Viers woke up with the sunrise.

While shedding the leftover drowsiness Viers tootled to a bucket filled with water and splashed his face. The coldness of water reminded him of the low temperature of the winter outside but it helped for freshening up in the morning.

After he was done, Viers did his morning routine. He sat cross-legged on the floor with his palms upwards on his knees, basking under the morning sun from the window.

At one glance, he was doing meditation which was not too unusual for a morning activity. Meditation was useful for calmness and a sharp mind, but Viers wasn’t doing it for religious practice or mental health. It was a magic technique ritual.

15 minutes later, he opened his eyes. They were clear like pristine water and full of vitality.

“Fuu,” he sighed positively. “Serpentes Renovamen…”

Truly, having it makes all the difference.

With that complete, Viers got ready for the meet up with Lena and the rest. When changing his clothes, Viers saw the big wooden tub that he used to bathe yesterday and his mind went back to the night before.

After his journey to his inner world, Viers called the innkeeper for a bath. Not long after, a child came bringing a bucket full of water. The amount was nowhere enough to fill the tub so the little inn-helper would need to make half a dozen more trips. Feeling pity for the boy, Viers offered to help which he refused strongly.

“If Mister Crosh finds out I let guests do that, I’ll be fired,” the boy said.

His hands were tied so he let the boy do his job. When the tub was full, the innkeeper -which Viers guessed was Mister Crosh- dipped his hand in the cold water and turned it steaming hot in less than 30 seconds. With his job done, the innkeeper politely bid his leave. Stealthily, behind his back Viers tipped the boy with 2 pieces of silver coins while whispering a thank you and that he should keep this a secret from Mister Crosh. The boy’s eyes were beaming with gratitude and nodded repeatedly. Viers suspected the tip was more than the boy’s salary for a week.

Viers separated a bucket’s worth of water for tomorrow morning and took the hot bath in the winter night with gratitude and warm feelings for doing a good deed.

Aah, it seems I still have a spark of benevolence in me, Viers thought. See? I’m not a complete degenerate.

Remembering his small act of kindness yesterday, Viers left the room with a smile.

***

Om nom nom, om nom nom nom.

Lena and the gang looked at Cain eating his food with bewilderment.

Cain ordered a series of dishes right off the bat. Beef stew, creamy potato au gratin, and mushroom soup. Some sausage, banquette, and cheese as side dishes. To complete the set, he ordered milk for the drink.

Cain imagined the ‘chef platter’ was cooked by a round Grammeow Babushkat, while letting out her most adorable purr. To not eat the food with gusto was an insult.

“…That’s a lot of food,” Lena said.

“I think he’s preparing to hibernate for the rest of the winter,” Oliver put a spoon in his mouth.

“Phuah!” Cain let out a breath after eating a few mouthfuls from each of the dishes. “Well, come on. The food will get cold! You don’t want granma to hit you with a ladle, do you?”

Different from the game, he simply couldn’t eat them all. So rather than waste a perfectly good meal, he shared them with the party. Taking Cain’s offer, they also ate the imaginary meowster’s love-filled food.

“Oh? This one is better than I thought,” Lena commented while tasting the gratin.

“Mmm, delicious…” the normally few-words Paul said.

“…” Irene didn’t say anything, but she ate her portion obediently.

“Nyom nyom nyom… Pass me some of that, please,” Oliver ate as if the food would run away if he didn’t eat them soon.

One of my dreams has come true. Got to cut a few corners though, some dishes aren’t exactly alike and the chef is not a true Babushkat… It will have to do for the time being. My first monster hunting quest, must start with a meal at the canteen, Cain happily thought.

After the meal, even though it was just a placebo effect, Cain felt he had got an increase in health, stamina, and attack up (L). Pity, his trusty partner cat was not around.

Satisfied and full-bellied, the five embarked on a glorious quest of stealing chicken eggs. Uplifting BGM sounded out in Cain’s mind, raising the spirit of adventure within him. The party had prepared well for the hunt, bringing not too much baggage but not too little either. Each of them pitched in carrying the baggage.

The peak of winter had passed and the weather gradually changed warmer bit by bit. It was still cold though, grasses at the roadside had thin frost on them instead of morning dew.

“By the way, you’re young for a Pathseeker. You started since 15?” Lena asked. She used the time on the road to converse with everyone.

“Yeah, I turned 16 a few months ago. When you look it that way, I can be considered among the blessed ones. I know most people didn’t have the opportunity or the privilege to start as soon as possible,” Cain answered.

“Well, not all people are aiming to be high-level Pathseekers. Me for example, but it’s true that the earlier you started the better your prospect is. Oliver and Irene are a bit older than you but you’re more experienced than them… you must have taken risks, life-threatening ones,” Lena asked a question that kind of wasn’t a question.

“…I’m still alive,” Cain spoke with a melancholy tone.

“I know it's not my place to tell you what to do but as a party member to another, I hope you know what you’re doing. In the field, we’re one misstep away from the grave.”

“Appreciate it,” Cain felt Lena's concern was real. “Why the sudden need for money? The season isn't exactly suitable for adventuring,” he changed the topic.

Even for Pathseekers, unless they were using their abilities, the cold of winter affected them just like normal humans. Cain noticed the dropping numbers of active adventurers during the weeks he traveled.

“Oh, it's nothing special. My village ran low on winter supplies, food, clothes and the like. So I need quick money to cover the shortage,” Lena said lightly.

“You should have gotten them ready before winter came,” Cain said brashly. He didn't mean it but it came out harsher than he imagined.

“Eheheh, you’re right,” Lena laughed weakly. “I did, actually… but something came up. It can't be helped,” she sighed lightly, showing a complicated smile.

Cain picked up that she must have encountered some difficulties. He kept his mouth tighter after that. Turned out Paul’s speech was no longer stilled and awkward after Cain made some small talk with him. The five journeyed on, by 3 o’clock they reached the destination.

In front of Cain stood a woodland in hilly terrain. The trees remained leafless and had a white-colored trunk. Despite the absence of snowfall in the last few days, the ground had accumulated quite a bit of it.

“Hampuna Woods, Orange Zone with Rank 1 designation. Rank 2 for the inner area, which we won't venture into,” Lena spread out her arms to the trio of young ones with the panorama behind her.

Colored Zones were the classification of how dangerous a region was. Orange stands for caution, which was pretty mild compared to the red and black zones. The Rank represented how strong the monsters were in the area. It seemed monsters with the power of Level 2 resided in these very woods.

Cain saw that vegetation was scarce in the woods and the trees’ bare bones branches were not impeding sunlight. Cain reckoned his sight wouldn't diminish too much when he inevitably went inside.

“Alright, let's set up camp around here and get some rest. We’ll steal the eggs during the night, just as planned.” Lena directed them to a suitable campsite not far from there.

Right, we are supposed to go inside during the night… moonlight then, Cain corrected his analysis from earlier.

The party started erecting camp. With the exception of Irene, the other four knew what they were doing. Lena and Paul were not green adventurers while Cain had training. Oliver seemed awkward at first but pulled his own weight soon enough. Irene made herself useful by unpacking the luggage and gathering wood for the fire.

“You good to go Paul?” Lena asked the giant of a man next to her which he answered with a nod and a huff.

“Alright people, the camp is ready. Our next schedule is a light exercise. Paul has kindly offered to be your practice opponent, pick up your weapon and show him what you got... Ah, no using Arte until I say so, got it?” Lena called the younger members of the group.

“Ooh sweet! Me, me, me first!” Oliver dashed forward. Cain and Irene magnanimously conceded the honor of first blood to the boy.

While the overeager boy was trying to get a hit on the tank, Lena, Irene, and Cain watched from the side. Paul had a big round shield on his left hand and an axe on his right. Oliver wielded a one-handed sword with two hands. His movement showed some degree of training but not great. Paul managed to tank him without using any of his abilities.

Cain was sitting on a fallen log while Irene was watching while standing. Lena took a spot on the log between the two of them.

“Do you believe me if I say he has come a long way?” Lena said while observing Oliver’s ‘performance’.

To him, Oliver was doing a monkey dance. During the earlier stage of the fight he showed promise, but as time went on, the frustration of being unable to land a hit on Paul made Oliver swing his sword like a 5-year-old child.

Cain wanted to say that he would rather not imagine how it looked like at first but he chose the ‘paragon’ conversation option rather than the ‘renegade’ one.

“We all have to start somewhere,” Cain masterfully said, a faint smile on his face. “You two seem close,” he tested the waters.

“Mmm, he and I are from the same village. It's just a small village two days' travel from Mokash town, about 50 people live there. Only he and I could forge our Intio,”

“And you take him under your wing 'cause?”

“So in case anything happened to me, he can protect it in my stead,” Lena said.

Cain turned his head to the side. Lena actually didn't feel like an adventurer, she was more of a village girl type. Calloused hands, tanned skin, rough hair, accustomed to physical work. Rather than a warrior, she had the air of a villager that often had to take up arms from conscription.

After Oliver, it was Irene’s turn. The archer was bad at melee as expected, Lena and Paul gave pointers but one short guidance session wouldn’t miraculously turn her into an expert in a day. After a while, they changed the training. Paul was moving irregularly in the distance while Irene tried to shoot him. A simulation of shooting moving monsters.

Paul didn't seem to mind being turned into a target practice. What a considerate person… he also went straight into the most troublesome task during camp raising, Cain observed.

Lena wants to see our capabilities so she can direct the team better, Cain guessed the purpose of this while glancing at the older girl beside him. Also to give the two newbies helpful tips before the real thing.

“Alright. Cain, you’re up,” Lena loudly said so Irene could hear from the distance.

“Roger,” the youth stood up.

During the time he was thinking about how much power and skill he should display, he heard someone’s voice.

“Well, well. If it isn't my sweet Leny. Working hard to pay your debt, I hope?”