I took a moment to look at my stats. Finally reached my first level up.

Gotta say I was a bit disappointed. I know in systems like these, one shouldn't expect much of a boost in power for the first level, but that still didn't stop me from expecting a bit more of a noticeable jump. As I scanned my stats, Yusha patted my back and snapped me out of my concentration.

"You leveled up?"

"Yeah, I did," I said with some enthusiasm. She was smiling and looked excited. I didn't want to come across as ungrateful, so I grinned back. "Got a couple of points scattered throughout my stats." I paused to take another look. "One in [Intelligence], [Spellcasting] and [Mana].

"That's good!" Yusha applauded softly to not disturb the enemies roaming around not too far from our location. That [Volt Channel] took a decent chunk out of my [Mana] pool, but that extra point from the level gave me just enough to cast it one more time for now.

I needed to use it strategically. Or maybe save it for a dire situation. Of course, that would be the logical thing to do considering my circumstances. But I really wanted to try that spell combo we did again. See if Yusha could cast her spell wide enough to cover the entire forest floor. Then I finish them all off like last time. My heart raced at the thought of leveling up like seven times with a single move.

But Yusha was more familiar with the world. "What do we do next?" I asked her.

She continued to watch the Entities roam around. After a few minutes, it didn't look like any more stragglers would be roaming our way. "I want to head back," she said. She looked up towards the sky and I did the same. The sun was getting low, basking the sky in a deep orange.

"Do you think we could do what we just did to the rest of them?" I asked.

Yusha shook her head. "No. I'm running low on [Mana] myself. I have enough to cast [Dynamic Dousing] one more time, but my father always told me to make sure that I leave a battle with enough [Mana] to get myself out of a dangerous situation.

Wise words. I needed to think of this as one of the games with "Perma-Death." Mostly because it really is. I was still in the beginner mindset where everything is made easy for the player, allowing them to make careless mistakes. The "I just started" excuse won't be working here.

Yusha pulled on my shoulder and tugged me away from the monsters. "Don't worry. At least we know where to find them. That way we can come back tomorrow to resume our training."

I followed her out of the woods. Siza had laid down exactly where we left him. Yusha whistled and the dog perked up immediately, trotting merrily through the grass with his tongue flailing around. He jumped right into her arms and licked her face once she picked him up.

"That's a good boy!" I couldn't resist complimenting the cute thing and rewarding him by petting his head. He seemed to appreciate it.

"I apologize for not planning our training better," Yusha said as she lowered the dog to the ground. "I forgot that I'm already in trouble with the leader of my village. I don't want to anger him any further."

"What? Why would anyone ever be mad at you?" I was genuinely confused at the notion of someone disliking Yusha for any reason at all. I've never met a person that left a better first impression in my life. I couldn't imagine Yusha doing anything to get on anyone's nerves. "Does it have something to do with your father?"

Yusha took in a deep breath. She looked up at the orange sky with Siza doing the same. "That is part of it. He was always jealous of my father. And now that he's gone, it seems his hatred has passed on to me. He'll look for anything to make my life as difficult as possible. Only recently did Zahnte's forces start to implement a curfew for our village. Usually, Pheng is lax when enforcing this rule. But if I'm seen outside of Tuanha's gates even mere minutes past the dictated hour..."

She clenched her fists. Then Yusha exhaled slowly and began a brisk walk towards her village.

"Well, what's going to happen to if they find that you've been hiding an outsider in your home?" I asked. I caught up with her brisk walk that was slowly becoming a jog. "I've got a feeling the punishment will be way worse than coming back late!"

"Then I will finally have a proper excuse to leave my home," Yusha said with confidence. "Accompanying one of Govessa's Champions is a far more important task than maintaining my family's barren dojo. The only reason I stay is because it is the last remnant of my father's legacy. And I know the moment I leave, Pheng and his followers will waste no time in taking it over or destroying it."

"I wouldn't let them do that!" I declared as I punched the palm of my hand. "The moment I'm strong enough, I'll help you take on Pheng and the others!"

"Who knows how long that will be, Adrien? Especially in this part of the world where foes to fight and train on are sparse. You could be here for a decade before you're powerful enough to take on just one of Zahnte's lower enforcers!"

I couldn't think of anything to respond with. There was a short pause in our conversation as we jogged towards Tuanha.

"Don't feel bad, Adrien. That dojo is not my father." Yusha turned towards me and tapped her forehead with her finger. "I still have all of my memories here. Besides, if I truly wanted to preserve my father's legacy, I would need to pass his teachings onto students that actually want to learn."

"Sounds to me that you really don't want to be here," I replied.

"You're right. And you're the perfect reason for me to leave. We can still stay in Tuanha for a bit. Perhaps I could help you understand the fundamentals of combat and magic, as well as some of the more intricate aspects of our society. But I don't plan on being here for much longer."

Don't get settled in. Got it. My family moved a bit growing up, so I'm used to travelling the country and getting fresh starts. Of course, it was out of our volition as opposed to being bullied away. But I think I could manage being a roamer.

"Okay Yusha. You seem like you've got things planned out relatively well. At least a lot better than what I would have done. I'll follow your lead. Just tell me what you need me to do, and I'll do it to the best of my novice abilities."

Yusha smiled again. "Thank you, Adrien. If all things go according to plan, you won't be a novice for much longer."

---

We arrived at the village. The sun was still visible over the horizon. I heard a few people chatting but couldn't make out any distinct conversations, let alone see the faces that accompanied the voices. Yusha ducked low just beyond the fence and I followed suit. We made through the thicket of tall grass and ended up right behind the fence next to Yusha's dojo.

We repeated the same process as before. She went in through the front while I snuck in through the back window. I managed to land on my feet this time despite it being darker than before. I met Yusha inside. Siza eagerly jumped around as I dusted my pants off.

"What's next?" I asked.

Siza headed into her bedroom and pulled out a long mat. It was thin with the edges frayed. The fabric itself was yellowed, much like my old mattress back at my original home. It didn't look dirty perse. More like just like old and weathered. She dropped it on the ground and dust flew up. I sneezed once and wiped the moisture from my eye.

"I did want you to meet the village's merchant. His store should be closing soon. Once everyone is gone, we should be able to sneak inside for a quick chat."

It would be nice to have another friend in this world in case something happened to Yusha. I nodded my head. "Anything I should know about this person before I meet him? Is there a way I'm supposed to greet him? Or maybe some kind of cultural norm that I should be aware of?"

"No, no," Yusha replied with a wag of her head. "Theus and his wife are very open-minded. I believe their age has made them more accepting than others in this village. They tend to not worry much about anything. The couple is more than content with what they have."

Perfect. Not even twenty-four hours in this new world and I was on my to having made three new friends. Four if you count Siza. "How much longer until the place closes?"

Yusha turned around and peeked out her window. "I'd say we wait half an hour. Just to be safe."

"All right. I can wait." I plopped myself down on the mat Yusha laid out. Wasn't the softest thing in the world, but it was comfortable enough to give my legs some relaxation after a day of walking.

"Enjoy your rest." Yusha walked right past and into her room. I heard some ceramic clank around for a minute and then Yusha reappeared holding a small cup. "Here. Drink some water."

I took the drink. The water was nice and cool. It sent a slight chill through my body. Then my nerves eased, almost like there was a masseuse working on my muscles from inside my body. "Wow," I muttered once I swallowed my sip.

"I enchanted it. Nothing special. For one [Mana Point] I can cast [Calming Balm] on water and other drinks. Doesn't help in combat, but it can ease discomfort."

I sipped from the cup again. Felt the same sensation but to a lesser extent. Regardless, it helped with the aches in my legs. I didn't finish my drink and I felt like I didn't need to sit anymore. I watched Yusha place a bowl next to Siza. He giddily lapped it up. Then Yusha closed her eyes and took a small sip out of hers.

"Once the effects wear off, we'll head out."