute.

    It took all of her willpower to not yell at him for disabling her cleansing spell, when she sensed his complete confusion.

    ¡®You¡­ We need Aerys in here.¡¯ She stated, racing out of the room, to Reiki¡¯s bewilderment.

    In just a minute or so, both Aerys, Ephyr, two unnamed but apparently well-trusted adventurers and a few staff members were present to document something about him that he suddenly felt extremely self-consscious about. It was all so much for Reiki, that he didn¡¯t bother registering what the races were of the new faces in the room. Even though he had no idea what they were, besides one of each party being human. Just as they were setting the Affinity device up on the desk, facing the centre of the roon away from Reiki, another unfamiliar familiar face entered the room.

    ¡®Sorry I¡¯m late! I¡¯ll stand in as actin¡¯ Guildmaster until he returns for a search party.¡¯ The man said, his voice gravelly and rough, but strangely soothing. ¡®So what¡¯s this about our newcomer ¡®ere?¡¯

    ¡®This kid¨C¡¯ One of them started before he was interrupted, by the princess no less.

    ¡®This guy, is Reiki.¡¯ She stated proudly, as she removed a dimly glowing sigil from the back of her right arm and put it in her small bag on her waits before gesturing with both towards him.

    ¡®Please, place your hand on the device.¡¯ One of the staff members said, after tapping it with the activation card on a green gem on the back that he hadn¡¯t noticed before which lit up the gems to show they they were working.

    He gingerly placed his hand down as instructed on the device; fully flat against the round surface, palm and all. A brief pulse of coloured light in every gem deactivating wasn¡¯t what had just startled him, it was the gasps of disbelief. The room was silent as they all collectively tried to work out what just happened. Aerys was going to be the first one to speak up, as her semi-active noble facade dropped completely. Reiki was overwhelmed to the point that he felt nauseous as everyone all suddenly screamed collectively. It didn¡¯t just feel like they had screamed though, as some were releasing their magical auras which threatened to knock him unconscious with the pressure they were emitting. It was almost like they were using his Telepathy skill against him as they all yelled the words:

    ¡®YOU HAVE NO MANA!¡¯

 2.0 - A Shadows Task

    A man silently roamed the streets of a town further south of Froes¨¦, about eight months prior to Reiki¡¯s revival. The evening twilight essentially camouflaged his dark-green cloak against the buildings and alleys that he skirmished past, avoiding the buildings that were close to the shoreline that the town was based around. He had a quick pace to his step. He strode as if with a purpose, billowing out his cloak unintentionally as he darted into a dimly lit alleyway. The newly integrated Blightstone Lamps in the small town that adorned the main streets weren¡¯t bright enough to light up the alleyway entrance, but his mental map kept him from bumping into any obstacles on his way through them.

    As he darted down seemingly random alleys for a good minute, each and every one of the men, women and children in tattered clothing from this area of town was actively stepping aside into the smallest gaps the moment he turned into the thin alleys they found themselves in. He paid them no heed, as his attention finally focused on a large building hidden behind larger buildings that were used mainly in broad daylight.

    He stepped through a heavily weathered door, slowing the pace of his footsteps as he ventured up to the first floor of the building. He paused at the sound of voices as he made his way along a creaky but mostly silent walkway with the odd assortment of boxes, crates and items littered about. He sneakily worked his way up to the door, assuming that some of their ¡­ guests had managed to escape their custody.

    However, as his breath escaped his lips after a few seconds, he barged nonchalantly into the room and removed the hood from his head, yet still kept his cloak on, as he sat down at the largest desk in the room. Two men further away from his desk sat in front of a keg, one swiftly whipping a wooden beer mug through the liquid within it. It looked to him like they¡¯d just had a slow day on the job. A job that might not be considered legal, but they skirmish the line so often, that they¡¯ve never been caught for their heinous activities and at most could only get off with warnings for their actions.

    <Looks like another good haul from our little assistant.> A gruff voice exclaimed, in their native language of Engali, grabbing his own wooden flask from his newly stolen item bag and dipping it into the open barrel as he patted the small bag on his hip that was obviously smaller than the keg in terms of height. <This bag can¡¯t store much, but I¡¯m glad I can finally use one for once.> They both chuckled mischievously.

    <Yer. We gunna be able to have ourselves the chance to attack riskier targets now!> Replied a less gruff, but deeper-toned voice, belonging to a man who grabbed a large, empty wooden mug from the table in front of him and threw it directly onto the badly damaged, knee-height table beside him.

    A thumb-sized coin, with a fancy ¡°R¡± raised from its surface, bounced into the air from the harsh landing of the mug, landed on its side and then proceeded to roll off the table. The coin rolled awkwardly across a relatively smooth surface, before bumping into something. It was a young adult, a teenage woman, but her appearance was slightly different. A pair of slightly pointed but mostly curved and rounded ears poked up from her short blonde hair. A tawny-coloured tail that gently curled around her waist swished at the tip near her slightly muddied face.

    Despite its speed and contact with her back, the coin did not stir her from whatever dream she was having. Her mostly exposed legs, with her shin blending into a hybridised form of cheetah legs, were tucked close to her chest under a small, thin, and fairly tattered sheet of cloth. None of the men paid her any attention as she slept. But her sleepy state would soon change.

    <Boys, your next task is here.> the hooded man said after the two men stopped yapping away, mostly about what they would do after their big mission came up.

    They made their way to the man¡¯s desk, a stumble in one man¡¯s step and a limp in the others, as they looked at the man with no sign of the cheerful looks on their faces just seconds prior.

    <This letter here informs me¨C> A letter and a sketch are dropped onto the table after he removed them from the inside of his coat. <¨Cthat this girl is your next target.>

    The limping one thrust his fist into his palm, a slight grin crawling onto his face. The other man was concerned with the woman in the sketch.

    <Boss¡­ Issat¡­ Is that who I think it is?!> He slurred, the alcoholic drink obviously displaying its effects on his speech, let alone his posture.

    <Indeed. There is a plan that¡¯s just got the green flag to stage a coup, but it¡¯ll take at least half a year to pull it off.> The hooded man replied, the sides of his mouth curling mischievously.

    <But for you¨C> He pointed to the guy whose name he couldn¡¯t care about, the one with the limp, then slowly pointed towards the sleeping woman on the floor. <...take the Beastal girl, Teyla, Teela, or whatever she¡¯s called, and start ¡­ collecting items from this list before you.> He pulled out a scrappy-looking piece of paper from a drawer in his desk, then thrust it into the young man¡¯s hands.

    <...Some of ¡®ese might be ¡®ard to come by without her, but some I can without. I¡¯ll make sure to get right onnit, Boss!> He replied energetically, making the hooded man shake his head as soon as he left the room with a spry in his step.

    <Good. Now get her up. Use whatever methods necessary.> He said to the other man. <...and not a word about this coup to anyone. I don¡¯t want any of it traced back to me from Hibel.>

    As the hooded man sat down, the drunk one staggered over to a small metal bowl on a windowsill and cast a soundless spell above it. The bowl filled almost to the brim with ice-cold water. Time slows as the man turns towards the Beastal girl, beads of water that sloshed in the bowl slowed to a crawl as the world faded into pitch black.

    # # #

    Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

    The rain beat down harshly as a figure dragged herself through a mud-ridden road. Her tail was clutched in her hands tightly, as the sound of metal on metal clanged through the space around her. A tiger-man guard who¡¯d been on patrol noticed her slowly enter the range of the torches that glowed on the walls of the gateway entrance.

    The girl had an older woman trailing a few metres behind her, as she called out to the guard pleading for help. Something within her screamed at her to run when the man approached, but when he saw her mother, the man smiled oddly towards her. This man was no guard. He was one of the port-town¡¯s local bandits parading as a guard.

    Something felt off in that moment to the girl, as she found herself face down in the mud. A scream echoed off the walls that came from behind her; her mother''s cry for her wellbeing was one she could never forget. The sound of her mother¡¯s scream made the small patch of fur on her back rise instantly. As she lifted her head, with muddied hair partially blocking her view, she saw her brother being yanked free from her mother¡¯s arms with force.

    ¡®Don¡¯t you dare touch my brother!¡¯ She screamed in her native language, Rampani, surprising herself, and a second later, the men around her before her throat released a slightly feral roar mixed into her scream. ¡®Rwaaahhh!¡¯

    The sudden silence of the startled men changed to those of shock. Two of them had to dodge the Beastal girl, with her short hair and cheetah-like appearance, as she vanished in a blur of speed before she snatched her brother from the man¡¯s grasp. However, before she could even reach her mother, a hand grasped her neck from behind belonged to a man much taller and bulkier than herself. Her brother was yanked from her grip just as he was from her mother.

    <Hey boys, looks like this one has some potential.> He chuckled in Engali, with a dark glint in his eyes that she immediately found herself staring into as she struggled to pry his hand from her neck and stopped her in her tracks. <Let''s keep this¡­ Beast contained. Put those two with the others, I¡¯m keeping this one for our next big catch!> He sneered in addition, his native language leaving the young girl feeling very confused and frightened.

    Her mother hugged her son as she turned to look at her daughter.

    ¡®Teela, make sure they don¡¯t overwork you.¡¯ She heard her mother whisper before one of the men placed a leather bag over each of their heads. The unsaid words ¡°We¡¯ll find a way through this¡± came to Teela¡¯s mind.

    The scene blurred, colours shifting and objects distorting into a scene that looked about a few weeks after the encounter. She found herself racing around the docks with her speed looking for her designated target. This was her third attempt at pickpocketing people stepping off barges and ships destined for the not-so-small port-town of Wynsel. She began to pickpocket a man with a long black coat, right before a black-skinned hand grasped her wrist. He hoisted her fully into the air just as her hand left the pocket she had reached into.

    <What are you doing, girl?> The man asked, but Teela refused to speak, instead shaking her head as she attempted to wiggle free.

    Being on the short side, Teela was often mistaken for a young child, but she was 17. That¡¯s the age at which a person is considered an adult. The cheetah-girl finally had enough and upped her speed the moment his grip relaxed and raced away, devoid of the possession she was after.

    ¡®I need to take back something...¡¯ She thought to herself, as she found herself in an alleyway behind some of the stalls in the market square. ¡®Otherwise, my family will take another beating from that robed human.¡¯ She added in afterthought, as an ephemeral, mental depiction of a hero slitting his throat after attacking her mother crossing her mind.

    The scene warps and changes again, to the sight of a guy walking down the street unknowingly with Teela tailing him. It¡¯s been about a week since the market closed, the weather feeling prickly and nippy on the skin, even through the fur of some Beastals in the area, due to the approaching storm coming from the north. Teela¡¯s speed had lessened in tandem with the approaching storm, so she wasn¡¯t as useful to them as she was in warmer weather. The weather continued to worsen, and the collar silently activated with a glow as the darkened gem glinted red with a purple sigil on either side glowing brightly.

    This had slowly forced her to turn away from the man she¡¯d been tailing, the forced will of the owner of her slave collar pushing her back towards where she and her family were currently being held captive. She kept fighting the collar, but the headache and the weird sensation in her limbs wanting to move on their own will caused her to give in after a few minutes at a time.

    ¡®Curse these shackles I¡¯m bound with...¡¯ Her dream self had thought, just before her whole body felt like it had been dropped into a river.

    The icy bitterness of the feeling and the sudden black void around her had woken her enough to a state where a gentle breeze against her skin and now-drenched clothing quickly brought her to attention.

    <Hey girlie,> The man who¡¯d dumped the water on her smugly grinned, speaking again in a language Teela barely understood. <You, me, mission. Now.> His grin faded as he added this, pointing at her, then himself, then the door.

    Clearly visible on her face was the thought of defying this declaration towards her, but after a few seconds of looking away from him, with her tail now curled around her to her lap, she felt the collar begin its magic and glowed again, attempting to make her comply. The man wasn¡¯t having any of her defiance this time, so he grabbed her arm, although this time forgetting to hold back due to her lack of nutrition.

    Teela screamed out in agony as the much stronger man grasped her left forearm and proceeded to increase his grip enough to make her bones snap. The man was impatient, but this only made it worse when he raised his boot, attempting to knee her stomach.

    <That¡¯s ENOUGH!> The cloaked man yelled at him. <She¡¯s obviously in pain, and if you¡¯ve broken her arm, I will make sure that you are demoted!>

    The man instantly dropped the cheetah-girl and knelt down, his right hand coming up and pressing two fingers to the front of his throat. This was their way of acknowledging their superiors in their ranks.

    <Sorry Boss, I just wanted the mission I chose to be over and done with.> He replied.

    <See to it that I don¡¯t see your face for another week before I can acknowledge you as worthy of being in this role again.> The cloaked man replied, as he noticed Teela was crawling back to where she¡¯d been napping until recently. <I didn¡¯t say you could go back to sleep though, little one.> He added¡¯ as the other man hastily ran from the room.

    She didn¡¯t register much of the words he was saying, but she did recognise ¡°sleep¡± and ¡°little¡±. She snarled at him, and a strong red glow appeared on her collar, but the sigils didn¡¯t glow. The sign that she shouldn¡¯t be able to attack her ¡°Master¡±, was immediately on the man¡¯s face.

    The girl silently wished her condition could get better someday. Little did she know, that her ¡°someday¡± would arrive sooner than she thought.

 2.1 - Preparations Begin

    After all he¡¯d been through, having exactly zero mana didn¡¯t entirely come as a complete shock to him, but it was the exact opposite to the others around him. That was probably the biggest eye-opener to them ever. However, despite their good nature, he will later learn that he will need to make and earn an income of his own to stay alive. Luckily, he had some people he could turn to for questions and ideas. Unfortunately, Ephyr and Quinn had left with Aerys, but the two people he¡¯d entered the town with, Markus Braunfeld and Sofya Pyrrins, were now by his side as he was reading through two sheets he¡¯d been given.

    In terms of quality, the edges weren¡¯t as sharp, nor was it as pristine as the mass-produced paper on his old world, but it was definitely of a satisfactory quality. Due to the soft and slightly frilly edges, sharper in some areas than others, it was obvious to him that paper in this world varied a lot in terms of quality. He had yet to see if books were just as old-fashioned, or if they were of better quality. The language on the sheets was elegant, but a little poorly written.

    On one of the sheets were directions to the nearest chemist, a very popular bookery and a clothing store; coincidentally adjacent to a Smithing store. Alongside those were directions to the local academy. The other sheet was not to be read by Reiki, so the contents were unknown to him or his current group members. He had to wait until he heard from the headmaster of the academy before he could learn the contents of it.

    ¡®Oh! Heeyyyy! Reikiii!¡¯ A female voice chimed out, causing Reiki to snap his head towards the origin. ¡®I¡¯m so glad to see you again! Mind if I join you?¡¯ It turns out that, along the way and in his own thoughts, he¡¯d bumped into the wolf-girl Beastal, Sapphire Simona the Third.

    She was the wolf-girl he saved back in the sister-capital, Hibel, alongside all the other children and teenagers. Reiki was somewhat glad that he was able to meet up with her again. But a nagging thought silently stowed away in his mind before he could act on it.

    Upon arriving at the Chemist¡¯s place mentioned on his sheet, he was reminded of the one manga he¡¯d read of a pharmacy in another world when he saw how big the place was. Luckily for Reiki, the place was called Xe¡¯ana Khem¡¯ka. Upon entering, a brown-skinned girl with a single horn on the right side of her head walked into view.

    ¡®Oh, hello there! Welcome to my store!¡¯ The woman exclaimed cheerfully. ¡®I¡¯m Xe¡¯ana. How can I help you four today?¡¯ She added, looking directly at the faces of each of them, lingering on Reiki¡¯s for a few seconds longer than the rest.

    ¡®Hello, uh, I¡¯m Reiki and I was told to come here?¡¯ He replied, surprised he didn¡¯t stutter his words. ¡®I¡¯m.. I¡¯m new in town.¡¯

    ¡®I figured as much, as I¡¯ve not seen you around here before. Welcome to Xe¡¯ana¡¯s Chemist!¡¯ She replied, grabbing a board with a poorly designed wooden clamp on it to hold the paper on it. ¡®What brings you to the store today?¡¯ In a flick of her head, a pair of rounded glasses dropped down onto her nose as if from nowhere.

    ¡®Um, I was told to show you this note if I didn¡¯t understand it.¡¯ He replied, holding the sheet out to her. The other he kept in his new trouser pocket, folded as neatly as possible.

    ¡®Okay, we have this and this, but you¡¯ll want to get a request from the guild or hire an adventurer to collect some of the ingredients for these, as the place is currently out. Then there¡¯s these¡­¡¯ She waffled on, showing Reiki and Sapphire around the store whilst pointing between the items listed.

    Whilst the three were inside, with Sapphire unknowingly staying close to Reiki¡¯s side, Markus and Sofya had opted to wait outside. Whilst they waited, idle conversation caught up with them.

    ¡®So¡­ it¡¯s still hard to believe, isn¡¯t it?¡¯ Merkus said, keeping his voice low.

    ¡®What¡¯s so hard to believe?¡¯ Sofya replied.

    ¡®The boy, Reiki. Orphaned, kidnapped, yet didn¡¯t need rescuing and somehow saved countless kids.¡¯ He pointed out.

    The two shared a silent gaze, both understanding roughly what the other was thinking. Just as Sofya was about to strike up the conversation, the two young adults were escorted out of the store.

    ¡®This kid¡¯s bright, he noticed a discrepancy in one of my formulas on the back wall.¡¯ She said, patting the erubescent Reiki¡¯s shoulder. ¡®Being an ex-professor at the academy, I might¡¯ve gotten a little rusty when it comes to the formula I used.¡¯

    Sapphire couldn¡¯t help but smile happily, with a slight sparkle in her eyes, whilst holding back and stroking a small amount of her silver-tipped hair. Reiki was lightly thinking that the formula was something similar to a chemistry class he¡¯d seen back when he was younger, but didn¡¯t make anything of it and assured himself that chemistry was a new thing in this world¡¯s history. Sofya gave Markus a discrete look that said ¡°We¡¯ll talk about this later¡± before they were on their way to the next location on his list; the local bookery, the Bookery of Wrights.

    Upon stepping into the entrance, the strong smell of tanned leather and that oddly satisfying smell of old and new book pages together were a memorable sensation, but that wasn¡¯t what made Reiki¡¯s eye widen slightly. Before he could take a step further, two women who¡¯d noticed them entering approached them. One woman had long, curvier yet pointed ears while the other was an adult Beastal.

    To be exact, the Beastal woman was a cheetah-woman, whose tail swished around wildly like a snake slithering quickly across the ground. The other looked much like a human, except two black dots above her left eye and her ears distinctly screaming to Reiki as Elvish ears.

    ¡®Hello! Welcome to the Bookery of Wrights.¡¯ The one closest to them said, who wore a white sleeveless top with a thin, knee-length skirt in a soft yet vibrant sky blue, with a silver pattern along the bottom hem. ¡®My name¡¯s Etothia. How can we be of assistance today?¡¯ She added, as she reached out her hand, towards no-one in particular as her eyes danced like the gentle waves on a beach, yet burned like fire.

    ¡®Hi Etothia! It¡¯s me, Saph!¡¯ Sapphire exclaimed, rushing in for a hug which Etothia hesitantly accepted, after a look of pure surprise covered her face. ¡®We¡¯re helping Reiki out with a few things before he does this thing he¡¯s keeping quiet about.¡¯ She added with a brief pout before releasing the hug and returning to his side.

    ¡®I see.¡¯ Etothia replied, a gentle tug on her lips as a warm smile appeared on her face.

    ¡®Forgive me for not introducing myself first,¡¯ Said the other woman, as she strode to Etothia¡¯s side. ¡®I¡¯m Lady Venelle Wrights. Most people prefer to call me Lady Wrights or Lady Ven, but I prefer just Ven or Venelle.¡¯

    ¡®... It¡¯s nice to meet you.¡¯ Reiki finally spoke up, after stopping himself from staring at her ears and tail. ¡®I¡¯m Reiki, and I¡¯m supposedly here for these.¡¯ He added, handing Venelle his sheet, pointing at the section with her bookery.

    Sapphire just giggled quietly, until she realised her cheeks were glowing. She lightly slapped her cheeks a little to calm the red glow easing it¡¯s way onto her cheeks. Etothia noticed this and started to silently tease her the moment they locked eyes. Without Reiki noticing, even if he had his Telepathy on, the two had come to a surprising stalemate in just a few seconds.

    ¡®I see. Eto, I know you''re off duty for the rest of the day, but could you guide them to Aisle Five for me? I need to grab something.¡¯ Venelle asked Etothia, as she scurried off towards the lobby¡¯s main desk.

    ¡®Sure thing, Ven!¡¯ She replied, her grin widened slightly. ¡®If you don¡¯t mind, please follow me.¡¯ She curtsied, then walked off, with Reiki and his first friend in tow.

    He didn¡¯t realise he¡¯d registered Sapphire as a friend, but he was glad that he now has people he can call friends. Markus and Sofya exchanged a smile behind him, as they waited outside once again.

    Whilst Reiki was being schooled and advised with books and speeches about being an adventurer, with Sapphire by his side and Etothia replaced by another staff member, Markus and Sofya continued their conversation from earlier. Luck was on their side this time, as there were a few empty outdoor seating areas for them to sit in mostly out of earshot from the passersby but still close to the entrance.

    ¡®So, what were you going on about earlier, Markus?¡¯ She asked him, as she sat down opposite him, her eyes lingering slightly on a family of three walking past chatting animatedly with smiles on their faces.

    ¡®Huh? Oh, right. That Reiki-kid¡­¡¯ He replied, sobering his nonchalant attitude just a little.

    ¡®So? I don¡¯t think it was just the kid in there who took it down.¡¯ Sofya replied, a skeptical look plastered on her face. ¡®There must have been someone else on the inside who¡¯d done it.¡¯ She added, as she tried to assure herself that a young guy like Reiki couldn¡¯t have been the only one to take down such a nefarious and illegal activity.

    ¡®You sure?¡¯ He replied, an eyebrow raised as he crossed his arms. ¡®The strange flash of green light that guided us towards them looked the same colour as the weird lightning-like aura the kid had before he fell unconscious.¡¯ He added, raising a finger to emphasise his point.

    ¡®So you think we can trust the kid?¡¯ She questioned him warily.

    ¡®Don¡¯t see why not.¡¯ He replied with a soft grin. ¡®Plus I don¡¯t know if you noticed, but I sure noticed how his eyes are exploring everything like it¡¯s truly his first time in a city like this.¡¯ He added, taking note of the subtle reactions Reiki was giving out.

    ¡®...I guess you¡¯re right.¡¯ She admitted. ¡®We¡¯ve also got no other leads on where two of them managed to high-tail it to, so we should be good for now.¡¯ her eyes skymed as she avoided the knowing look from her partner.

    Their conversation changed to a calmer, more casual one before they could let Reiki find out what they were talking about. After a short while, Reiki and Sapphire left the building, Reiki with a happy buzz to his earlier anxious state. He was holding three books in his arms, whilst Sapphire was carrying none. Yet, whenever she got the chance, she always attempted to ask if she could carry some of them for him.

    As the first person recorded to ever have zero mana in this world, Reiki did have one or two initial mobs swarming him with care and support. Before the waves of people had quickly subsided after the Guildmaster sent out a request that Reiki be given pace to think about it. After all, he now knows he¡¯d be unable to produce any magic like everyone else can. However, he wasn¡¯t as distraught as he thought he would be.

    Back to the present though, they realised walking around town with all the books might make him a target. They all unanimously decided to take a detour to a place where Reiki could get himself a bag to carry his items. After all, there was the academy to get ready for. Upon arriving at the small item store, he couldn¡¯t help but notice a thick, fluffy tail swishing behind the counter. A mumbling could be heard as Markus, Reiki and Sapphire approached, with Sofya waiting outside silently mulling over what Markus had been talking about with a forlorn look on her face, her chin gently clasped by her index finger and thumb out of habit.

    ¡®...oh where is that material?¡¯ A gentle yet sparky voice trilled, as the tail swished and shifted further down the countertop. ¡®I could¡¯ve sworn I put it somewhere around here! ¡­Did I leave it somewhere els¨C GYAA~?!!¡¯ She added, when her tail swished downward as she stood up and saw the trio.

    Her surprise made the trio, especially REiki, two other patrons and a staff member close by jump in shock, but they all quickly recovered. At least someone would hope they did. The woman¡¯s shoulder-length hair matched the fur of her fox ears and her tail well. Even her flowery headband with muted colours made her vibrant and energetic eyes stand out. However, Reiki was still in shock at her yelp, so he froze almost as rigid as a frozen lake.

    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    ¡®I¡¯m so sorry!¡¯ The woman apologised. ¡®I¡¯m working part-time today and I was asked to hunt for one of the materials for a unique order.¡¯ A bead of sweat appeared on her cheek as she bowed slightly. ¡®But besides that, how can I help you?¡¯ She finally added after she caught her breath, smiling with a feeling akin to the dreamy warmth of the sun when you¡¯d sunbathe.

    ¡®Hi Miss,¡¯ Saph spoke up, stepping between Reiki and Markus before either could begin talking. ¡®We were hoping to get a bag for my friend here. He doesn¡¯t have that Null Storage skill, so we were hoping to get him a small carry bag or maybe an easy to use enchanted item bag.¡¯ She explained easily, catching both males off guard.

    As Reiki finally processed what was being said, he bowed his head similarly to the young woman a few seconds after Sapphire finished talking.

    ¡®Ah, I see¡­¡¯ The woman replied. ¡®Oh, right, customer policy! I¡¯m Saelina Coleto. I mainly work in Venelle¡¯s bookstore, but I¡¯ve been working here as I¡¯m in a bit of debt lately¡­ Wait, please forget I said that last bit, eheh¡­¡¯ She added, nervously trying to take back what she¡¯d just revealed with a furrowed and twitchy pair of eyebrows.

    ¡®Don¡¯t worry, we won¡¯t say anything.¡¯ Sapphire comforted her, allowing Saelina to release a strong breath of air as they followed her to the area for enchanted items. ¡®Just show us where we need to look and we¡¯ll be out of your hair.¡¯ At the mention of Saelina¡¯s hair, she reached up in surprise and quickly attempted to smoothen it back to normal.

    Saph had calmed down a lot from earlier, when she¡¯d been around Etothia, so she simply left a gentle hand on Reiki¡¯s shoulder. He shook slightly at the sudden touch, but connected his gaze with hers briefly as her touch lingered for a few seconds before she pulled away. A well hidden rosy hue arrived on her soft cheeks.

    ¡®Here we have some everyday items, from our leather pouches for hunting knives to enchanted item bags.¡¯ Saelina stated, as she started listing off some of the basic requirements from the paper Sapphire had just handed over to her. ¡®So, how much mana does¡­ Rye-key have?¡¯ She added, her voice raising a few tones as she tried to pronounce his name.

    ¡®His name is Reiki.¡¯ Saph replied quickly, her rosy cheeks fading quickly. ¡®I¡¯m surprised word hasn¡¯t reach out this far yet.¡¯ She said, a slight and playful raise of the edge of her lips appearing.

    ¡®Oh? What¡¯s wrong with his Mana?¡¯ Saelina replied, curiosity now plastered on her face. ¡®Is it too big for the normal item bags to handle?¡¯ She placed a finger to her lips in thought, staring between all the items.

    Sapphire could barely hold in her laughter, but managed to keep most of a straight face. Even Markus was amused at Sapphire¡¯s subtle change in behaviour since they left the Bookery. Instead of asking her to be quiet, he let the scene carry on to see how far she could go.

    ¡®Actually, it¡¯s quite the opposite.¡¯ Sapphire continued.

    ¡®Oh my,¡¯ Saelina gasped. ¡®I hope he can at least perform the bare basics of Elemental Magic!¡¯ She added, her eyes widening as her brows raised, whilst a hand raced to the centre of her chest.

    ¡®So we all know how everyone is gifted with at least some mana to perform everyday tasks?¡¯ Sapphire said, as she held the sheet the part-timer was holding up and pointed at a few lines near the top. ¡®Read this!¡¯ She giggled loudly, as she began to lose hold on her emotions.

    Saelina looked closer, and read it again.

    ¡®He¡­¡¯ Her eyes bugged out.

    The Beastal woman was left speechless by the opening lines on the paper. She¡¯d stupidly misread the information earlier when Sapphire had handed her the sheet. The number she assumed Reiki had was a symbol meant for a high concentration of mana. But in her haste, she didn¡¯t perform a double check. It was the symbol for zero. Nothing.

    ¡®That makes absolutely no sense¡­¡¯ She muttered, grasping her head after handing Saph the paper.

    The paper was then mostly folded neatly and passed back to Reiki. Saelina almost collapsed to the floor, if Reiki himself hadn¡¯t snapped from his initial position to suddenly appear by her side to hold her up.

    ¡®Wha?!¡¯ She gasped at his sudden appearance beside her. ¡®I just¡­ You were¡­ But I¡­¡¯ She stuttered, confused about how he managed to get to her so quickly from behind the adventurer and the wolf-girl.

    To Reiki, he hadn¡¯t even noticed he¡¯d used his powers when he went to stop her from doing such an embarrassing act. He¡¯d quickly started moving, turned sideways and made his way forwards and snaked between the two within mere milimetres of touching them. He hadn¡¯t even noticed their clothing slowly moving away from him as he¡¯d moved, yet the resulting wind was almost nonexistent.

    Almost like moving at superspeed for him was second nature.

    ¡®I¡­ Just¡­ Uhm¡­¡¯ He stammered, looking at Saph and Markus for help.

    ¡®It¡¯s alright, you can tell her.¡¯ Markus said, his mouth upturned at one side.

    After consoling Saelina, the shop owner came out to see the three of them around the young woman and almost berated them for reducing her temporary staff member to such a state. Luckily, Saelina¡¯s mental strength quickly aroused her from her stupor and she asked her manager, the woman who¡¯d come out, what type of item would suit his condition.

    After quarter of an hour, Reiki was kitted out with a slightly old but almost brand new, body-conformed shoulder-bag. He was glad he got one that was enchanted with five different sectors for ease of use. It had taken a little dent out of Markus¡¯ money-bag though; it had cost one hundred and fifty seven Reuke. The currency system was an interesting one to Reiki, but little did he know he¡¯d be learning about it sooner than he thought. He mentally chuckled when he noticed its name sounded like a chess piece.

    The bag itself, in terms of storage space, was measured in bowls of water. The large kind, not used for the morning gruel most adventurers ate. Each bowl being roughly a litre in volume. Each of the first four sectors was said to hold up to ten litres, with the final one holding up to thirty. The next and final place on the list was a clothing store.

    ¡®I know I¡¯m in need of clothing, but it looks like these might burn up at high velocity.¡¯ He brought up verbally, once they were inside and browsing within the clothing store [STORE NAME]. ¡®Do you have anything that could withstand extreme speeds?¡¯ He eventually, albeit nervously managed to ask the staff member behind the counter without relying on Saph to ask his questions.

    The store owner furrowed their brows, not in anger to the initial statement but out of curiosity to his question. She appeared to be working out something in her mind, leaving Reiki to wonder what was gonig on in her mind. He opted to activate his telepathy again, but out of courtesy to those around him, he didn¡¯t want to unintentionally pry into a person¡¯s mental privacy. He waited patiently, whilst Saph roamed through a part of the store he wouldn¡¯t dare to enter.

    Luckily, he didn¡¯t have to wait for so long that the woman¡¯s eyes glinted and shot open slightly as if something jogged her memory in that exact instant.

    ¡®I think... Just let me ask my husband, as I think he might know which material might be useful for you.¡¯ She said, before raising a small wooden sign to the counter that was engraved with ¡°Staff are Occupied¡± into the fine, oak-like wood. ¡®Jaehan?! We have a custom order!¡¯ She could be heard yelling after she walked through a wooden door in the corner opposite the entrance.

    After a few minutes or so, Saph returned to Reiki¡¯s side with a beautifully woven birch-yellow basket with a small variety of clothing right as the woman returned, a man with short, musty hair and a slight bristle on his chin. His slumped posture suggested that he¡¯d just been sleeping on something hard.

    ¡®Orella, I know you said that it was a custom order, but you didn¡¯t have to drag me ou¨C¡¯ He stated, before she hummed questioningly and clasped her hands together. ¡®Not¡­ that I don¡¯t mind being woken up.¡¯ He added whilst his hands raised, before he turned to look at the young lad before him.

    As his eyes roamed up and down Reiki¡¯s body, his eyes glinted with an intensity that only a Feraphin Rabbit could match. The man stepped out from behind the counter after reaching for a small ball of white string with equidistant markings.

    ¡®Hmm¡­ This is¡­ Move to here¡­¡¯ He muttered as he walked around Reiki, placing the string across different areas of his body whilst Reiki was guided into different arm and leg positions. ¡®Orella, can you take note of a foot six, waist thirty-two, down thirty-three, chest thirty-five and a short-8?¡¯ He stated more than asked Orella, before he finished up a few more measurements of the young man.

    ¡®Yes, Jaehan, got it all.¡¯ Orella replied, using a feathery quill to write onto the parchment that neither Reiki or Saph noticed her pull out.

    ¡®Okay, so before we ask for payment, I must say that we have a lack of ash black, pearl white, egg white, deep blue and cobalt blue for the cloth.¡¯ Jaehan said, bringing attention to the colours of the clothes in his store. ¡®It¡¯s very popular with the younger adventurers for some reason lately, I have no idea why, and I¡¯ve been requesting for more but the closest open market is a week from now down in Wynsel.¡¯ He added gruffly, crossing his arms before grabbing his short goatee as he pondered a new thought.

    ¡®...Win-sell?¡¯ Reiki whispered to Saph.

    ¡®Oh, that¡¯s our local Port-Town to the south. It¡¯s a bit of a trip down their though.¡¯ She replied quietly, bringing a finger up to her own chin out of habit. ¡®I think it¡¯s a few days travel from here, at least three or so by carriage or two if you¡¯re fast enough like the B or C Rank Adventurers around here.¡¯ She added as her gaze changed roughly to face a southerly direction.

    ¡®So how much would it come to, uhm¡­¡¯ Saph asked after quickly snapping back to the present. ¡®Sorry, didn¡¯t remember your name.¡¯ She added a bit shyly, a rosy glow barely noticeable for her embarrassment in forgetting to ask for his name.

    ¡®It¡¯s Jaehan, little missy.¡¯ He replied, as he was snapped from his highly visual imagination. ¡®If you¡¯re looking for something cheap, I would suggest a fur or cotton based material, but with the very convenient enchantment store next place over, they should be able to stop it from burning up as you run. How fast are you exactly, kid?¡¯ He added, with curiosity towards Reiki¡¯s actual speed.

    ¡®It¡¯s nothing too special, in my opinion. Buuut, it would be a bit of a surprise if you¡¯ve heard any rumours going around.¡¯ Saph grinned, earning herself a grin in response from her new friend for keeping it a secret with a white lie.

    ¡®Why would I listen to rumours spreading around?¡¯ He asked quizzically, as his brows pinched and raised in confusion. ¡®If I¡¯d have heard something, it would¡¯ve come from my wife, Orella, over there.¡¯

    Behind Jaehan¡¯s back, his wife Orella was grinning wildly. As if she knew that this was the first clothing store that Reiki¡¯s little group would show up at.

    ¡®Oh dear, my Deary¡­¡¯ She chirped comically, making Saph giggle and Reiki very confused. ¡®It seems I forgot to tell you, but it seems I lost a bet against Myllena about the boy who stopped a criminal activity in lass than a day of being captive within it.¡¯

    Reiki¡¯s eyes widened. The rumour about him had spread rather quickly for such a large city. Saph bumped his shoulder with hers, to snap him out of the lull he¡¯d put himself into. After quickly getting through the clothing, the two shop owners were both displayed his speed. They had no idea he¡¯d actually moved until the little setup they were watching shifted before their eyes. All but Sofya and Markus couldn¡¯t quite see him as he shifted the items around, but the longer he moved, the more that sparks of neon-green lightning arced through the air and into the ground.

    After that surprisingly useful display of his abilities, they confirmed that this was a very big custom job. After all, nobody had seen such speeds for anyone of a similar level to Reiki himself, despite him still only being Level One in his personal stats window. When they¡¯d calmed down from the exciting display, they eventually confirmed that the details for the clothing would be paid as a one-off expense through a ¡°Commoners Tab¡±. Reiki was surprised that the payment for a custom set of clothing for an adventurer was made mid-way through the design process.

    ¡®So¡­¡¯ Saph, huffed comntemptly, as they sat down on a grassy verge on the edge of an open square near her home. ¡®That¡¯s pretty much done. Would you like to get enrolled at Lisciana Academy? After all, I¡¯m starting my second year there soon, I hope.¡¯ She added, as her mouth lifted slightly and her eyes glistened like a moonlit lake on a clear night.

    ¡®Th-The what academ¨C?¡¯ Reiki didn¡¯t have a chance to finish, immediately sitting upright after he choked on a thick, discus-shaped bun.

    Saph was immediately there to thump his back, eventually dislodging the larger than expected chunk of bread.

    ¡®Thank you.¡¯ He rasped, before he coughed a few more times to make sure he was safe from choking on it again. ¡®Did you say that I should go to the school?¡¯ He added a few seconds later.

    ¡®Yeah, it would be nice if you came to campus.¡¯ Saph replied¡­ right before monologuing him. ¡®Each year everyone normally goes through an entrance exam for their year to see if they can stay in the same academic classes, or if they need to return to a previous year. Most of the time people do make it into the next, more advanced classes. But it all gets sped through if you¡¯re applying to be an adventurer, so that you don¡¯t have to worry about the smaller details of the other subjects¡­¡¯

    ¡®...¡¯

    ¡®...Reiki?¡¯ Saph worried, when she saw his zoned-out look for what was likely the fourth time that day.

    Reiki hadn¡¯t meant to, but he zoned out after she mentioned the entrance exam. However, after she convinced him it was okay, they both got up and she then did something unexpected.

    ¡®Carry me to the academy. ¡¯ She grasped his hands, rubbed them subconsciously with her fingers before pulling his arms out in front of him. ¡®It¡¯s a bit far from here. Teehee.¡¯ She added, a nervous smile on her face as she attempted to hop into his arms.

    Before Markus and Sofya could do anything about the sudden turn of events, Saph gave a hearty ¡®RUN, REIKI, RUN!¡¯ before he blasted off. In a blink-and-you¡¯ll-miss-it style moment, one second he was there with a small electric aura, the next a cloud of dust whooshed up from the ground.

    ¡®She¡¯s gonna get him into trouble if we don¡¯t get there soon,¡¯ Markus stated, then grinned himself. ¡®Want to race me, sweetheart?¡¯ He looked at Sofya, who was already grinning back at him.

    ¡®Thought you¡¯d never ask.¡¯ She replied, as they both shared the same thought after racing after him.

    ¡®We¡¯ll never be able to catch up in time though.¡¯

 2.2 - Lyscian Academys Entrance Exam

    After sprinting at a speed where Saph was aware of her surroundings, Reiki privately activated and used his Telepathy skill to roughly learn the direction that the academy was in. It took a few seconds to get from the open square to the smaller one that sat outside the entrance to the academy. After several wrong turns as he got closer, he came to a stop nearby to gently let Saph down without her feeling embarrassed.

    However, Saph was delighted to have experienced such a thrilling ride through the city. Her hair looked like she hadn¡¯t combed it in weeks. It wasn¡¯t until after asking a young-looking Beastal wolf-woman strutting by for a comb, that it eventually looked presentable for an academy student.

    ¡®Okay, thank you and sorry for borrowing it.¡¯ Saph apologised to the woman, who giggled and bowed slightly with a palm to her stomach in return.

    ¡®Haha, I don¡¯t mind at all.¡¯ The woman replied cheerfully. ¡®I¡¯m not the only one who struggled with bad hair after someone has sped past me. Forgive me, but I need to get back from my break. Was nice to meet you two though, the name¡¯s Zofha, Zofha Evyns, but most people give me the nickname of Sofa as it¡¯s easier to say and my place has sofas in it, haha!¡¯ She rambled in a bubbly but friendly manner, then did the opposite of hastily skipping away in her knee-length egg-white dress with orange floral embroidery, and stopped at what looked like a caf¨¦ entrance with the first rotating door Reiki had seen since his arrival in Froes¨¦.

    ¡®It¡¯s nice to meet you, Zofha.¡¯ Reiki and Saph responded simultaneously, with Saph calling ¡°Dupe!¡± on Reiki, who assumed it was this world''s version of the ¡°Jinx!¡± back in his old world.

    ¡®Say, I hear there¡¯s a warm patch of weather coming in next week. Feel free to pop into my caf¨¦ if it gets too hot for you two!¡¯ She added over her shoulder in a raised, bubbly tone, before registering the two adventurers standing behind Reiki and laughed as the spinning entrance closed behind her.

    ¡®Well, now my hair is fine, let¡¯s go.¡¯ She said, after a check of the hair around her pointy ears and looped her arm around his as they walked onto the campus.

    Unbeknownst to Sapphire, Reiki was mentally sweating bullets at the fact that this girl was so brazenly entering his body space. Yet, he didn¡¯t have that anxious want to pull away like he used to in his previous body. He just couldn¡¯t put a finger on it, but during or since his reincarnation, maybe something within him had secretly been changed. He then let that thought drift into the winds of his mindscape, as he was slightly dragged into the academy grounds.

    ¡®Okay, so I won¡¯t overload or do that one-sided thing with you¨C¡¯ she started to say, as she slowed her walking speed.

    ¡®That¡¯s called monologuing.¡¯ Reiki unexpectedly replied bluntly, as they slowed to a stroll.

    ¡®Yes, that.¡¯ She said, as she unlinked their arms and she clasped her hands behind her. ¡®Anyway, to cut things short, one of the last things we need to do is get you enrolled.¡¯ She turned towards a large, ornate door at the end of their travel across the academy grounds and knocked three times.

    Reiki had gone silent at the thought of requiring an education, as he didn¡¯t know what this world¡¯s customs were when it came to that. He hazarded a mental guess and decided to just go with it, as Saph brought him into the room behind the large door. Upon entering, the two of them came across a fairly vacant room, excluding a deep mahogany-skinned demon with a single horn and an elven woman both in a plain, knee-length skirt and pale-sky-blue jacket.

    ¡®Excuse me, Miss,¡¯ Saph spoke up, getting both of them to peek over. ¡®I¡¯d like to help my friend here get enrolled at the academy¡­ Sorry for barging in, It¡¯s kinda important.¡¯ She added, making the Demon lady who¡¯d looked back down to look back up again.

    ¡®<Tch, Beastals. What now?>¡¯ The demon mumbled in their native language, before immediately switch to the one required on Lyscian Academy¡¯s grounds. ¡®You¡¯d like to help him enroll here? He¡¯d have to take the entrance exams to get an education here.¡¯ The demon woman monotonously replied, sliding up her circular glasses along the bridge of her nose and crossing her arms.

    ¡®<Oh behave, Vaerlyna.>¡¯ The Elvan woman spoke up as she came over, catching Vaerlyna, the demon woman, off-guard before slapping the demon¡¯s shoulder lightly and turning to Reiki and Saph with a gentle widening of their lips. ¡®Let¡¯s see if we can find you a time-slot to take part. Follow me.¡¯

    Without further questions, Saph released her grip on Reiki and walked beside him as they followed after the Elvan woman. It wasn¡¯t a long walk, but it was a good sight for him to take note of all the various places he could spot on their jaunt with the teacher.

    ¡®I forgot to mention, the rude scholar back there was Professor Feyluc.¡¯ The Elvan woman spoke after a while, as they approached a large, ebony door. ¡®She¡¯s a bit of a jerk at times, but she means well for a demon. Her teaching methods are normal, calm and professional despite her demeanour. I¡¯m Professor Serrin, I¡¯m a Witch Scholar of Wind Magic. I also go by they, them. Just give me one minute, whilst I check for available time slots.¡¯ Professor Serrin added, as they entered the room but held up a finger to keep us from entering.

    ¡®Uhm, Sapphire¡­¡¯ He spoke, his voice shaking a little as he turned to his Beastal companion.

    ¡®Yeah?¡¯ She quickly replied, and turned to look at him.

    ¡®What¡¯s a Witch Scholar?¡¯ He asked, feeling slightly clueless.

    ¡®...You¡¯re kidding! Everyone knows what a witch is!¡¯ She giggled, before realising he had a clueless look on his face after opening her eyes. ¡®You''re not¡­ kidding¡­ Okay, so I¡¯ll say this quickly. After you¡¯ve completed the final year of an Academy, male-oriented people can become Wizards and female-oriented people become Witches. If I remember correctly, I believe anyone outside of those main genders can pick either title. Although, I heard a rumour this system might be altered or removed if the Scholars go on strike at any moment.¡¯ She added, as the door creaked open and Professor Serrin stepped out.

    ¡®The young man is able to take one entrance exam slot tomorrow afternoon. In the meantime, there are a few dorm rooms on the academy grounds that haven¡¯t seen much use lately.¡¯ The professor told them.

    Just as Saph was about to answer, Markus and Sofya appeared from the corner of the hallway and spotted the three of them chatting. It didn¡¯t take long for them to help solidify the afternoon slot, just in case Reiki himself forgot to attend. As it was approaching a lunch period, Sapphire persuaded him to eat with her as they headed to a cafeteria.

    The two of them sat near what looked like a dirt-covered arena with Markus, whilst Sofya went to talk with Professor Serrin. Reiki was in the hands of Sapphire, as she guided him verbally through how the academy grounds were laid out. Mainly using straw stems for walls, taken from a practice dummy filled with straw and small pebbles to represent the people. Using a small but sturdy twig from a nearby tree, she was able to draw areas that couldn¡¯t be easily mapped with the straw pieces.

    ¡®So this is the court, which we entered from over here. I¡¯ve already shown you how to get to one of the Sanctuary Rooms that our scholars store most of their physical classwork in. Over here is¡­¡¯ She continued, helping him try to remember where everything was again. ¡®...and we¡¯re currently here in the training grounds along the edge that connects to the dining area. Please tell me you can remember all that.¡¯ She groaned teasingly, as she peeked at him between her pinky and ring finger with her hand on her face in mock pain.

    ¡®Har har, I think I remember most of it now.¡¯ He replied, grinning at her behaviour.

    Even Markus had a small curl on the side of his mouth as he nibbled on a crumbly piece of bread topped with a small, glistening, amber sauce. The two teenagers had easily scoffed theirs down when he brought them out from the dining area. Reiki was surprised that they allowed his temporary guardian to bring the snacks out for them. Markus had then told him that he once studied for three years at this academy before he transitioned to becoming an adventurer.

    ¡®Hey, Reiki,¡¯ Saph spoke as she laid back onto the patch of grass beside him. ¡®What do you remember of your childhood? I hope you don¡¯t mind me prying¡­ I¡¯m just curious.¡¯ He lay back beside her, his smile wavered as he thought of what to say.

    ¡®I¡­ I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s a touchy past.¡¯ he replied after a minute of silence, trying to think of what he could tell her.

    ¡®It¡¯s okay, Tell me when you¡¯re ready to.¡¯ She replied with a gentle smile, as they now sat in silence.

    They both watched a few bird-like creatures fly overhead as the deep blue sky became overcast with a thin layer of cloud. Each bird had two or three long single-feathers in their tails as they circled, weaved and danced through the air above them. The two of them just lay there, until Professor Serrin walked out with a man that Reiki thought looked oddly familiar, but slimmer than the person he mentally pictured. They were a little on the short side, like the dwarves he¡¯d seen before, who looked more human-like, but still shorter than the other races.

    ¡®This is our Head Scholar and Headmaster, Orinko Hyroel. He¡¯d like to take a look at your Entrance Exam into our academy.¡¯ Professor Serrin spoke, with a gesture to the short man. ¡®He¡¯d like to see how well you can perform.¡¯ They added as their tail swished slowly, a subtle squint of their eyes appearing as they shifted their gaze to the young boy beside one of their potentially upcoming students.

    ¡®So, my friend would be able to enrol here, then? I think he¡¯s planning to become an adventurer.¡¯ Sapphire said, her tail swishing side-to-side energetically as she brought a finger to her chin.

    ¡®I believe that there¡¯s a chance for an open slot today, if the young boy would like to have a practice session. Please call me Headmaster Hyre or just Sir when we¡¯re in the presence of other students and Scholars. Can you do that for me?¡¯ He winked with a warm and open smile.

    ¡®Remember to be there at noon.¡¯ Professor Serrin stated quickly, before turning to the Headmaster.

    Before Orinko could return to his office, Reiki gasped when he finally remembered a letter on his person. However, it required a few strong pokes from Sapphire for him to remember he had it. In a haste to pull it out, he fumbled and it gently whipped and spun through the air away from him. A little oopsie on his behalf.

    The letter rolled slowly towards a small grate, taking a good 2 seconds of flight before Reiki snatched it out of the air, his position in real time suddenly snapping to the side by a foot just before the fast whump of air blew at everyone''s clothing except his own. A few sparks of green electricity quickly fading into the air before anyone could notice them.

    ¡®Wha¡­?¡¯ Professor Serrin gasped, as they had been watching the letter fly towards the grate, only to see it vanish just before a somewhat mild wall of air blew against them.

    ¡®Oh right, you couldn¡¯t see him, could you?¡¯ Sapphire giggled whilst patting down her hair, then her dress. ¡®Reiki-kun has a really cool ability!¡¯ Her mouth widened and the corners rose as she placed her hand into his left shoulder.

    ¡®Hm. Ray-key, was it? What a peculiar name¡­¡¯ Orinko noted, stroking his round, bushy beard as his eyes darted to the ceiling briefly. ¡®I think you¡¯ll like it here. Come, let me personally guide you to the exam rooms first.¡¯ Orinko added, his mouth gently widened and showed a surprisingly healthy set of white teeth as he closed his eyes with an air of patience, turning back to the teenage boy and getting a sigh of contempt from Professor Serrin.

    ¡®Hear that, Reiki-kun?¡¯ Saph said as she bounced on the balls of her feet, making her tail swish even harder as they began their group walk with Headmaster Hyre.

    Saph¡¯s wide grin stayed for the entire walk, with a very faint rosy tint every time she looked at Reiki. Sofya had been silent this entire time, keeping an eye on the two teenagers during the entire conversation, and noticed how he hadn¡¯t said a single word in the entire interaction.

    ¡®Sapphire, could I chat with you quickly?¡¯ Sofya spoke up, grabbing the wolf-girl¡¯s attention with a snap of her head as she stepped away from her latest friend slightly.

    ¡®Sure thing,¡¯ She smiled as she turned to him, and squeezed his hand. ¡®I¡¯ll be back soon.¡¯ She winked and quickly sidestepped over to Sofya.

    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

    As soon as she did that, Sofya put a small gap between them and Reiki, with the two Scholars of Magic on either side of him. Sapphire then noticed that Markus was by Sofya¡¯s side as well, so lowered her expression down from her bubbly attitude down to the

    ¡®What¡¯s up?¡¯ Her smile weakened when she heard what Sofya had to say next.

    ¡®While I think he silently appreciates your excitement, I think that you should allow him to offer some input of his own without your help.¡¯ Markus nodded in agreement with a grunt at Sofya¡¯s comment from the other side of the female adventurer.

    ¡®... Fine.¡¯ She huffed. ¡®But I¨C¡¯

    ¡®No but¡¯s. You need to let him speak more.¡¯ Sofya reminded her once again.

    Being attuned to the two beside him, Reiki was unaware of Sapphire¡¯s quiet admonishment behind him as he learnt about the surrounding academy grounds. Sapphire increased her pace and sidled up beside the boy in question.

    ¡®How¡­ How long does the exam¡­ last?¡¯ He said, leaving pauses in his words as he slumped his shoulders. ¡®I just¡­ I don¡¯t want it to take too long. My attention may be easily ¡­ distracted.¡¯ He added, as they came across a set of doors with a different design and size to the other, more common designs nearby.

    ¡®The exam shouldn¡¯t take all that long. I know some who completed the boring bits over several hours, but you should do fine.¡® Replied Orinko, a sly grin etched across his face.

    ¡®I¡¯m pretty sure you¡¯ll be fine.¡¯ Professor Serrin added themselves, as they entered the room.

    It took Reiki by surprise when the six of them entered, the brown noise of voices that flowed towards them reduced in volume as they entered. Before anything could stop a majority of students from staring at him, both Professor Serrin and Orinko took to what looked like a raised platform that hadn¡¯t been there before. Two of the teachers and Professor Serrin guided Reiki to a row of seats just to the side of the platform, as Sapphire was guided away with a bit of insistence by a scholar.

    ¡®Students, as we all know by now, this year will be the time for some to leave and others to continue their studies. Like how a butterfly flies, we have no idea what path each of us truly takes, but we will be there to support their interests.¡¯ His intonations that raised and lowered as he spoke almost matched with the other fictional character Reiki was familiar with. ¡®Any today, we have a new student.¡¯

    Murmurs echoed into the chamber when he gestured towards the young teen, who looked around a little, startled at being called out. In the seated crowed, Sapphire couldn¡¯t stop her fingers from grabbing her casual clothes on her knees. She felt both underdressed amongst her classmates and anxious for Reiki. She watched him take a slow sequence of steps towards the stage, catching snippets of the whispers from the boys and girls around her.

    ¡®Who is he?¡¯/¡¯I¡¯ve not seen him before.¡¯ A Beastal girl and a Demon boy whispered, but not quiet enough.

    ¡®Does he think coming here is a joke?¡¯ One boy sneered, a few seats to her left and a row behind hers. ¡®I can¡¯t sense any magic coming from him at all.¡¯

    ¡®Why don¡¯t I sense any type of combat experience from him?¡¯ One of the human kids said right in front her, who then shuddered right when she snapped her eyes to him.

    She couldn¡¯t help but worry about him being picked on. Especially after she learned that if the truth about him got out, she wouldn¡¯t be able to keep most of the rumours as rumours.

    ¡®Sapphire, do you know who he is? I saw you walk in with him.¡¯ A girl with pigtails in hand-dyed pale-lime and pale-cyan colours asked her, when she noticed how focused Sapphire was on him. ¡®Wait, Saph?! You¡¯re back?!¡¯ She added, keeping her voice down.

    The young wolf-girl didn¡¯t know what she could say to her friend, as Reiki took to the stage beside Headmaster Hyroel. All she could do was a gentle nod of her head a few times. The volume of the chatter lowered as the Head Scholar raised a hand until it was far enough over his head that everyone calmed down.

    ¡®That¡¯s enough for now, everyone.¡¯ He said calmly. ¡®I think it would be best to let him join us this coming term. Please remember to be nice to him, he¡¯s also very new to our city.¡¯ He added, earning a few more but louder murmurs from the crowd of seated students.

    Sapphire¡¯s ears fell sideways as she watched Reiki standing awkwardly on the stage. His outfit giving him a hint of nobility, despite not being a Noble of any kind. With it being passed on to him from Princess Aerys, he hadn¡¯t quite thought of how long he¡¯d been wearing it. Headmaster Orinko continued to address the room about the upcoming exams to take place and a few other things that Reiki had already begun to tune out as he did his best to stand with respect a few feet behind him.

    ¡®This is making me feel so nervous, just standing here.¡¯ He thought to himself, as he tried to locate Sapphire in the crowd from the stage. ¡®The collar is also getting a little itchy¡­¡¯ He added, as he reached up and itched the nape of his neck.

    Out in the crowd, Sapphire caught him itching his neck. She had no idea her classmate beside her was trying to ask her questions, but they weren¡¯t coming though clearly enough as she focused on him. After the students started to leave, Sapphire carefully made her way through the crowd, as the pigtailed girl followed behind her. It didn¡¯t take long for the room to be devoid of students as they all headed off to classes. Enough had left the room for it to become more comfortable to him. Which allowed Reiki to release the tension and anxiety held in his shoulders, and his posture.

    ¡®You okay?¡¯ Sapphire said, approaching him as her eyes followed Reiki as he left the stage behind the Headmaster.

    ¡®...Yeah.¡¯ He replied, his gaze downcast as his eyes avoided hers, and those of everyone else.

    ¡®Well, I saw you up there looking overwhelmed, but you survived. That¡¯s what matters.¡¯ She added, when a hand reached up and held her shoulder. ¡®Oh, right.¡¯ He looked up and saw both girls standing in front of him.

    ¡®Sapphire, do you know him?¡¯ The human girl spoke, as she tilted her head with her eyelids closing a little and her mouth widening into a cheeky grin.

    The wolf-girl Beastal, without missing a beat, replied a bit too fast to her classmate.

    ¡®Yeah, I do know him.¡¯ Her ears flattened a bit and tilted backwards down the sides of her head as she turned towards the. ¡®Why? What¡¯s this about, Elysia?¡¯ She added, as Reiki saw an eyebrow on the side of her face towards him twitch.

    ¡®If so, you¡¯ve gotta tell me the full story. I am glad you¡¯re back though.¡¯ Her voice lulled to a calmer tone before she turned to him, face-to-face. ¡®Hi there, I¡¯m Elysia Lunabelle, of the Lunabelle family. Close friends call me Elle.¡¯ She held out a hand, palm down, towards him.

    To the surprise of everyone but Sapphire and the two adventurers, his hand reached out with a soft touch around her fingers and bent over enough to place her knuckles against his forehead. A second later. He released her hand, then spoke. It was as if he could detect her nobility, which nobody had told him about.

    ¡®I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m Reiki Honoka. It¡¯s a plh-pleasure to meet you, Miss Elysia.¡¯ He looked at Sapphire, opening a telepathic connection with her. [Saph, did you tell her anything about me?] He projected, not giving away the sudden mental intrusion he sent to her.

    [Uhm¡­ No, not yet. But I can do it while you get ready for the exam.] She replied with a very small flinch of her head away from him, an eye flinched closed for a short moment before she turned towards her classmate. ¡®Reiki can catch up with us later, I¡¯ll fill you in on what¡¯s happened since I got kidnapped.¡¯ Sapphire said to Elysia as she smiled, an apologetic frown on her face, before she looked away from him.

    He disconnected their minds early enough to miss her surface thoughts entirely. With her ears now less flat than before, but with a slight glow on her cheeks he didn¡¯t notice, she turned Elysia around. She then pushed her back for a few feet before they started to converse while walking out of the door together. Several young adults entered with an alternate outfit to the others as they both left.

    ¡®I¡¯ll be right back.¡¯ Professor Serrin said, as they walked towards the students and started to move all the seats around.

    Some of the older students had started using magic to alter the appearances of the wooden chairs into conjoined tables. This surprised Reiki, as he¡¯d never seen a room change from a stage-like setup into a classroom in such a short time.

    ¡®We¡¯ll sit outside the room, just to make sure nothing distracts you.¡¯ Sofya said, which made him jump a little.

    ¡®Sorry, I¡¯d almost forgotten you were there, uh¡­ Sofya.¡¯ He said, after letting a long breath flow from him. ¡®I take it this is all for the written section of the exam?¡¯ He asked, his head swivelled towards Headmaster Orinko.

    ¡®Why, yes. We have both written test in this section of the exam.¡¯ He replied, a gentle smile spread across his features. ¡®Then the combat training is either in the event arena outside, or over at the Guild¡¯s indoor arena. It doesn¡¯t usually matter what order you do them in though, as long as it¡¯s all done within the allocated time.¡¯ He added, stroking his beard after a few hairs flung free from it.

    ¡®I see¡­¡¯ Reiki muttered to himself, his eyes defocused as they finished setting up the room.

    It didn¡¯t take long before some outfitted and casually dressed people older and younger than him entered the room. The headmaster had told him that they host everybody for each of the various exams together. He was positioned sat near the back, where the new entries were mostly situated for this first exam. Looking at the notes before him, he realised some of the contents was rather easy before the allocated time had even started.

    Despite being seated at the back of the room, he could clearly hear the headmaster¡¯s voice chime out just as loud as when he was beside him on the stage. However, his voice had a quick reduction in volume as he spoke with each step off the stage. All while engaging conversation with Professor Serrin. After he left, Professor Serrin got up on the stage and exclaimed to the room that ¡°the first phase of the exam shall now commence¡± before they took off with a dash of speed to their steps.

    ¡®So the stage isn¡¯t just there for show?¡¯ He thought to himself, as he got stuck into the papers. ¡®At least my Auto-Translate skill helps with reading the questions.¡¯ He paid no attention to the other young races around him, as he focused on the exam.

    The first few pages caught him off guard. Despite expecting things from his world like maths, history and written works. His exam sheets asked questions with a deep focus on economy, living expenses, adventuring and loot analysis. He found himself knowing quite a lot about healthy living, due to his experience in a more developed world that he¡¯d been in for a majority of his previous life.

    He was a bit surprised at the quill and ink that had been sat on his allocated desk space, but after a bit of practice, he could use it. After reaching the end of the first stack of questions, he noticed others were all scratching their heads and weren¡¯t even past the third page. He then noticed everyone was moving a little slower than he expected and realised he¡¯d answered the questions at superspeed.

    It was unintentional, but it was too late to undo now. After he placed the quill back in the pot and leant back, something up by whom he assumed was the adjudicator blinked on what looked to him like a stone tablet. He noticed Professor Serrin had left without him even noticing. He couldn¡¯t quite remember their name, but for him, the scholar looked similar to the previous professor. Despite having big, circular glasses and her hair half in a bun and a single-sided pigtail.

    He hadn¡¯t looked up all the way, but after performing a tiny surface scan of their mind, he soon learned what the stone tablet was. The Scholar was reflecting on how handy the artifact was. The supposed stone tablet from his view was in reality a dark crystal artifact, which was designed to detect when someone at a desk was either procrastinating or distracted. How this was a good technique discovered and developed by an Elvan Scholar of Null Magic from several years back.

    Reiki had intended to put his hand up to signify he was done, but the surface scan with his Telepathy skill had informed him otherwise. Disconnecting his skill, he looked over as they looked up from the device. With a surprised raise of their eyebrows, they picked up a stack of paper in from of them after sorting through it and replaced his finished one with them. It didn¡¯t take long for him to realise how difficult these were in comparison to the earlier paper, and he was tempted to use an ability.

    ¡®Maybe I should reach out¡­ no, it might be considered cheating if they might know about my skills already.¡¯ He admonished himself, as he was stuck on one particular question about knowing how dungeons can form or spawn. ¡®I can just ask Saph or one of the¡­ uh. .. oh right, the Scholars later about all this stuff.¡¯ He added, as he started to go through these much harder questions he had no idea about whilst trying to remember the official profession title for the staff member.

    With his small knowledge of anime and manga, he could only get so far. Yet, he managed to get through these final pages of exam questions. Despite being an early finisher of the previous paper, he consciously reminded himself to not race through them and with his extra time, he was the antepenultimate person to finish his second and final exam paper. Once everyone was done, the Scholar stood up and addressed the room.

    ¡®Thank you for taking the allocated time for your written exams. When I call out your previous year, please stand up together and grab any personal items from the storage box by the door on your way out.¡¯ They said from the raised platform, the monotonous yet strangely energetic tone felt weird and alien to him for the character of the person on the Stage.

    He waited for his group to be called up in an orderly fashion. However, on his way out, professor Serrin stepped back in with Headmaster Orinko and as in a big surprise for Reiki, Ren Murrows had joined them as well.

    ¡®So, Reiki.¡¯ Ren said, a hint of concern laced into his voice that already had a slight wobble of worry to it. ¡®I got a small bit of time to help them understand your condition. Do you mind staying back for a brief interview?¡¯ He added, as the group of them became the last people to be standing in the room itself.

    ¡®...What for?¡¯ He replied, feeling his heart starting to thump faster in his chest as his hands started to shake.

    ¡®Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll let Miss Simona join you. It¡¯s just a precaution, seeing how you¡¯re a unique case after visiting the Guild earlier to test for your aptitude.¡¯ Ren said with an upbeat tone, as Professor Serrin spoke some words Reiki couldn¡¯t make out and the room was covered in a golden glow. ¡®Don¡¯t worry, Sapphire can enter while nobody else can.¡¯

    After a short while, his friend entered the room and the adults all noticed him visibly relax. With the furniture moved around, the interview was soon ready to start. They did make an exception for the adventurers Sofya and Markus to be present and as a surprise for Reiki himself, Sapphire didn¡¯t speak a word for him once the interview was under way. He was glad to have someone to rely on by his side if he ever got stuck on a question.

    Now he just had to get through the interview without ruining his backstory.

 2.3 - Magic and Mayhem

    After the initial written exams, and the interview, Reiki was now able to take himself a step further towards this new world and new life. After getting excused from the short interview about his condition and backstory, Reiki sighed to himself. He had some time by himself, until Sapphire appeared by his side once again a short while later. That was something that wouldn¡¯t look like it would change for a while.

    Some of the surrounding adults, staff and adventurers alike, realised how oblivious he was to the fact that she had her eyes set on him the entire time they chatted; her saviour from her kidnapping just a handful of days earlier. During their walk from the interview, she kept her hands clasped behind her back. The back of one in the palm of the other, as they covered the quiet distance to the training grounds; the place chosen for the physical aspect of the entrance exams. As he followed her, he felt the curious stares of some of the other students who were out of class alongside the warm breeze on his face.

    ¡®I still find it interesting that you can move so fast yet have no affinity for any magic we use.¡¯ She said, her eyes with the occasional flick between him and the route ahead. ¡®I know I¡¯ve seen it, but it just feels weird knowing that you not only can¡¯t use magic, but don¡¯t have Mana either.¡¯

    ¡®I¡­ I know.¡¯ He replied, his head dropped in response. ¡®... I wish I could, but I think we should keep a lid on the topic. I hope the last bit of my entrance exam is better than the written responses.¡¯ He added, his eyes with a glow like the first stars appearing in the twilight sky.

    As they approached the doors, Sapphire¡¯s eyes dropped and her ears lowered to a noticeable angle. He noticed this but didn¡¯t know what to make of it. He knew some things about animals using their ear positions to represent certain behaviours, but he didn¡¯t know if they applied to Sapphire¡¯s native race. Until now.

    A Beastal guy with ears as pointed as hers, but their colour along with his hair vibrantly different, walked around the corner. As the older-looking Beastal turned towards them, the wolf-girl slunk behind Reiki and placed a clenched fist against his back, as if she had attempted to avoid the new guy¡¯s gaze.

    ¡®<Hey, hey, if it isn¡¯t the silver bes¡¯shki!>¡¯ The guy said, his voice raised as his ears pointed straight up while Reiki couldn¡¯t understand him at all. ¡®<When did you get back? I thought you were gone for good!>¡¯ The guy laughed, as a few more Beastal boys came around the corner who talked in a similar tonal manner as the first guy.

    ¡®<That little menace is back?!>¡¯/¡¯<Wait, the idiot¡¯s back?! How?!>¡¯/¡¯<Who¡¯s the Dw¡¯ebe?>¡¯ They spoke together in Rampani, with only one who had registered whom she was hidden behind.

    Reiki opened up a Telepathic connection to Sapphire as the boys, of their various but close-nit appearances, started to edge closer to her.

    [Saph, I don¡¯t understand what they¡¯re saying, but are they, like, bullying you?] He projected with a subtle ping to her, feeling her fists jolt a little against him.

    He fought to get a glance back at her. Her action caused his ears to hear a soft rushing of blood as he felt his patience running thin.

    [...Y-Yeah.]  She replied with her thoughts, her teeth gritted a little as her forehead then pressed into the back of his right shoulder. [They¡¯re speaking Rampani and it¡¯s been an issue ever since¡­since¡­] Her mental voice started to change and grow softer, a faint flurry of colours blurred across his mind as she experienced the memory.

    She was interrupted by an odd sensation in her head, causing her to jerk her head up a little. She hadn¡¯t realised recalling the memory had left a wet patch on the back of his top. However, her head felt like she was getting a massage from inside. Reiki had moved in small degrees of movement to put him between them.

    Sapphire was pleased that he was being protective of her. Her face blocked from his view, she was glad that his position hid her blush. After a short while, they eventually noticed how he was always standing in a position that kept her

    ¡®<Hey Kayoe, give me your white glove.>¡¯ the first guy said, not turning to look in the direction of a red-haired boy who hadn¡¯t a mane, but the ears and tail of what Reiki thought belonged on a lion.

    Before Sapphire could warn him, the other guy raised the glove ready to slap him. But a hand reached out and grabbed the boy¡¯s wrist. The tightness caused his grip to release the glove.

    ¡®I was going to let it slide, but I don¡¯t think Madam Aerys would approve.¡¯ Came a strong, feminine voice Reiki recognised, with a flurry of hair entering his vision.

    ¡®Tch.¡¯ The boy said, his teeth gritted and a built-up tear threatening to drip from his left eye. ¡®<C¡¯mon guys, let¡¯s get outta here.>¡¯ He added once his wrist was released, rubbing around a noticeable red mark with his other hand.

    As they left, the intervening party turned to look at Sapphire behind Reiki. With Sofya and Markus over by the wall, Reiki quickly recalled his memory at superspeed. Before him was none other than Ephyr herself.

    ¡®It¡¯s nice to see you again, Reiki.¡¯ She said, a subtle but strong tug of her lips as her eyes glistened like a warrior¡¯s spirit was waiting to explode. ¡®I should have expected to see that noble bump into you¡­¡¯ The light in her eyes dimmed as she continued to talk, her posture relaxed enough for it to be noticeable to both teenagers.

    Reiki was still shocked as to why she was there. He did relax after he noticed her face, but he was curious about something. Sapphire beat him to it by asking her question first.

    ¡®Uhm, who are you?¡¯ She said, her voice crescendoed as she stepped back out to his side. ¡®I don¡¯t think I recognise you.¡¯

    ¡®I¡¯m Ruebyssa, Ruebyssa Cryfield the Third.¡¯ She claimed herself to be, as she turned towards the two of them. ¡®I¡¯ve transferred over from Hibel, due to the recent slave trade issue there. Please, call me Rue.¡¯ She added as she curtsied towards them, with an elegance Reiki had only heard of from his sister discussing romance novels with her husband.

    ¡®Well, it¡¯s nice to meet you but my friend here has something to get to.¡¯ Sapphire stated like it was a matter of fact. ¡®There is a slot the headmaster himself has suggested for him to take part.¡¯ She added while she glanced at the empty entrance with a pointed finger towards the training arena, surprising him by not grabbing his arm like he was expecting from the anime he¡¯d watched.

    ¡®Y-yeah, what Saph said.¡¯ He got out after a second of silence. ¡®Um¡­ I¡¯m Reiki. Reiki Honokami. This is my friend, Sapphire.¡¯ He added, with the thought of introducing himself and Sapphire to the woman.

    ¡®I see.¡¯ Rue said before her eyes took on a soft glow, a glint similar to stars appearing in a reflection of a lake. She hurriedly reached into a small bag on her waist that blended into her ensemble and extracted a letter. ¡®If I may ask, are you the¡­ ¡°ray-key¡± that my cousin spoke of?¡¯ She asked as she unfolded it.

    ¡®Uh, who¡¯s cousin told you about me?¡¯ His face took on a shocked expression, whilst an attempt to recall who would blab about him. ¡®Wait¡­ Let me think¡­¡¯ He tried to narrow it down, index finger and thumb on the forehead, but the list of people who knew him was very small.

    An even better chance was about to be thrown his way; Rue looked like she was going to tell them anyway. That tiny raise of her lips on the right side.

    ¡®Well, I bet you¡¯d be surprised if it was the Princess herself.¡¯ Rue said, her hand raised as her thumbnail itched her index fingernail while looking away from him.

    ¡®As long as she hasn¡¯t told you too much, that¡¯s fine with me.¡¯ He replied, letting a sigh of relief escape his lips.

    He didn¡¯t even register her movement freeze after his head tilted downwards. Sapphire placed a hand on his back, pushing him past the cousin of the Princess. While they walked past her, Sapphire whispered to her as they passed. With him unable to detect her voice as his mind was preoccupied with combat ideas that he might apply for this physical exam.

    ¡®So that you know, he¡¯s a bit sensitive about his image outside of his friends.¡¯ She white-lied to Rue, whose eyes lowered as they continued past her.

    As they left her behind, she took a deep breath, then followed after them from a distance. Wanting to know more about his situation to be told about him by her cousin, she decided to keep an eye on them.

    ¡®I wonder what he¡¯s so special for then?¡¯ She thought to herself, as they stepped into the preparation area ahead of her that led to the lowered section of the arena. ¡®Guess I¡¯ll learn after watching him.¡¯ She added as she found her way to a section of the seating that was usually hogged by nobles.

    Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

    As Rue left them alone, Reiki found himself with Sapphire in a room with less than half of the people from the written exams present. He convinced himself that he was okay after the written exams. Due to his lack of an ¡°Analyse¡± or ¡°Identify¡± skill, discovered during a brief moment to check his skills window, he didn¡¯t know whether any of the items and armour on the wall were better than others.

    ¡®Just remember, they¡¯re seeing how good you¡¯ll be under a bit of combat pressure.¡¯ Spoke Sapphire, as she looked over the wall with him. Her eyes had the occasional drift to check on his face. ¡®Usually, they have some of the more advanced casters go last so that they don¡¯t have to worry about too much damage for the arena. I checked the listings and nobody has a tag to warn the Scholars about how strong they are, so you may be going last.¡¯ She added, then chuckled to herself for monologuing again. ¡®Sorry, I don¡¯t mean to talk like that. It¡¯s usually not like me.¡¯

    Her head turned away from him as if to avoid him looking at her erubescent cheeks. But it didn¡¯t stop him noticing her tail sway in a vigorous manner, as well as her ears halfway between an alert and embarrassed position.

    ¡®¡­ I think it suits you.¡¯ He tried to whisper to himself, but her furthest ear twitched as she registered his whisper.

    After a minute of comfortable silence, with him not spotting her face become flushed, he made his choice from the wall. Eventually, he picked a pair of arm braces, a red shirt that seemed to shimmer a variety of colours and a thick pair of leathery pads for his shins. He liked the red shirt because it reminded him of that blocky game with the enchanted armour effects. However, it was much more subdued and wasn¡¯t immediately noticeable. Almost like it was a single thread interwoven across the fabric itself.

    ¡®Oh, nobody really picks the shirt due to its unique enchantments, but I think it suits your eyes.¡¯ She¡¯d said, her cheeks not as flushed as earlier yet still had a faint glow. ¡®I¡¯ve rarely seen some enter with just armour, but I¡¯ve noticed a few guys and girls like you in here already. So I think something is different this year.¡¯

    ¡®You think so? It even has this really cool effect on it.¡¯ His love for the fantasy elements lets his lips curl upwards out of joyous habit. This didn¡¯t escape her eyes and she found herself enjoying her time with him more than she thought.

    After several minutes of just idle chat in the room, Reiki was left to sit on the bench for his designated slot. Sapphire had to wish him well, holding herself still for a few seconds before leaving him. With his unique control over his abilities, like a switch, he had no idea what was going through her head. She wasn¡¯t used to someone with a natural ability that was so rare amongst the people of the empire, so her thoughts naturally stayed on the surface.

    ¡®Gah, why do I want to give him a good luck kiss all of a sudden? It¡¯s not like I like-like him¡­ do I?¡¯ She mentally quizzed herself, as her cheeks flushed once again while her ears lowered sideways.

    Luck was there for her, as he didn¡¯t have his Telepathy active at that moment. She noticed it was twice in the fastest time ever, as she entered the seating for her usual class to watch his upcoming match. She hadn¡¯t recognised the now matching outfit of her class on Rue, who was two rows back from her. Luck was on her side, as her classmate from earlier came over and spoke to her.

    ¡®I need to talk to you.¡¯ A voice came from her left, which made her ears shoot straight up.

    ¡®Oh, Elysia! I¡¯m sorry I ignored you earlier!¡¯ Saph almost yelled as they got into a small chat. All while a test commenced before them as swords and a shield clashed. ¡®What do you want to talk about?¡¯ She replied as a bead of sweat dripped down her face, out of sight from her friend.

    Back in the prep room, as Saph had called it during an earlier monologue, everyone had been chatting in their small groups about their prowess or their recent activities. Now, the surrounding room was half-empty when the call for his group was brought forward a few groups early. It was interesting to him, to learn that there were four groups for each year of entrants. First-year students and entrants were part of the Alph, Beyt was the next year and Tria was the third-year entrants. He couldn¡¯t remember anything higher, but he guessed that higher years were for those who wanted to further enhance their skills and knowledge.

    ¡®Group Alph-Four, can you get yourselves ready, please? Your group will be going up next.¡¯ Spoke an Elvan-looking Scholar in Reiki¡¯s section of the room. ¡®The order for this year¡¯s line-up has been inverted on a special exception by the Headmaster, so we¡¯ll be going from group four to group one.¡¯ The Scholar stated louder, as their voice echoed off the stone walls around the room.

    The remaining groups all looked confused at this statement. Murmurs filled the room about this unorthodox procedure for the Combat Training exam.

    ¡®Um, excuse me¡­?¡¯ Reiki said, his voice catching as the Scholar looked over at him with his hand half-raised, but enough to be noticed. ¡®I¡¯m sorry, but it might be because I¡¯m here. I was granted a session slot by Headmaster Orinko himself.¡¯ He said, his voice wavered while he kept an awkward but straight face.

    Students close to the entrance into the arena had confused looks on their faces because of the volume of the voices in the room. Two nobles in the room glared at him as the sound subsided. The raised voices were shushed by a fast-waving hand from the Scholar. His left eyelid twitched and his lower lip trembled as he lowered his gaze. The tremble was so small that nobody but a young Demon kid looking his way furrowed their brow, both in pity and sympathy.

    ¡®Can you explain why he chose to reverse the order for this year''s entrants?¡¯ They asked, and for the first time in his life, Reiki felt a warmth of resilience and strength coursing through his body and mind.

    ¡®You''ll just have to wait and see.¡¯ He stated, his face kept in as neutral a state as he could muster.

    Inside his mind, he screamed at himself for allowing himself to act so cocky. He felt embarrassed beyond belief at such a corny line too. On the edge of his peripheral, he couldn''t tell what was happening but some people had huddled together to discuss something. He beat them no mind though, as the final person¡¯s exam from the Beyt group left the arena. It didn''t take long, but the sounds entering his current area allowed him to imagine what the battles were like.

    The sounds of gusts of winds, the crackling and roar of large fires, and booms of explosions varied but he could tell there was an almost equal number of element users. There were only two quiet matches with the sounds of thunderclaps; a high chance of fists and limbs clashing and connecting out in the arena itself.

    ¡®Come on, I should be able to handle this.¡¯ He thought to himself, as the sound of a metallic clunk was heard, followed by a crescendoed whistle. ¡®What is tha¨C¡¯ His thought was cut off by the most impeccable timing.

    The room was immediately cast in a faint cloud of smoke after a frightening sound of something being embedded into the wall. Reiki¡¯s body shook the most out of everybody left in the room. His eyes locked on the metallic object that had impaled the wall just a metre or so from where his right side would have been. Nobody had noticed him slide over to the next waiting bench by the wall from his previous place with his ability.

    Reiki felt his heart pounding in his chest as he stared at the metal projectile that had almost hit him. His racing heart made the blood pulse through his ears at a deafening volume, but it didn¡¯t last long. Something fast entered the edge of his vision. He didn¡¯t move, but his eyes locked with a Demon lady with a slight build-up of liquid in her deep amethyst eyes that contrasted against her dark, deep-tanned skin.

    ¡®I¡¯m ever so sorry!¡¯ She stammered her words, her voice shaking, as she held his shoulders with a gentle grasp. ¡®They surprised me with such an overwhelming power that I ended up letting lose a stronger swing than usual.¡¯ She monologues him with her accidental rambling, her hands letting go after her fast-roaming eyes finished checking that he was okay. ¡®I¡¯m just glad it didn¡¯t hit anyone¡­ Forgive me, I must take a seat myself. Both our training swords broke.¡¯ She said, her voice descending to what sounded like a more natural tone to him.

    She quickly raised herself to her feet, patting her short jacket down, as they both sighed in relief. But in mental and physical forms for him. He hadn¡¯t said a word but guessed the blow had been powerful. His emotions flipped, his eyes lighting up and his arms no longer shaking from the shock, when he noticed a similar sheen-like glow on the broken blade. It was almost the same as the one on his enchanted shirt, but a bit more fluid.

    ¡®That was quite the blow¡­¡¯ He thought as he tried again to get any kind of analysis or identification window to show up for the broken blade.

    ¡­All he got was a headache from focusing on it.

    ¡®Ow¡­ Guess that answers that question.¡¯ He added, as his left hand reached up to grasp the part of his head that felt sore. ¡®No ¡°Analysis¡± skill for me. I¡¯d better get ready for my turn.¡¯ With a deep sigh, and a long breath in and then out, he steeled his nerves and let his face feel neutral.

    The upper area buzzed with a mix of seated groups and clusters of standing students and teachers. A mysterious air lingered after the intense match, whispers darting through the crowd like elusive shadows. The woman from earlier could be seen from his position on the other side of the room, in the adjacent waiting area. Her sword sheathed and slung across her back like a victorious prize. He couldn¡¯t quite make out their voices over the thrum of the students who chatted between themselves. On the other side of the room, the conversation was focused on his upcoming physical exam.

    ¡®Why do I have to stand down for this one?¡¯ Said the woman, her voice lacking its earlier concern and warmth.

    ¡®I know you¡¯d like to test your metal against him,¡¯ Headmaster Orinko said, his voice cheerful yet collected. ¡®But I think Markus here should take centre stage for this one.¡¯ He added, with a deliberate and slow wink to the woman.

    ¡®Don¡¯t worry, Miss. I¡¯m sure you can handle the others.¡¯ Markus said, butting into their conversation with a gentle rest of his free hand on her shoulder, the other on the hilt of his sword. ¡®I¡¯ve seen a bit of the aftermath of how he survived a kidnapping and what he can do on low energy. So I know what I¡¯m up against.¡¯

    Her shoulders dropped by a small margin, but enough to be noticeable as a long sigh escaped her lips. Without a word, she kept her arms crossed but lowered, like her shoulders, as she stepped out of the waiting area.

    ¡®I hope to see what you¡¯re currently made of, young man.¡¯ Markus thought to himself, as the signal for the two of them to enter the training arena went off; a flash of steam created by a Scholar of Water and a Scholar of Fire. The red ball of flame clashes with the smaller ball of water in midair, not only producing the sound of a soft boom, but a flash of mist, or steam, that got everyone¡¯s attention.

    With his sight focused on the arena, Reiki switched his tops around at Superspeed and then stepped out at the same time as Markus. The various races watched on, wondering why the kid with the enchanted red shirt was going up against someone gaining a bit of popularity at their local Guild.

    Safe to say, they¡¯re in for a surprise. Especially when Sapphire knows what he might be capable of.

 2.4 - Powers Have Consequences

    After setting foot into the arena, the silence was deafening for him. The crowds had dulled to a volume similar to that of a purring cat; quiet, but noticeable. It felt like an age before Markus spoke up.

    ¡®Hey, Kiddo, you good?¡¯ He yelled across the arena, which made Reiki¡¯s arm hairs rise at speed right before a full-body shiver in surprise. ¡®You sure you don¡¯t need any weapons?¡¯ He added as they approached each other, his voice getting deeper and more serious.

    The air around the adventurer-turned-bodyguard filled with an aura that seemed to make the view behind him distort. Like the way heat rose from a fire.

    ¡®N-Not for something like this.¡¯ Reiki tried to yell back, but his voice caught when he started speaking.

    Hn! Markus made a noise as he pulled his sword from its scabbard, his eyes closed by a margin as he held it out to his side, both hands clasping the handle.

    ¡®No way¡­ That¡¯s the third form of the Braunfel Style!¡¯ Sapphire¡¯s friend said as they saw him lower the blade away from in front of himself, down towards the inside of his forward-placed right foot with the dull edge of the blade pointed away from Reiki.

    He was a bit surprised to see the dulled edge, then he realised that both sides were dulled enough to look like the real thing from earlier. It wasn¡¯t until he got down into a pose that the adventurer charged at him. However¡­ He appeared to vanish just before Markus¡¯ upward-moving sword could make contact. For a brief moment, nobody could perceive where or how he had vanished. A few whispers near Sapphire wondered if he was using a rare chantless spell to teleport, but she knew better.

    Her lips curled up as her cheeks glowed rosy, and she cheered him on. Right as she started to cheer, the flow of time started to slow down in gradual increments. The sword was moving much slower now, but still faster than her movements from her cheerful bounces on the balls of her feet.

    Over to the right side of Markus, was Reiki, slowing his speed by a push from the back of his feet into the stone ground to slow down. He turned to see his arena opponent already starting to turn the opposite way from him.

    ¡®That¡¯s probably from the momentum he was carrying into that swing.¡¯ He thought, then got the chance to have a look at his surroundings. ¡®I think I¡¯m moving a bit too fast.¡¯ He said aloud, right before his eyes widened.

    For a brief moment, his eyes connected to his opponents as the air around his dulled sword started to distort while speeding up. For that short moment expanded to a long time relative to him, he knew one thing. Markus was getting faster. With a bit of luck on his side, he noticed that the adventurer had started to move physically, but his reaction time was still at a normal human speed.

    ¡®Well, nobody can hear me if I¡¯m both moving and thinking this fast. This will probably look better if I slowed down for them, but if I sped up in vital moments, I can catch him off guard with all of his swings.¡¯ He mused to himself, as ideas began to form in his mind¡¯s eye.

    However, a problem arose. Despite knowing how to shift into this state, he didn¡¯t know how to manipulate it. It felt like his ability was a toggle switch; On, or Off.

    ¡®What do I do now? It¡¯s not like I can control it like¡­ wait, maybe¡­ I can?¡¯ He questioned himself, before changing his perspective on the ability; from a light switch to the trigger on a controller. ¡®I also don¡¯t know many martial arts, but some forms I remember from a TV series do come to mind.¡¯ He added, performing some poses.

    These poses, if performed during a fight in his previous world, would have given him a very embarrassed sensation. However, being in an actual arena, with an opponent bearing down on him, he knew that he could get some use out of the poses. He didn¡¯t notice until too late that a ripple through the air was headed his way.

    Performing a backward walkover, he missed being hit by the strange distortion flying through the air. It didn¡¯t stop the sleeve of his red shirt from being ripped. Whilst at high velocity, he misjudged his feet and with his momentum, he had an unintentional slide down to a low crouching position. The angled ripple in the air sped up and slammed into the wall behind him, eliciting a roar of surprise from most of the people watching.

    To the rest of the audience, all they saw was Markus launch across the arena¡¯s floor and feint an attack. A second later, they see Reiki at the other end. Crouched down with a legs straight out from his left side as his left hand and right knee are touching the floor, before they both vanished again.

    With his opponent knowing how fast he could move, Reiki took it upon himself to figure out what type of technique he might use, but with the rush of adrenaline, nothing was coming to mind. The gap between them was once again reduced.

    ¡®Why can¡¯t I think of anything?¡¯ He said, his chest felt like it had tightened after feeling the distortion that had ripped his red shirt.

    With a glance at his shirt, it appeared to regenerate its material at an excruciating pace. A golden glow along the edge of the tear, growing new material. This was new for him.

    ¡®Woah, it¡¯s like the shirt is being repaired by nanotech.¡¯ He said, his eyes widening and catching the edge of another distortion that flew his way. ¡®But the magic version of it.¡¯ HMnn! He added with a slight grunt, bending his body as he sprinted away from his opponent once again.

    Whilst he perceived the battle with both mental and physical speed, he noticed he had yet to do any physical attacks. With a forward lean down into a cowl, his lips widened into a toothy grin as he started to slam the floor with his feet. The arena floor sinking by just a little to give him that bit more traction in his steps. He was formulating a course of action while he rushed in, when he sensed something.

    He attempted to use his telepathy to read his opponents mind, but the connection took ages to register anything of use. Except¡­ this was what gave him an opening. He hadn¡¯t realised it, but that mental ping at his speed caused Markus to step back when going for an overhead swing. With that, he saw an opening and aimed a hook right below the ribs. Although, as his fist got closer, Reiki pulled away at the last second when he assumed he was going in on a feint. His opponent had no idea he had come in for the offensive, until he felt a bit of wind pressure from the approach of the fist.

    ¡®What was¡­?!¡¯ The adventurer thought, losing focus on his target and looked to his left, where he didn¡¯t register the young teen.

    That was when Reiki knew that if he could land a solid hit, he would consider it his own win, no matter what came after. After that, false signals started going off for the adventurer and each time one went off, the teenage boy was in a different position altogether.

    ¡®Where is he getting this accuracy from?¡¯ Markus thought, as he brough his sword in to his hips and used it to block the incoming sensation of fists getting close to his person. ¡®This isn¡¯t like how I¡¯d heard of him. This is like a whole other person.¡¯ He racked his mind about the information he gathered from those who had been present around him. ¡®Wait, is ¡­¡¯ Something seemed to dawn on him as time

    It was like the timid and powerless guy he¡¯d first met at the illegal slave-house they had taken down was gone. Instead, there was this feeling in him that this kid had a tremendous potential hidden in him. As time slowed down to a crawl, Reiki finds himself being so indecisive about what places to land his fists. It wasn¡¯t long before both were becoming equals as he practiced slowing down his speed.

    It felt to him not like flicking a switch now, but squeezing and releasing a wall of energy around his body as he began to slow down his movements. His smile returned once he got to a speed that he felt comfortable with and let his fist slam into the back of his opponent. In an instant, Markus slid forward whilst rotating his body. Both were learning how to adapt to this unusual fighting style that no doubt was making everybody look on with various looks.

    ¡®One more time¡­¡¯ He said to himself as he ran around and went straight for Markus¡¯ chest¡­ when both their fists stopped an inch between them. ¡®...Oh??!¡¯ His eyes shone, glad that it didn¡¯t seem to hurt when their fists almost collided.

    He released his ability and felt his fist slam into the one of his opponent, who was grinning with a strong passion. A vibrant glint flashed in his eyes, before pulling his fist away from him whilst his opponent, the boy, was in a state of shock. His sword had clattered on the stone floor and stopped him in his tracks, just to get an advantage again and land a fist in his opponents stomach with just enough force that he went sprawling across the arena floor.

    ¡®I-I commu-mand a ss¡­ a Cease to this exam.¡¯ Came an androgynous voice that echoed through the arena, which left just the sound of heavy coughing to echo for several seconds. ¡®The st-student is¡­ w-was fi-fit for entry!¡¯ They added, before a flash of silver and blue raced onto the arena¡¯s centre field.

    The sound of a few heel clicks over the throbbing of blood rushing through his ears and the harsh tingling in his chest, along with a bold tightness as his breathing became shallower. He felt something tighten within him, and the tightness caused a rush of air to escape; a cough mixed with a very small bit of blood present in his saliva. Saliva that dribbled across his lips and dripped onto the stone floor by his free hand. He felt his body weaken, as the world rotated from his view and ended up with his eyes squinting at a now sideways Markus.

    ¡®REIKI!!!¡¯ Sapphire exclaimed, as she raced towards him and came to a stop. ¡®Why did you hit him so hard?!¡¯ She turned back to the adventurer, her eyes thinned, irises almost into slits, and a fang or two exposed from her mouth, while her ears folded backwards and outwards.

    Without a word, the adventurer dropped to their knees and lent forward, their arms passing their head. No words were spoken, but the man¡¯s expression was hidden from the crowd as he left his silent apology for both the Beastal girl and the boy. He took to his feet at a slow pace, then left the arena from where he came up from. As soon as he was out of sight, he started to head for the Guild to make a report about Reiki¡¯s physical condition.

    ¡®But I swear I held back quite a bit¡­¡¯ The ¡°bodyguard adventurer¡± apologised out loud, as he was approached by his companion, Sofya, while his brows pressed together.

    ¡®You looked like you were having an issue, though.¡¯ She said, an eyebrow raised as he approached while her arms interlaced across his chest. ¡®Are you sure you were restraining yourself?¡¯ She added, to which his shoulders slumped, and his head tilted forwards as he nodded with a solemn look as his gaze focused elsewhere.

    ¡®I¡¯m pretty sure I wasn¡¯t.¡¯ He replied, as a long breath of air escaped past his lips. A heavy conscience that had a visible effect on his self-confidence. ¡®Tell the kid, alright?¡¯ He added as they made their way off the academy grounds.

    Reiki, on the other hand, could feel less of a rushing in his ears. Since the two adventurers left, he had been attended to in an immediate manner as he had gone foetal on the arena floor. His chest still hurt, but the motes of light flowing from a young student¡¯s hands into his chest were keeping his attention off the soreness he was feeling every time he inhaled. It was like he was entranced.

    ¡®<Are you sure you¡¯re healing him?>¡¯ Sapphire spoke in a language he didn¡¯t understand, which broke his attention from the translucent orbs.

    If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    ¡®<The healing is taking longer than usual and there¡¯s nobody on campus today who can do better than me.>¡¯ The voice replied, a slight mix of nasal and prose to their neutral sounding feminine tones. ¡®<But I am doing the best I can to stop whatever is broken in his chest.>¡¯

    ¡®

    ¡¯ Saph ended their conversation as her eyes had a light patch of shininess down the side of her face, across a cheek down to her chin. ¡®Hey, don¡¯t worry. She¡¯s keeping the pain from being too severe.¡¯ She swapped back to the language he knew, a speed which surprised him¡­ not in a visible way, just mentally.

    ¡®I¡­¡¯ Ngh. He started to say, as he was laid onto a bed with a slight hardness to the mattress below him. ¡®Ow¡­¡¯ He tried to take a long breath, when a soft hand rested on his shoulder.

    ¡®Not do speak. Just take air.¡¯ The other girl said, with a bead of sweat and her mouth widened as her teeth were seen to be gritted. ¡®I mean¡­ Breathe. Just breathe. Don¡¯t speak.¡¯ That was when he noticed a reddish-golden pair of ears and her thick tail.

    Scratch that, two tails. His eyes widened, before he felt a stab of pain in his chest and lost his visual distraction. A voice could be heard exclaiming something as he felt something leave a light touch somewhere on his shoulders. It wasn¡¯t long before the sensations constricted his breathing and hurt his chest every time he inhaled. After one more cough, he felt his mind slip into a dark space as the people around him began to focus their efforts on healing him. His friend, Sapphire, hung close by his side for as long as she could before being asked to leave him be.

    ¡®Please pull through, Reiki.¡¯ She thought as memories of their escape from the illegal slave trade began to race through her mind. ¡®Not just for your sake, but for mine too.¡¯ She added as she ran to catch up with his unconscious form.

    < # # # >

    <hr>

    Ungh. Came a groan into a still room.

    His groan. It was Reiki who had just woken up. He could still feel a bit of phantom pain in his chest, but his breathing felt strong. Almost like he never experienced the events from the day before. The shaft of light he saw that crossed the room was enhanced by the low angle and how the light danced across everything. His vision blurred the edges of most objects, so he started to reach around the area he was in. He raised his hands as his eyes focused on the environment when he felt something different constrict his movement. He felt a rough material against his skin, with a very rough edge.

    ¡®What is¡­?¡¯ He thought as he bent his head while leaning on his elbows to look down at his chest.

    Before he could focus any further on his own state, he noticed that the room had a few other young teenagers around him. All with their limbs and sections of their bodies wrapped up like his chest. His memory of the exam from earlier came to mind, and he noticed he was feeling in perfect health. Despite the strength of Markus¡¯ punch.

    He was tempted to get up and out of bed, when he could feel a few thumps reverberating through the legs of the bed. He lay back and spread his arms as his ears picked up voices coming from the other side of the door he hadn¡¯t noticed.

    ¡®I wonder what¡¯s going on?¡¯ He focused on his skills, closing his eyes as he activated his Telepathy ability. ¡®I wonder if there¡¯s a way to see if I can access a visual image of what someone is seeing with this ability?¡¯ He pondered as he felt his connection link to an unusual thought process.

    ¡®I can¡¯t make head''s or tails of these symbols, but I can kinda ¡­ feel ¡­ a warmth? No, it¡¯s not that¡­¡¯ He tried to keep his ability discrete but a few seconds later the skill dropped out, and his eyes snapped open, speechless in both voice and mind.

    ...Hunh? A voice came from outside the doors, a few heavy huffs loud enough to be heard. ¡®<That was strange, but I hope I blocked that. It didn¡¯t feel like a posse¡ª Anyway, I need to check on their latest patient. He¡¯s labelled as ¡­ Unique?>¡¯ Came the voice, in another language he didn¡¯t know, through the doors as they entered.

    He didn¡¯t recognise her at all, but his eyes did lock with hers after she looked up from the pile of rough-edged paper in her hands. He didn¡¯t have to say anything, as she snapped her eyes away. Not only that, but he had no idea where he was, and he doubted that she would let him know. He looked down and realised he had no shirt or upper clothing. The surprise in his raised eyebrows when he looked and saw a set of abs in place of his previous memory of his body¡¯s physique.

    ¡®The hell happened to my body?!¡¯ He spoke aloud as he started to peel his bandage from his torso.

    The woman had made her way over to his bed and grabbed his wrists. It looked to him like her initial reaction had been overcome. Without a word, she glared with a strange expression at him. He had no idea what to make of such an expression. He gulped, then felt an odd sense of confusion run through his mind.

    ¡®I¡¯m sorry, young one. But you must rest.¡¯ She spoke. ¡®That injury should be healed soon¡­¡¯

    Her words seemed influenced by an external force, and he felt his body relax back onto the bed as his eyes still held that inquisitive look towards her. But they changed with a glow to them when he noticed her ears. Elven ears. He wanted to ask about her position but ended up not saying a thing.

    After a while, he felt bored with trying to analyse her appearance and started to look around the room again.

    ¡®I¡­ I wonder how long I was out for.¡¯ He pondered, as he watched a bird-like creature preening itself on the windowsill. ¡®That bird looks cute.¡¯ The bird looked at him then to his surprise, unfurled its wings, showing a set of four. It ruffled its entire body before it took off, away from the window.

    ¡®Woah¡­ I bet Saph sees them every day.¡¯ He thought, trying to recall the details of the bird.

    He couldn¡¯t remember much other detail, but he could remember its iridescent back and the long cyan feathers trailing from its biggest pair of wings. The three long hair-like feathers out of te back of its head were just as striking as the colours of the bird, and he was lost in thought about having his own when some more familiar faces appeared by the end of the occupied bed. The headmaster, Sofya, and Markus had arrived as a group.

    ¡®I see you¡¯re finally awake.¡¯ He smiled in response to Headmaster Orinko, who had a sympathetic yet warm glow of a smile in return. ¡®Good news, you weren¡¯t out for long¨C¡¯ Reiki let out a long breath, despite feeling relaxed just seconds earlier. ¡®¨Cybe about an hour or so. I would like to inform you now, before you do anything, that you did pass the entrance exam.¡¯ He raised a finger from his crossed arms as he issued his next words to the teen. ¡®However, you might need to do some work on your self-defence.¡¯ He kept his smile, which Reiki could only nod in response to.

    The day had been long, so this time to relax was good. But being the age he was mentally, Reiki wanted to see more of this world. He didn¡¯t know what would come next, but it had a definite surprise for him. It also explained how he felt so calm despite his situation.

    ¡®You can release the charm on him, Aulya.¡¯ He said after he turned away from the bed-locked teen, as she did so.

    His eyes widened when he heard that. He was ready to speak when he opened his mouth, only for Sofya spoke up first.

    ¡®I also heard about your recovery whilst you were unconscious. You seem to have a natural ability to recover at a speed similar to that of our strongest healers in this empire.¡¯ She said as Reiki registered his words.

    A voice he didn¡¯t expect to hear spoke up; Ren Murrows. ¡®It¡¯s also hard to explain, but you can perform this healing skill without using magic.¡¯

    ¡®What do you mean?¡¯ Markus asked, turning his head towards Ren while keeping his posture focused towards the teenage boy.

    Reiki sat there as he listened to Ren¡¯s ¡°hypothesis¡± towards his condition. He had assumed he couldn¡¯t use magic due to it reading as zero on their mana and affinity detection device, yet he was able to live and heal a broken rib in less than an hour after having it broken. Despite this speculation, only he knew that it was possibly a sub-ability of his superspeed.

    ¡®I hope my own theory is correct.¡¯ He¡¯d pondered for a brief moment while he listened.

    ¡®I know that I¡¯m probably supposed to stay in bed for a bit longer, but can I leave?¡¯ He asked, as Ren stopped speculating, and they all turned to him.

    The woman, whom Reiki had forgotten the name of, had turned on her heel and strides with speed to a desk nearby, out of shot from his point of view. He wanted to check his Skill Window, but couldn¡¯t do that in front of this small crowd.

    ¡®I¡¯m guessing there¡¯s paperwork or forms I have to sign before I am allowed to leave?¡¯ He asked, after seeing the woman¡¯s reaction.

    ¡®Yes, there appears to be.¡¯ Headmaster Orinko replied, as his smile grew once they both made eye contact. ¡®Don¡¯t worry if there are sections you can¡¯t quite fill out. I¡¯ll make sure to have your friend help you out with it.¡¯ He added, making Reiki¡¯s brow raise.

    ¡®I didn¡¯t know he could allow that. I thought students weren¡¯t allowed to visit?¡¯ He kept to himself, yet some subtle motions in his expression gave his thoughts away.

    ¡®Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s not usually like this, but I thought a friendly face might make you feel better.¡¯ The headmaster added after a second of silence.

    Just seconds after that statement, Sapphire dashed into the room and raced to the side of his bed. She noticed the crowd of eyes looking at her hasty arrival, she gave a quiet cough to clear her throat. She sat down on a wooden stool with a bit more prose as she rested a hand subconsciously on the bed beside his own. Her face bore two reflective lines that streaked down from her eyes. Of which glinted and reflected the light from the window.

    With his new, and only friend by his side, he could feel his heart beating at a fast pace, but it was calm enough to not think too much about. After a while, he was given a warning, but was discharged after the paperwork; which was easy to follow with Sapphire by his side. The bandage above his abs had been removed and there were no signs of any bruising from where his opponent, Markus, had punched him. It was like he hadn¡¯t been in a fight at all.

    Luck wasn¡¯t quite on his side yet, but the adventurer did visit him and apologise after learning he was conscious. He could tell that he was sorry for assuming that he could strengthen his body like everybody else. After it was mostly completed, excluding the areas he wasn¡¯t allowed to enter data for, he enjoyed the feeling of freedom that came with getting out of any kind of mandatory bed-rest. It didn¡¯t take long, before Reiki opened what he might call a ¡°Mind Link¡± connection to his friend as he finally got to walk the halls after the whole situation.

    [Hey, Sapphire. Thank you for visiting today, and also for sticking by my side.] He projected, the mental message causing her to trip a little as she walked close by his side.

    ¡®N¨C¡¯ [No problem, just¡­ ask me if you need any assistance. Your chest must still sting a little, right?] She replied, almost forgetting he could do this.

    [To be honest¡­ Maybe a little bit, but it¡¯s so faint now¡­] He projected, happy to have someone he could share his thoughts with. Literally.

    ¡®So¡­ What do you want to do now?¡¯ Sapphire said out loud, as if to stop it looking weird between them, and just their upper faces reacting in response with their thoughts. ¡®If you also need some space, just say. I¡¯ll try and keep some of my friends from bombarding you, now that you¡¯re already set to just come to any of the academy sessions.¡¯ Her ears point straight up and her tail droops to a slow swish; her posture now attentive towards his next response.

    ¡®I may need a little space soon, thanks.¡¯ He replied, a small but tight smile etching itself into his anxious face. ¡®Thank you for asking, though.¡¯ He added, which

    ¡®You got it.¡¯ She said, as she bowed forward just a little, before stepping ahead of him and turning to face him as they walk the almost empty corridor. ¡®If you prefer it, feel free to call me Saph.¡¯ She added, before turning away and strolled towards one of the doors and vanished behind it.

    The action caused him to pause for a moment. He stood there for a brief moment at the sudden action. His awkward moment was cut short when Sapphire came out of the room she entered, but kept a hand on the door. A silent gesture with a large grin and an active tail that swung behind her made him take quick steps to enter the room. He bowed for a short moment, once the Scholar recognised him as a new face beside their regular student.

    As they continued up the side-aisle of what looked like an indoor auditorium to him, she sat down by someone who gave her an inquisitive glance. He caught the edge of her eyes squinting from his perspective as they sat down. Without a word and the use of his mental ability, they both got to work trading notes on a single sheet of paper. Almost like they were friends longer than she had been to him.

    ¡®At least I¡¯m learning now.¡¯ He kept to himself, once the other girl handed him what looked like a pencil version of a quill. ¡®Wish I knew what this class was though¡­¡¯

    The rest of the session didn¡¯t take long, but Sapphire had confirmed that he would be assigned a private room at an adjacent building to the academy. A place where some students were living due to the time it would take to travel back and forth from their homes. Mainly because some had homes far beyond the city limits. It was the same floor that, to his surprise, Sapphire was also lodging in prior to their kidnapping situation.

 2.5 - Questions & Decisions

    After all of that, and the impromptu class experience, Reiki could finally get some space to himself. That was a given. He had been lodged away in the building adjacent to the academy, where he would be learning about how he was to become a proper adventurer. He hadn¡¯t learned anything useful from the class Sapphire had got him into, but it was interesting; ¡°Alchemic Resonance in Cooking¡±.

    With his mind on the present moment, he took in the room. The room was small, with bare walls and a basic bed. However, the filtered light coming through the thin curtain that covered the window made the room glow with a soft warmth it apparently needed. The bed had a thin layer of some kind of silky cloth, but upon touching it, he noticed it felt like more like cotton.

    ¡®This is an odd material¡­ It¡¯s surprisingly cosy in here, despite the lack of personality and much needed furniture.¡¯ He thought as he started to make his way around the small room. ¡®I hope that I get something to keep in here later.¡¯ A knock came at the door after he¡¯d spent a short while atop the bed.

    ¡®Reiki! It¡¯s me.¡¯ Came a familiar voice, muffled a little by the door.

    ¡®Be there in a¨C¡¯ He zipped over to the door and swung it open enough to see who it was. ¡®¨Cn instant.¡¯

    There was Sapphire, holding what appeared to him as a small picnic basket, with the occasional leaf still on the interwoven branches used to weave it together.

    ¡®I brought you a ¡°new roomie¡± gift.¡¯ Her tail wagged side to side as her ears were at attention. ¡®It¡¯s apparently been a tradition to gift ¡¯

    ¡®... oh, thanks, Saph.¡¯ He accepted the gift, and let it sit on his bed.

    ¡®You do know there¡¯s a desk in here, right?¡¯ She said, a finger raised and pointed at what appeared to be just a blank wall to him.

    ¡®I¡­ You know what, I didn¡¯t.¡¯ He replied, letting out a huff of air through his nose as his shoulders drooped.

    ¡®May I show you where it is?¡¯ She had kept out of his room the entire time they were chatting with each other, which he had only just picked up on.

    ¡®Sure, I guess¡­ Come on in.¡¯ He felt defeated, to not know that there were indeed more pieces of furniture in his allocated room. ¡®I wonder if the students need permission from each other to enter their rooms?¡¯ He added in an afterthought, with a slight curiosity on how the room system worked.

    With the permission to enter, Sapphire made her way to the opposite wall from his bed. She lent over a little and traced her fingers along the edge of the wooden extrusion from the wall. With a ¡°thmk¡± of her nail catching something, she traced a finger up to the extrusion line, and pressed into the wood. With brows raised, and eyes widened, he was speechless. The sight of the panel flush with the wall folded down and upwards, away from the wall.

    Watching it fold out, the underside had revealed a pair of wooden legs that kept the surface perfectly level once she had pulled the large wooden surface up to a horizontal position. The sight of a table now present in his room made a thought appear.

    ¡®Wait, how long have these been a thing?¡¯ He asked, as he pressed down with a firm pressure with his free hand.

    ¡®How do you not know?¡¯ She turned to look at him as she then pried a section of the wall beside the bed away to reveal a smaller side-table.

    ¡®Well, it was probably because of what my life was like before meeting you.¡¯ He replied, as he felt his face shift into a more sombre position, probably due to the fake backstory he¡¯d used just a week or so earlier. ¡®So¡­ my parents were attacked by some dog-like monster, I didn¡¯t have any other relatives and I got away from it with only a few scratches. I¡¯d been walking for ages before I was kidnapped by those bandits I saved us from. I¡¯ve been out of the loop for months, due to being on the road.¡¯ He added a rough estimate of what he could remember, when he felt a buzz in the back of his thoughts.

    Reiki could sense something about his backstory data growing in the back of mind. Most likely from how his personal system interface tracked some of the information he focused on. He could still sense the mini-map in his mind from days prior, but he knew that he couldn¡¯t access it in front of his friend without looking at least a little weird.

    ¡®...I see. That must¡¯ve been hard for you.¡¯ Sapphire brought him back into the moment with her response, as she sat on the bed.

    With her ears lowering sideways and her tail resting flat against it, he went and sat beside her.

    ¡®Hey, it¡¯s okay. I just wish I¡¯d been faster back then.¡¯ He replied, as he felt bad for lying to her about what really happened in his past.

    She didn¡¯t reply, but at that moment of silence between them, their friendship had grown just a bit closer. It wasn¡¯t until she facepalmed, with an audible thwack of her palm on her forehead, that she remembered why she was there in the first place.

    ¡®Oh right. I just remembered¡­¡¯ Her ears lowered as her head tilted forward, as she started to go through some of the pouches on her person with hesitant, shaky hands.

    ¡®Hmm..?¡¯ His curiosity peaked at what she was actually there for. ¡®I hope she¡¯s not in trouble with that guy from earlier. That would be rather clich¨¦, but it¡¯s probably too late to stop it from happening now.¡¯ He kept that comment to himself, as he wanted to, but resisted resting an arm over her shoulders.

    Without a word, she handed him a note. It was written with a rather scraggy, but somewhat legible handwritten message. He couldn¡¯t make heads or tails of it, though, which meant she had to read it out for him. Her voice quietened as the message was revealed to him. He felt a pang in his chest for asking her to read it out. ¡­and wished he hadn¡¯t in the first place.

    ¡®Hey newbie. I see that you¡¯re close to that stupid Beastal. You should come to the third arena. I saw your performance out there earlier. I think it¡¯ll be easy to take you on. You can¡¯t even protect yourself, let alone her. Meet me out there by late evening. That ¡­ is mine. If¡­ if yu-you¡¯re late, I¡¯m taking that ¡­ by force.¡¯ He didn¡¯t hear what she said the note had called her, twice even, but he could easily tell that it was either a racial slur or a derogatory term, like what studs used when trying to get a woman¡¯s attention back in his home reality.

    ¡®Hey¡­ I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m sorry you had to read that out.¡¯ He said, his voice laced with an unexplainable emotion for him.

    He looked up at her from where he¡¯d been listening, with his face lifted from resting in his palms. A glint of light bounced off of her face. More specifically, her cheeks. Then another. He looked closer and saw she was holding back tears. He sat up and pulled her in for a hug; a much deserved wall of comfort for her.

    After calming herself down, he learns that the letter is from the arrogant youngster from earlier. She was being bullied by that guy and his few ¡°companions¡± to get together. Until her kidnapping, they¡¯d been harassing her with relentless remarks about becoming a mate to their leader. Turns out it hadn¡¯t stopped once she returned to the city. He knew that something since his arrival was different inside him, emotionally, but he decided to let the feeling become part of his new life.

    Once again, she needed a hug, and he let her initiate it this time. It was a long few minutes of silence between them, as his shoulder was dampened by her emotional side. Something he didn¡¯t want to see on what he had noticed was most likely her natural face. The tears didn¡¯t ruin any make-up, for there was none that had been soaked and spread by her tears. He¡¯d been in thought during their emotional silence, until she relaxed and composed herself once again.

    ¡®...Tell you what, Saph.¡¯ She looked at him, her eyesight ruined by the blob of tears threatening to fall down her cheek. ¡®If you can tell me anything that I can use against him, I¡¯ll try and make sure he won¡¯t go near you again.¡¯ He had left an unintentional cause of fluttering in her chest and stomach with his words, while brushing away the blob of tears from both her eyes.

    ¡®... Thanks.¡¯ She replied after a short while. ¡®If anything comes to mind, I¡¯ll let you know.¡¯ She let a gentle smile creep onto her face, before dusting her academy dress he hadn¡¯t noticed her wearing.

    ¡®Oh, and you may want to get your new academy clothes out of the floor¡¯s laundry room.¡¯ She added as she began to leave the room, but peeked her head back in for a quick moment. ¡®Your current clothes may need washing, based on my reaction.¡¯ She let a soft smirk fight her downcast eyes as she turned away.

    He could guess what was going through her head after the countless anime and manga he¡¯d read, but he decided not to double-check with his Telepathy. After all, he had to think about how to handle this other person before anyone could figure out what he was going to do. Without him knowing, Sapphire had already started on a plan after she realised he would help her.

    She knew it was a high risk, but now that it involved her new friend, she could get the next step under way. She just wanted to confirm with her memory of everything that he was tied to who she was avoiding.

    *  *  *

    While Reiki was settling into his new academy life with Saph by his side as his guide, and as a friend, something was happening further south. In the port-town of Wynsel.

    Something was going down. Several visitors and residents were looking at their hip-bags, either wondering why their money was running low, or straight up missing. A gust of wind or a faint blurring of movement always accompanied these situations. Often causing some to hide their bags. While others speculate if there¡¯s some kind of entity that wants their money. Little did any of them know, except a certain group of bandits, about who was already behind these acts.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

    After her morning ¡°task¡±, some tourist pickpocketing, Teela¡¯s cheeks glistened in the light as she looked out of the tiny window. Her lips shaking like she was cold, despite the warmth of the sun on her healthy yet thin, exposed arms keeping her from feeling cold.

    ¡®Hey, girlie. Yurr needed at de Boss¡¯ meetin¡¯ room.¡¯ A burly yet lean man said, as he placed a bowl of a clumpy, oatmeal-like substance that sloshed unnaturally like a non-Newtonian fluid.

    ¡®...¡¯ she said nothing, but also took note of the guy¡¯s less-menacing demeanour.

    It was much of a difference, but she noticed it. Her eyes squinted as she expected him to berate her like all the others. She was uncomfortable with how they treated her, but at least they kept her fed. She used to be so defiant, but in the short time she was kept to doing their dirty work, her tendencies to try and ruin their plans reduced considerably after hearing how they treated her mother and little brother.

    ¡®Tch. <I hate this place.>¡¯ she mumbled, using her ¡°mother tongue¡± as she tucked her tail along the underside of her arms after pulling her legs in to hug them. ¡®Mieta, seim yae uwa¡¯i.¡¯ She whispered to herself once the man left the room, her words laced with emotion as a glistening line rolled down her cheek as she stared out of the window she was sat beside.

    She knew that her next task was coming, but didn¡¯t realise how soon until she saw the note underneath the bowl. Her instinct was to rip it up, but something about it made her step down and open the paper instead. She couldn¡¯t quite read the words on the page, due to the language they were in, but she did notice some drawings.

    She felt that if this were to go down, she wouldn¡¯t be able to see the last remaining people of her family again. With a scratching of her arms, then in the furry edges of her hybridised cheetah legs, she hesitated before pocketing the note somewhere within her tattered clothes. She began to gulp, her nose twitching and her brow and face scrunching up. She had to stop herself from gagging and heaving up her previous meal, just from the foul odour of the bowl of slop.

    A few hours later, she was forced by her collar to take part in something she had no idea was happening until she was ordered to join them. The slight sign of it shifting against her neck, exposing some partial redness on her neck. Her blunt-nailed fingers pried with a gentle force to ease an itch caused by her resistance to the spells imbued into the collar.

    While she let her gentle touch work away at the edge of the collar against her neck, she snapped her hands away from her neck. She sped up, trying to peek around at the feeling she was being watched with malice. She glared her fanged teeth, but to no-one in particular, as she let her quiet action be drowned out by a voice.

    ¡®Men, tonight, we must raid the Lord¡¯s mansion. Our target will be there right this minute.¡¯

    She had no idea who was talking to the gathering of numerous people clad in strange hoods and cloaks. But she did duck down a little. She thought that the one who handled having her present was the one talking, but the tones in his voice were different.

    ¡®Our target is the Head of Postal Management for this crap coastal town.¡¯ he hollered, the cacophony of various voices and sounds from the variety of people there cheering in return.

    ¡®Lezgo get ¡®em!¡¯/¡¯I wanna steal me some loot!¡¯/¡¯Let¡¯s burn ¡®is place down!¡¯ were just some of the various voices the young Beastal girl heard, as she noticed a window of opportunity.

    ¡®<Now¡¯s my chance!>¡¯ She thought, shifting her perception to match with her innate speeds. ¡®<I have to do something to change what happens tonight.>¡¯ she added, as she raced into the room she had only seen inside once before.

    Without a second thought, she zoomed into the room. Papers started to slowly lift into the air at her sudden arrival. She found some open crates and looked inside. They looked like postal documents. But she felt they weren¡¯t just any normal postal documents. Her thoughts raced, when her collar started to slowly grow in intensity. Her body slowing down. She kicked the stack of boxes over, their movements slow with how fast she was moving, while ripping up a few pages in arm''s reach floating through the surrounding air.

    Her nails slicing through, some like butter, others like they were being pinched from the sides before tearing. In her last few relative seconds, she nodded, before racing back to where she had left.

    ¡®Where did you go?¡¯ a gravel-like, nasal voice asked her. ¡®Tell me now.¡¯

    ¡®<I don¡¯t understand a word you say, so why should I tell you,> yae yt bas¨¦¡¯sy¨ª!¡¯ She yelled at him, a few heads turning her way, to reveal many a face adorned with masks or face coverings beneath the hoods.

    She shrunk her posture a little, as the collar kicked in. Not only that, she felt her throat trying to produce sound. However, she instead held her mouth shut as long as she could, her hands covering her mouth, before she had to catch a breath once the collar was shut off.

    ¡®I saw her run off towards the Boss¡¯ quarters, but the toilets for useless idiots like her are in the vicinity of that place too.¡¯ The guy who gave her the note earlier said something she didn¡¯t quite understand, but the way the others reacted to a word she knew, that being ¡°Boss¡±, she felt an immediate confusion before the collar felt like it was burning her neck again.

    It also caused her to crumble to the floor as she started to yelp like a feline from the pain. A glowing trail curving its way up and down her neck. A sign they had turned up the intensity of the spells within the collar she wore.

    ¡®Did you do anything in the Boss¡¯ room?¡¯ One of then said, a scratchy, but an octave or two higher than the guys she knew.

    She shook her head, the smallest movement she could do, against the spell that was trying to force out of her; what she felt as a big nod of her head. Once she nodded with a meek manner to the toilet question, the collar¡¯s obedience spell came to an immediate halt. She let in a large intake of air into her lungs just before she collapsed on the ground. During everything going on around her, the large group of people spread out into the various alleyways and tunnels.

    To her surprise, she found herself alone in the alleyway. The oddly cloaked people who were once there, all vanished to do something tasked only to them. She wanted to leave the place, but her instincts told her to hold on just a little longer. She didn¡¯t know the reason why, but she knew that if she wanted out¡­ She had to be just a bit more patient.

    *  *  *

    Reiki was wondering the halls, working out where a certain class was being held¡­ when a door almost opened in his face. He shifted instinctively into his superspeed, dodging the door as it swung open as slow as it could. The moment he dropped out of it, he covered his ears when the door swung further than expected and slammed into the wall.

    ¡®<Why did they have to talk about this stupid stuff? It¡¯s basic kiddy cra¨C>¡¯ a cute yet nasal voice spoke as a new language reached his ears.

    A pig-tailed girl with her shoulders held high stormed out of the room until she noticed him covering his ears.

    ¡®Oh, sorry¡­ <Stupid classes. I just want to learn more spells!>¡¯ she muttered, loud enough for him to hear it, but not understand a word of anything else.

    Her voice trailed off as she walked away, her pigtails contrasting against her dark features. He hadn¡¯t noticed it at first, but with a double-take, he looked back over to her and saw a thin tail extrude from her lower back from under her shirt. It ended with what looked like two curvy arrows, which appeared to mirror each other and intersect. On top of that, he saw her turn to look across the open space, exposing a short, dark red horn on her forehead.

    ¡®Well, at least she apologised.¡¯ he kept to himself, shaking his head from the slight ringing in his ears.

    He pulled the door away from the wall, with there not being a single indentation. Despite the force of the swinging door, there wasn¡¯t a single scratch on both the handle nor wall. He pulled out a note, as he held the door. He heard a mature voice continue speaking inside, as he checked the number on the door compared to his note. This was the room.

    ¡®Um¡­ Excuse me,¡¯ he asked, his voice echoing into the small lecture room after knocking on the still open door. ¡®Could you tell me where I can find the room for ¡­um, General Linguistics and Writing?¡¯

    ¡®Oh, sure! It''s a few doors down to your left, buddy.¡¯ they replied, after checking something on their desk. ¡®Room Dee-Seven-Three. You can¡¯t miss it.¡¯ they added after looking up.

    ¡®Thank you, uh¡­¡¯ he said, his eyes not meeting the Scholar''s face as he didn''t know what to call them.

    ¡®Oh, you must be new here.¡¯ They said, a fun and bouncy tone layered into their voice as a few students started murmuring. ¡®I''m one of the leading Scholars here. Ghuttanomo Tewaiff¨¦. But you can call me Mister Gutter¡­ or simply Gutter, if you want to be that informal.¡¯ The last bit they added with a playful chuckle, making some of their students giggle.

    ¡®Oh, thank you.¡¯ He gave a curt bow and top a few easy steps out of the classroom.

    The Scholar was indeed right about the room. As he left, he did a quick practice of what he called a ¡°Surface Scan¡± with his telepathy, and was taken aback when he saw what Mr Gutter¡¯s thoughts were of him; a shy new lad who had felt and looked a bit out of place but welcomed with open arms. He didn¡¯t know why, but he knew that this Scholar was somebody he felt he could trust with anything. But he didn¡¯t want just anyone knowing his big secret.

    After arriving in the room, he got a similar vibe to the previous Scholar. Following that, the start of the class was simple enough. His internal System, for lack of a better name, was storing information like a sponge, somehow. Only when he wasn¡¯t able to keep up with the discussion about how the different languages worked. The list on his piece of rough paper, which was handed to him by Sapphire, told him exactly what classes to attend and when the right times would be to attend them.

    While learning the basics on how to write the normal symbols, he quickly discovered Something interesting. While writing them out, a brief and fuzzy change happened to the symbols when they made a complete word. He didn¡¯t want to bring attention to himself, being in the middle seats while against the wall closest to the door, but he couldn¡¯t help but look at the page after writing a few symbols of what they called the native tongue of humans, but also the most common language used by many; Engali.

    In a discrete manner, he started to look closer at the page. His curiosity getting the better of him. The words he wrote didn¡¯t appear to have any type of magical hologram, or floating window over the top of them.

    ¡®Huh. I thought it was like Google Translate, but that doesn¡¯t seem to be the case.¡¯ he thought, as he bent the page and the translated texts he¡¯d written, the font even being in his own writing style back in his previous reality. ¡®This is more like only I can see the live translation.¡¯

    While he was glad to finally learn the basics of how to read and self-study his writing skills, it wasn¡¯t until he discovered an issue when learning the other languages. His thoughts drifted towards how unique his System was. He was very annoyed with the window that popped up, which told him the stupidest thing. It was a gentle warning screen, written with text that said he would only earn upwards of very little experience points by learning a language.

    ¡®Seriously?! I earn little, if any XP from this?!¡¯ He kept to himself, after rubbing his ear with a subtle gesture. ¡®I wish I could just learn more languages, but even then, I¡¯m limited to how much XP I¡¯ll earn.¡¯ he let out a quiet groan, which almost went unnoticed.

    Despite his internal struggle, somebody near the back of the room had their eyes locked on him. Reiki was so caught up in his small window of sadness, that he failed to pick up on the gaze that bore into the back of his dark, auburn hair. However, he knew that since his work was starting to go well, his thoughts wandered towards something different.

    He pondered whether there was a way to earn a passive income, while being at the academy. Including if it was allowed, or even encouraged, for those like him.

    A Future Adventurer.