Alex was in the shower room washing off his body. It was much easier to move around with two arms again and pain not assault his body so much. He shifted his feet only to feel stuck in place. He looked behind him with an eyebrow raised.

"I'm not leaving forever Alicia, and we have all night together."

The woman in question was clinging to his back. She was pouting as her face smushed against his muscly back refusing to let go.

She didn't answer and he could only sigh. When he got back earlier Kaya was asleep again and Alicia was huddled between her knees depressed. She hardly said anything to him and just pouted like a child while following him to the showers.

They put up the sign again to have some privacy but used the men's side this time to avoid suspicion. He turned around to hug her and put his head on hers. She smiled a little before going back into a pout.

He finished his shower with a koala stuck to his back before they got dressed and went back to her room. Kaya was still asleep and it was around dinner time. He woke up the sleeping beauty and told her its too early to sleep.

She groggily sat up and talked with them as they asked questions about what he was going to do and how long he would be. He answered to the best of his ability since he still had no idea what he was actually hunting other than that they were monsters.

They then went to the dining area where they ate at a table together until Alex excused himself to go finish packing whatever he needed before meeting them back at their room later.

He went down to Emma's room which was vacated and went into the training room. He took a look at all the basic weapons that he had used before. Various kinds of swords, both single-handed and double-handed. Some were single-edged and others were double-edged. It was similar to the spears as well and there was also a wide variety of axes, staffs, bows, chains, gauntlets, bracers, throwing knives, and much more.

There were too many weapons to count but he decided on the ones he felt he would be the best with. Although during the test he used a sword, he didn't really care for the weapon personally. It felt really cliché after all the stories that popped up in his head whenever he remembered something from earth and in the end, it had too short of range for his liking since he was going to have to fight without essence whenever he came across an enemy.

That's why he immediately grabbed a Kusarigama. The sickle was connected to a long chain and the other end was a kunai. The kunai was serrated so it would shred through skin and bone while the sickle was sharp and sturdy to pull enemies to him.

Next, he grabbed a pair of claw weapons. They were basically lightweight gauntlets that had two retractable claws on top. The best part about them was that there was another slot on the wrist for a knife so it could be used as a hidden blade.

He then also grabbed a small shield like Alan's and a short sword as a precaution. Although the old man said to grab a couple of weapons, who said he had to grab only two? His life was on the line here so it didn't hurt to have an extra weapon or two.

He also grabbed one extra pair of knuckle dusters. They had blades on the ends of them but they were lightweight and easy to store. With weapons out of the way, he went to find some armor. There was a small rack of them since he hadn't ever used it and armor could get in the way sometimes, so he grabbed a basic leather piece for his torso and some leather shin guards.

According to Alan, apparently, clothes could be made into armor so that it is inconspicuous and much easier to move around in. Unfortunately, they are expensive and nobody would want to sell them out here in the boonies.

With that out of the way, he stuffed his things in a heavy-duty duffle bag after wrapping them up correctly.

The sword and knuckle dusters got sheaths along with the Kusarigama before they were all stored and ready for his journey. There was still enough space in the bag for food items, medical supplies, and a spare change of clothes.

With that done, he pretty much had everything. He didn't have many personal belongings and most of them were bought by Alicia so he didn't want to get them ruined. He quickly left the training room after saying goodbye to it. It was cringe to do that, but it really did help him to grow stronger.

He now could use about 75% of his total stats which was around 1000 and put him around a 4th Ring with average talent! His stats were crazy but again, not being able to use essence would be a huge problem in the future.

Sharla recommended that he use an excuse like an illness or disease since those things were possible. They were rare but it would at least get people off his back for a while.

He went back upstairs and met with Alan once more. He was scared that he would feel his wife on him, but the man didn't react so he assumed he was in the clear. He gave Alex a list of monsters to look for with numbers by each of them.

He said that was the minimum number he had to kill and bring back a specific part of them as proof they were dead. Alan also emphasized that he didn't want to see him again until all those monsters on the list were dead.

Alex then told him all the things he planned to bring including all the weapons he chose, a first aid kit, the food and water that he would be provided, and spare clothes. Alan just nodded and didn't say anything more other than "you break it, you buy it."

Then it was time for the more serious matter for Alex. They were currently in his room which was now clean and Alan sat in a chair while he was on his bed.

"What I wanted to talk about was Miss Marie," Alex gave her a little respect as his 'boss,' "I don't know if you noticed, but she really has it out for me. I realized that I'm not the best employee and I've done some questionable things, but she has really been pushing it lately and I'm concerned she's out to kill me."

Alan raised an eyebrow but didn't respond so Alex continued.

"There are many things she's said or done to me that are just plain rude. I've also found out from some of the other employees here that she was the one to spread all those nasty rumors about me over the last few months.

"While I can tolerate that kind of behavior, it isn't professional and has only gotten worse today. She also seems to feed Alicia lies about my actions that I've had to clear up multiple times. What I considered the last straw was when she physically assaulted me earlier and broke open the wound on my arm that I had just sewn up."

He pointed to his arm which was now healed and explained.

"Your wife was nice enough to heal me again but I wouldn't have been in good shape for the journey tomorrow. I'm sure she's already spun another lie to circulate the Inn but her actions all scream danger to me.

"She is purposefully ruining my reputation and as my boss here, is that something you allow? Harassment of an employee?"

Alex pulled out the guilt trip cards and put on his imaginary business suit to get Alan to hear his words.

"I understand that you two are friends but-" "Don't worry about it." Alan interrupted.

"I've noticed her change in behavior ever since I came here over 20 years ago," He started with a bit of melancholy in his voice, "I've been keeping tabs on her but I haven't done anything since I don't really care. As long as she doesn't hurt my family, she can do whatever she wants in her free time."

"Don't give me that bullshit though about being an employee, you're just free labor right now." Alan narrowed his eyes.

"But if you aren't lying about what she had done to you, then she really seems to want you gone. I have no idea what goes on in that woman's head, but if you want a personality test, your best bet is to talk to my wife.

"They have been friends ever since they were little so she is the closest person to her. I wouldn't worry too much about her though. Even if she is a 3rd Ring, she can't cause a ruckus in the Inn. She has a business to run and I'm here as well.

"I would just worry about being out by yourself if you are really that concerned. Stay away from the west side of town for now since that is where the adventurers spend their time and if she really wanted to kill you, she probably wouldn't do it herself."

Alan sighed before getting up. He knew something was wrong with Marie but never confronted her about it. He just hoped she wouldn't do something she would regret. They may not be close anymore, and she may not consider him or Sharla a friend, but to the couple, she was still their friend.

They both had noticed how distant she became but could do nothing about it. The woman seemed to not want anything to do with them and it broke Sharla's heart. Although they got over it eventually, Alan still kept tabs on her and how she ran the business.

If she was sending funds anywhere strange he would know about it and if employees went "missing" because of her, he would find out as well. However, after 20 years, she had done nothing. He slowly forgot about it but Alex's words made him realize she might still doing something behind the scenes, whatever it may be.

He left Alex's room for the latter to think about his words. It wasn't what Alex was hoping to hear. He hoped Alan would confront her on it, but he didn't seem to want to. Alex felt his life was on the line but Alan didn't seem to care either.

He could only sigh and push down his anxiety and finish getting ready. Alex was also given a special item before Alan left and put it on his middle finger. The gold ring had strange engravings on it and he felt a slight connection to whatever it was.

Wanting to try it out, he grabbed his pillow and thought about the connection between him and the ring, then he thought about the pillow and imagined the pillow going through him as a bonding point and going into the ring.

While he thought hard about it when he imagined the pillow moving wherever it was supposed to go, something happened in a split second. When Alex opened his eyes, the pillow was now gone. He smiled and then thought about the ring again. This time, it was not only the ring he felt a connection to but also the pillow. So he took the pillow's connection and imagined it going through the same path in reverse before he felt something soft under his hand.

He smiled as the pillow was now back where it was like it never left.

What Alan gave him was a space ring, storage ring, etc. It had many names but it was basically a ring that used the element of space to create a pocket dimension that was connected through the artifact.

Since it was a rare and difficult element to understand, no one in this inn, and maybe the entire kingdom, actually knew the inner workings of the ring. They just knew that it did what it did and didn't question how it happened.

He noticed that was a very similar way of thinking for everyone. Nobody wanted to debate difficult topics or try to understand the physics of how an object moved or acted. They just said, "It does that." and moved on.

There were very few scientists in this world since magic solved all their problems basically. That was why this world was still stuck in a middle ages era rather than like Earth... according to Alex anyways.

After his talk with Alan, he didn't feel any better, so he went back down and grabbed one more weapon that he stowed in the ring. Alan said he should only use it for the proof of kill but he didn't care.

If Marie was really out for his head, then she may act while he was in the forest where "accidents" happened. Alan loved to emphasize the horrors of adventuring during his spars and he could see the truth to them now.

He may just be highly paranoid, but he'd rather be crazy than dead.