Sam sat patiently opposite Annabelle on the grass. She had been privately communicating with the Elder for the last thirty minutes.

Sam hadn’t minded when the Elder had said he needed to speak with Annabelle privately since he had lots to think about.

Annabelle now knew where he was from. Her response had been more subdued than he had expected. He thought pitchforks would be fetched and torches would be lit. He was an alien to this world and yet, Annabelle had seemed fine with it?o

She had even changed to subject to Jeremy. He was not surprised that there were unresolved issues between the two. Annabelle had almost killed Jeremy who seemed really haunted by the memories. This world of magic was different from Earth but both seemed to have strained family relationships in common.

He wondered if he had taken the wrong approach and should’ve told the Underwood family upfront about his origins. He stopped the thought since he couldn't change the past. He looked at Annabelle who was in the same pose whilst communicating with the Elder.

Annabelle’s father had sounded like a nice man and the respectful demeanour that Annabelle had used made Sam want to meet him. He was probably powerful and maybe Sam could learn something from him. Maybe even become his student?

He wondered what an ally of Nature was. From Annabelle’s reaction it was a good thing. Maybe a badge, tattoo or other benefits? Would he be part of a club? He chuckled to himself as he thought of some of the sports clubs he had been forced to join as a kid.

He returned his thoughts to the present because he knew thinking of home would just worsen his mood and he had so much to think over.

He looked at the magical tattoo around his finger. It hadn’t changed since he had first received it but after seeing Annabelle’s seal, he wondered if the tattoo was a seal of some kind.

He touched it and said the words ‘Release’ but much to his disappointed, nothing happened. He gave up on it and his mind began thinking about the Water Mastery, one of his greatest disappointments.

Sam had been devastated when Annabelle told him that purchasing Tier 1 skills and abilities was a mistake. He had made mistakes before but he didn’t know if they would compare to this. He felt like an idiot. Would his water skills be weaker now? What would be the long term impact?

Practicing with [Water Manipulation] had been the highlight of his morning. To have the power to move water was invigorating. It made him feel so powerful. To think that he could’ve been more powerful if he had waited put a bad taste in his mouth.

Even with his current powers over water, he knew he was still weak, physically and mentally. Annabelle had easily tricked him with her pact. If she had been an enemy, it could have been a lot worse. He had a learned a lesson though and the lesson was to inspect every pact that was offered to him. He would also need to be more cautious on whom he trusted. People could pretend to help him only to hurt him later.

The pact that Annabelle created had stirred a question in his mind.

If a temporary pact existed then surely a permanent version did?

He shuddered at the thought of a permanent malicious pact. The tugging feeling to tell the truth had been almost impossible to resist and he had felt powerless.

The ‘interference’ that the Mastery System created when someone described their skills was even more unpleasant. It felt like someone was hitting a giant bell next to your ear whilst bees buzzed throughout your head at the same time.

If a Mind Mastery existed and a person could do such attacks, he would need to make sure he could guard against it. Some kind of resistance would be needed. Maybe it was called Mind resistance or Mental resistance?

He thought of Fire mana and how it made people addicted to it. He had been so excited when he thought about shooting off fireballs at his opponents. It seemed Fire magic came with real dangers to his mental health which extinguished his desire to gain any Fire mana.

He would have to ask Annabelle how to get Mental resistance and would add it to his list of priorities. He didn’t want people or magic messing with his mind.

The other thing that Annabelle mentioned was Spirit. The way Annabelle spoke about it made it sound like it was an element or Mastery of some kind. Was Spirit an element of light? She had mentioned Spirit crystal lamps which he was eager to see. He would need to ask more questions. Assuming Fire, Water, Air and Earth existed, were there other elements?

The Fire mana geyser was equally as intriguing. So everything ran off magical seals? He thought back to the pure refreshing water from the taps. He had seen a design on the tap handle, it was a probably the water cleansing seal she had mentioned.

If seals were so useful and used in everyday life then making seals seemed like a good way to make money. He didn’t know what currency they used but whatever it was, he needed to get some if he wanted to stay safe. There was no way he could live off the Underwood family forever. He imagined people in the streets selling seals and himself joining them. What would that profession be called? A Sealist?

He chuckled at how stupid it sounded. Despite the silly name, he needed to obtain a form of wealth for the long term. He would also need to understand more about the local economy and how it functioned.

Now that his secret was out of the bag, he didn’t have to pretend and hold himself back. He could ask as many questions as he could think of. He felt like a good opportunity had presented itself. If only Annabelle would finish her conversation…

He would ask Jeremy the questions instead but he wasn’t around. Sam sighed at himself again as he thought about the library. What a lost opportunity to get access to more information. If safety wasn’t one of his primary concerns, he would just ask for directions and start walking to Haventown.

He could only blame himself for the missed opportunity. How could he have done things differently? Maybe tried [Meditation] in shorter sessions? Without an ability to measure time, it would have been fruitless.

Despite the obvious loss in sense of time, he didn’t think [Meditation] was a bad ability especially since he had unlocked [Mana Sense]. He would need to focus on gaining the first level of [Mana Sense] to see what the skill did. Earning levels, rather than purchasing them, would be his focus for the Masteries. He didn’t want to make a fool of himself again and vowed not to spend any more Mastery points unless the situation was dire.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. The Elder had more to say than I expected.”

Sam looked at Annabelle as her voice interrupted his thoughts. She was stretching her right arm which had been in the same position for a while. She stood up as she stretched.

“Let’s walk back to the house. We can talk along the way.”

She finished stretching as she walked over to him. She offered her hand which Sam took as he got up. He stretched a bit with her and then they began walking back along the path.

After only a few steps, Annabelle stopped and she looked at Sam.

“Sam, I am so sorry for what I have put you through. Do you forgive me?”

Sam nodded and spoke.

“I was thinking about it. Maybe it is for the better that you know my secret. I can at least be honest when I say that I have never used a Spirit crystal lamp before.”

He smiled at her and she chuckled.

“Your secret is safe with me. Speaking of secrets. Will anyone be able to follow you here from Earth?”

Sam blinked at the question. He didn’t even know how he had truly gotten here? If it was a portal then maybe people could follow. He thought about the tragic drowning experience and envisioned an army of soldiers doing that. He scrapped the idea as he realised that no one would really care about him missing anyway. Sadness gripped his heart.

“No I don’t think so. I wasn’t a very important person.”

“Everyone is important as part of a group Sam. I can teach you whatever you need to know but it won’t happen now. We unfortunately have more pressing issues right now.”

She paused.

“When you put on your Baptism ring, you completed your baptism and by doing so the Mastery System alerted all nearby Masters of your baptism… you don’t look surprised?”

“Jeremy told me already. It was one of the reasons why I purchased the skills. Are we in danger?”

Sam knew they were. Annabelle had tensed at his question and her quick nod confirmed his fears. Would he need to run?

“There is a group called the Crab Slavers. They are close by so we need to start preparing. The Elder will be sending a friend to assist us in defending the house. The Elder confirmed when I was talking to him that the bandits have surrounded the farm but it seems they are waiting for something so we need to be careful. When we get back to house, I will move your bed into the main bedroom. You can sleep there so that I can protect you.”

“Is there anything I can do?”

Annabelle nodded.

“You need to stay by my side and don’t make yourself vulnerable. You can rely on me to protect you. I am not weak. We can assume that they are watching us so we need to act as natural as possible so they don’t suspect we know about them. You can continue your Water training and I will supervise you. Do you have any questions?”

Sam’s heart was pounding. The action movies had always made it sound so cool. He felt sick. He swallowed nervously and asked his question.

“How many are there?”

Annabelle started walking again as she spoke.

“At least 40. From what the Elder and tribe members had seen, the majority of them are bandits who are mostly Tier 1 or Tier 2 at most. The powerful ones are the slavers themselves. One can use poisons and the other is a Mud mage who uses a combination of Earth and Water skills. The Elder explained that the Mud mage probably received the notification of your location. It means that he is a Water Master and thus must have completed Water Mastery Tier 3. This makes him dangerous. If I were to fight him alone I may be able to defeat him but not with the poison specialist and the bandits assisting. We need to be very careful and not do anything stupid. Now, let’s go, there is lots to prepare.”