Leaving the secret brothel, Zane came out a happy man. To an entirely different reason, of course. He paid for their service albeit at a different rate than the premise was used to, but at hey, business was business. Zane reached the Red-Hair Inn, manning the counter was another redhead different from this morning. She was the opposite of the friendly owner and more like a brooding goth with fiery scarlet hair.

Zane waved his hand a bit to offset the awkwardness as the red hair girl kept staring at him without saying anything. Her eyes followed him up the stairs until he was gone from her line of sight.

That was creepy, Zane thought. And perhaps the only bad thing about this third trip.

He arrived back in Isidora’s room, making himself at home. Yet realizing he barely knew Isidora had him having second thoughts about being in the same room. Coming out, he decided to rent a room for the night. Again, he met the staring red-hair. Zane requested a room through his phone translator as the whole interaction was quite off as the red-hair girl didn’t say a word and just gave him the key. He went upstairs and matched the symbols on the key tag to the door plaque. Lying on the bed, it was the first time he could relax through a night in a fantasy world and as he let his head sink through the feather pillow, he opened his status and gazed with contentment.

[Status]
[Zane][Lv.11]
[Class: Mage(Lv.10)]
[HP: 4040]
[MP: 50/50]
[Strength: 22][+1]
[Vitality: 20]*
[Agility: 23][+2]
[Arcane Power: 25(+20)]
[Perception: 16]
[Available Points: 0]

[Trait]
[Enhanced Drop Rate]
[Multi-Class]

[Unique Skill]
[Warp][Lv.1]

[General Skill]
[Hi-Analysis][Lv.1]
[Physical Resistance][Lv.3]

[Mage Spell]
[Mana Manipulation][Lv.1]
[Force Beat][Lv.3]
[Fireball][Lv.1]
[Earth Wall][Lv.1]
[Sense][Lv.1]
[Wind Burst][Lv.1]

Four new spells at the get-go. But it was a pity he couldn’t buy more due to the constraint in his budget. These four spells cost him a whooping four silver rios which were quite costly even for being beginner-level spells. Yet the spell he wanted the most was out of reach at the moment seeing he was still at level ten in mage. The Silence spell needed him to be at mage level fifteen with a price tag of three hundred silver rios. Three hundred times more than the new spells he just bought. The whooping price alone made him realize that being a mage wasn’t cheap.

Next time I guess. Zane let his eyes close. Drifting into his sleep. For the first time, he slept peacefully in this world without any worries of monsters and beasts.

The morning sun weaved its light through the open window, gracing the sleeping earthling with its warmth. Zane tossed and turned. Dodging the light, taking cover under the shade. But a knock on the door rained his sleeping parade. He ignored it at first, but the knocker on the other side was persistent. Frowning, Zane got up and pulled the door open.

Isidora greeted him. Flashing an awkward smile with an awkward wave of her hand. Her words returned to being gibberish as Zane went back to grab the telepath earring on the side table. He gave it to her and she snapped it on her earlobe.

“Hello?” her voice resounded in his mind.

“Yea, I heard you,” Zane replied. Scratching the back of his head as his hair was a morning mess.

“Did I disturb your sleep?” she asked. Feeling guilty a bit.

“No, it’s fine,” he said, yawning. “People should get up in the morning and not in the afternoon.”

“About yesterday, I…” her words trailed off. Not knowing how to say it out loud.

“It’s fine,” Zane said. “Shit happens.”

“Shit?”

“I meant things. Things happen all the time,” he corrected.

“But still, I did promise to help you out with those spell books you bought. And it would be against my honor to not fulfill the promise that had been made,” Isidora said.

“No, it’s fine. I’ve got that cover,” Zane said. Waving it off nonchalantly. He told her he found someone after she slept and the look of disappointment was apparent on the warrior.

“I’m sorry. If I wasn’t so weak, you wouldn’t have to—”

“It’s fine, Isidora,” he placed his hand over her shoulder. Locking eyes with the maiden who held great importance in keeping a promise. “There’s no need to feel bad about it.”

Her head was down for a while there. Yet she bounced back and stared into Zane’s eyes. “Then what are your plans for today? . . . Whatever it is, I’ll be sure to do my best in helping you, sir.” She blurted out a sir at Zane, and the man felt old being called like that.

“Again, it’s fine,” he nodded. “And shouldn’t you pay a visit to that cleric friend of yours? I bet she’ll be confused waking up without her friends by her side.” The mention of Jaenis dawned on Isidora as if she had forgotten her. Better yet perhaps she did try to forget her friend.

Rather than happy, she was more downcast. “But what should I say?” her voice sounded somber. The aftermath of that incident had broken her party into pieces. Skylar left, while Helen’s fate was still unknown, or perhaps she had wounded up dead in the belly of wolves. Telling such a thing might even break Jaenis as the kind girl that Isidora knew would definitely blame herself over such an incident.

“Tell her the truth,” Zane said. “No doubt it will hurt . . . But I know you’re there for your friend, Isidora. Through good and bad, I know both of you will get back on your feet and move forward.”

She gazed at him with twinkling eyes full of admiration. As if his words were like the words of a sage, enlightening her to the truth of the world. “Thank you,” she said. Hugging Zane tight, not caring whether it was the second day they just met.

“But what about you, sir?” she asked. Worrying about the man who couldn’t speak the common tongue.

“I got this you know,” he showed her the earring on his earlobe. Realizing the importance of the earring, she took it off and handed it over. They parted as Isidora went to see her friend at the Cleric Guild while Zane headed to the merry tavern that he avoided last night for breakfast. The place was empty, a stark difference from the lively night from yesterday. He ordered a simple breakfast and it tasted like his low expectation. Bland with a meager amount of salt in it. Eating just enough to fill his belly, Zane then headed for the library.

It was smaller than he expected. Looking generic like its neighboring building, and to his surprise, the building was shared between both the library and the mayor’s office. He avoided the ruling body and went straight for the library.

Shelves decorated the whole place from the front right to the back. It wasn’t as grand as he thought it would as the Arcane Society triumphed over the volume of books they had when compared to the community library.

“Can I help you, sir?” the only librarian approached the first guest in a month with a beaming smile. Zane did the usual. From the slow-talking smartphone to asking permission to put a foreign earpiece to a stranger. But much to his surprise, the librarian was quite open to new things. Or perhaps she had to, considering she didn’t want to lose another potential book lover to go away. Snapping the earring in her earlobe, the brunette hair librarian tested out the new mental link.

“Hello?”

“Sorry bout this, I don’t actually speak the common tongue. So I’ve to do this,” Zane said.

“No, it’s fine. It’s quite an interesting experience, talking through the minds,” she said. “I’ve read about it before, but I thought it was a failure since President Doraellis kept a close lid about it.” The librarian was more well informed than he thought.

“Oh, silly me. I must be yammering again. I am Maecy, the sole librarian of Hailyfield’s Library,” she introduced herself. “So what can I do for you for today? Fancy a new book on a poem I presume? Because you look like one with that gaudy-looking cloak you wear.”

She was a bit blunt, but Zane just rolled with it. “You wouldn’t have a map of the area, would you? I’m trying to see where I am and figure out where to go after this.”

“Of course, you’re an adventurer. A map will always be useful to an adventurer,” said Maecy. “Now follow me please.”

He trailed behind her as she led him to a round table. Rather than searching through the shelves, she twisted a knob under the table, and voila. The surface of the table opened, revealing what was underneath. A huge map that covered almost all of the land under the Sol-Gaal Kingdom.

“Impressive, isn’t it?” Maecy said. Taking pride in one of the treasures of this library. “It was told the first mayor of Hailyfield won this map from a prestigious sixth-star adventurer through a slap-bet. He endured it till the twentieth slap and took down the snobby six-star adventurer with a mean last swing. Great story, isn’t it?”

“Yea, yea . . . You’re right,” the earthling was barely listening. Taking pictures through his smartphone at every angle possible.

“Um, what are you doing, sir?” Zane’s strange behavior drew some questions from Maecy.

“Oh, it’s nothing. Just admiring this magnificent map at every possible angle,” he said.

“You’re right. It’s great, isn’t it?” Maecy smiled ear to ear as if she found a kinder spirit after a long time. No one would bat an eye over such a map, and realized its splendor. Not until she met Zane of course.

The delighted librarian opened up her chatterbox as she narrated everything about the myth and legends behind the map they were seeing. And doing what he did best, Zane nodded and smile. Barely listening to it as he found where he was in this fantasy world right now. A small town close to the central region of Sol-Gaal Kingdom. Referring to the map, the closest city was El-Cont City, just northeast from here.

“You wouldn’t happen to know any good hunting spot would you?” he asked. Breaking Maecy from her long-drawn tales of meaningless stories.

She smiled. “You’re speaking before the only person who has read all the books in this library,” she said with pride.

“And?” he said.

“And of course, I know what you want. Come over here,” she led him to one corner of the library, pulling out a thick book. She flipped through pages of illustrations of different beasts and creatures adorned on the archaic-looking sheets.

Seeing what looked like a bestiary, Zane had hit the jackpot. She inquired on Zane’s level and found the most appropriate hunting spot she could find.

In time, Zane left the library. Leaving a satisfied librarian as if she had done her duty to the fullest. He paid a small visit to the Adventurer’s Union and grabbed his emblem, and at the same time, he searched whether there was any possible subjugation quest that was in line with his goal for the day. Sadly, there wasn’t.

He left town, racing towards the dark woods west from Hailyfield. After almost an hour of running, Zane stopped, standing before the tree line of Anansi Forest. The trees were taller and bigger. Yet darker, and barely with any leaves as if they were dead. But his eyes couldn’t stray away from the remnant of cobwebs near the treetop. Zane gulped a mouthful as he questioned himself. Shit, this is scary.

Despite that, he entered.