The mages from the Hunter’s Guild ran for their lives all night, not daring to rest, much less sleep, as a crazed cultivator was close on their tails. Aliph’s party was reduced to half its original size, with the ruthless old man, Namile, picking them off one at a time whenever they stopped.

By the time Fernsdale came into sight, only a quarter of them remained.

Exhausted, Aliph collapsed in front of a stunned guard.

“Sir Aliph! My God. What happened? Where’s the rest of your team?”

“Send… word to… Lord Fernsdale. There are cultivators in the Stutter Forest, powerful cultivators belonging to the rebellion. We must strike back at once!”

In another place in the world, Zach woke up inside a tent.

“Mnmm,” he grumbled groggily, then snapped to his senses. “Oh no! It happened again?! This time Saya and Jacob were right there?! What happened to my other body?”

He threw off a blanket and climbed out of the tent in a haste.

‘What do I do? I was just talking to them? I didn’t tell them about my world switching, so watching me disappear right in front of their eyes was probably… Wait, does my body even disappear? As far as I know, it could be just my mind that is transported, and I actually have two bodies. How would I know for sure?’ After a moment, Zach couldn’t find a way to forcefully transport himself back to Earth. He shrugged his shoulders, out of luck. ‘I guess I’ll have to ask them in the morning, er, night.’

He looked around for Lydia, but saw that her tent was still closed.

‘Hmm. It’s pretty early actually. I seem to be one of the first to wake up.’

His stomach growled.

‘I guess I’ll look around for some food.’

The place known as Middlepoint was a campsite along the road, halfway between the city of Caeli and the town of Fernsdale. Tents of all kinds were scattered around the area not just from the members of the convoy, but also from peddlers and travelers who were also on their way. However, despite how common it was to camp, there were also three established buildings made of logs. They were the Middlepoint Inns, each owned by a different person.

They were small compared to Zach’s standards, but they must’ve been warmer than the ground. Snowy’s carriage was parked outside with the horses unattached. Sir Deltris was loading bags and other things into it.

“Good morning Sir Deltris!” Zach greeted.

“Hush! Do you want to wake the princess!?” He said in a harsh whisper. “What do you want?”

“Sorry, sorry,” Zach apologized. Since Snowy wasn’t awake either, he decided it was best not to bother her. “I was just wondering where I can get some food,” he said.

Sir Deltris rolled his eyes. “Ferney is tending to the horses over there. Go ask him.”

“Okay.”

Zach skirted the edge of the inn in that direction. Gradually, he heard a conversation coming from the other side of the building. They were two, gruff voices.

“Why did you provide a discount to them, Longlow?”

“It’s the princess and her convoy! I don’t want to have my head cut off!”

“If it’s the princess, then that’s even more of a reason to talk to us. We could increase the price just for them, since they have to pay it. They wouldn’t have let someone of her stature stay in an unsecured tent!

“If it’s your conscience getting to you again, don’t be fooled. They are from a noble family, they have plenty of money to burn, too much if you ask me!”

“We get plenty of money, Harbvat. That’s what our arrangement is all about.”

“Don’t give me that. I bet you were just trying to get in a “good one” with the royalty!”

Zach made a flat expression. ‘Since when has my hearing been so good? But more importantly, what are these scumbags up to?’

A notification appeared in front of him. His expression morphed to surprise.

[New Quest: Breaking the Middlepoint Trust]

‘What is this?’

Zach opened up his quest list to look at the quest in more detail.

{Breaking the Middlepoint Trust}

- {The owners of the three Inns at Middlepoint have formed a monopoly in this area, driving out potential competitors and hiking up prices to stay at their inns. Break their trust by casually thanking one of them for their lower prices. The following will be awarded upon completion: +1 Stat Points for distribution, Apprentice Mage’s Staff. *Incomplete*}

Zach read over the description of the quest in delight.

“If I ever find out you or Greger have been cheating me out of business, I’ll drive you both out and take over your buildings,” the greedier voice said.

“Now, now, Harbvat…”

Zach was grinning from ear-to-ear. He made a little bit of noise to get their attention before walking around the corner.

The pair of innkeepers immediately hushed themselves.

“Excuse me, are you Longlow, the one who runs this inn?” Zach asked in an innocent, young voice.

“Y-yes. What do you want?”

“My mom and I stayed here a couple months ago. Now we are on our way back. Thanks for providing us with a discount compared to the other inns.” He shrugged and shook his head. “Prices these days, am I right?” Then he started walking away.

The two men practically puked blood.

Harbvat turned and started staring daggers at Longlow.

“Now, hang on, I don’t even know that kid!”

“That was the last straw, Longlow! WRAAA!!”

Zach left the two men to fight. Shortly afterwards, he received a notification.

[Quests:]

[Side Quests:]

- {Breaking the Middlepoint Trust: *Completed* Reward: +1 Stat Points for distribution, Apprentice Mage’s Staff.}

“Easiest quest ever,” Zach hummed to himself while accepting the rewards.

He checked his inventory, found the mage’s staff, and brought it out.

‘Hmm? It looks like a normal stick.’ He waved it around in front of him, but nothing happened. ‘What does this even do?’

[Apprentice Mage’s Staff, Rarity D]

‘As usual, my low-level skill is useless. I wonder when it’s going to level up?’

Zach went back to what he was doing before: looking for food. He found Ferney brushing the horses and preparing their saddles far away from the inns, closer to the treeline.

“Hey man,” he greeted. “I asked Sir Deltris if there was anything to eat. He said to come find you.”

“I see. Well the hunting party left a few hours ago. They should be back once they kill something. For now you’ll have to wait. Why don’t you help me?”

“Sure. What should I help with?”

Ferney proceeded to teach Zach about the basics of horsecare. Since he had not grown up around large animals, it was a learning experience. Thirty minutes passed and more of the camp was starting to wake up. They finished up their work early at about the same time the hunting party came back.

“Thanks for your help. We will have to wait for them to butcher and cook what they caught, so what do you want to do? Do you have anything you want to talk about?”

“I do have a few questions. I was hoping to ask Lydia, but she wasn’t awake yet.” Zach said before showing Ferney the mage’s staff he just got. “Can you tell me what you know about this mage’s staff?”

Ferney took the staff with a fascinated expression. “Oh? Lydia already got you one of these? Lucky.”

Zach neither confirmed nor denied.

Ferney proceeded to draw a few dot manifestations in the air. Afterward, he waved the staff through the air where they were placed. The dots disappeared like a paper towel absorbing fluid, disappearing into the staff.

“Hmm.” Ferney said thoughtfully with his eyes closed. “It seems to have a fifty percent absorption rate. It’s a decent eraser.”

“I see, so it isn’t used for casting spells, but for erasing them.”

“Of course. It is a very useful tool for learning magic. Judging by the absorption rate and color of the staff, I would say it is made of needle wood.”

“Needle wood?”

“It’s a wood harvested from a certain kind of bush and commonly used in making magic staffs. Despite its name, it is not covered in thorns. The grain of the wood looks like little needles if you split it vertically. You should thank Miss Lagron later. She has been looking for an apprentice for a long time. She even asked me once.”

“She asked you to be her apprentice!? What happened? Why didn’t you accept?”

He sighed. “I don’t have enough affinity for any of the elements. I could maybe draw one spell before running out of energy. So even though she asked me, I declined on my own account.”

“Aww. I’m sorry. But how good are you at it? Surely you can learn somewhere else?”

“I’m sure if I practiced I would be good at it--that’s kind of how practice works--but as it is, even with my strongest affinity, the water element, it’s not enough. I can only cast one spell every hour. So instead of trying to get better at something I don’t have the talent for, I’d rather focus on more practical things. Do not worry, you will surpass me in no time, given how much more you can practice.”

“Do you want to get better at magic? Aren’t there any special artifacts that can increase your mana capacity?”

“No and yes. I’ve pretty much given up on studying magic. As for artifacts that can increase mana capacity, yes they exist, but it is impossible to get your hands on some of them. It is not even a matter of money. Only royalty has access to high-grade treasures like those.” He subconsciously looked at his master, Sir Deltris.

Zach followed his gaze. Sir Deltris was currently polishing a shiny blade. “Oh yeah. That’s an artifact too, isn’t it?”

“Of course. It is the Rapier of Intimidation. But like I said, high-grade treasures like that are only used among royalty, or to protect royalty. I haven’t asked before, but I’m sure the answer would be a firm no. There is no way they would give an apprentice a powerful object just so he could learn magic.”

Zach pondered for a moment. “In that case, do you know how they are made?”

“Not really. Things like the rapier are created through runesmithing. Of course, that is a magical art, so I don’t know much about it since I don’t focus on those things.”

“I see.”

Runesmithing was the game’s answer to enchanting objects, imbuing them with magical effects. According to what Zach found on the internet, the player never handled the enchanting themselves, instead paying an NPC to do it and providing them the funds and magic crystals. The process itself was hidden behind game menus, so Zach had no idea what to expect from Vera’s version. It could be an extremely involved process, or as simple as paying someone else to do it, just like in the game.

At that moment, a group of soldiers with clean hands and clothing came by with bowls of food. They were cooks who had finished butchering and cooking the deer caught by the hunters. Zach slurped it up greedily before going to get more.

By then, the convoy had all woken up and most of them had broken down their tents.

Lydia finally walked over to them with a groggy look.

“Morning, my new apprentice,” she said sleepily. “Time to make yourself useful. Go pack up my things.”

Zach sighed. “Okay, okay. I’m on it, teach.”

While Lydia ate breakfast, Zach carefully broke down their tents and packed up their things. He slung both Lydia’s backpack and his own (empty) backpack over his shoulders and was ready to hit the road. Even though it had taken some time, everything seemed to be ready to go now.

There was only one person who wasn’t ready, and the whole convoy was waiting for her. The princess herself had yet to wake up.

Zach looked around at the soldiers waiting patiently and politely.

“Isn’t someone going to wake her up?” Zach asked.

Lydia shook her head. “I suppose you are unaware, but the princess and the entire Tulipalo bloodline, in fact, are afflicted by horrible nightmares. They simply have trouble sleeping because of that. It’s particularly bad during times of unrest or danger. However, there are benefits from it. Soldiers fighting under a Tulipalo describe them as having unmatched battle instincts. When asked about it, they would say they learned it from their dreams.”

“I see. That kind of makes it useful, I guess.”

“Tell that to the princess. Right now we are in a time of peace, not war. Yet her nightmares are worsening for no apparent reason or benefit. For now, all we can do is provide our sympathy and let her sleep. So be respectful.”

Zach nodded.

After a while, Snowy walked out of the inn to the carriage followed closely by her handmaiden. She held her head high, with the pride and regality of a royal, but Zach wondered what she really felt. For the first time he used his [Observation] skill on another person.

*ping

[Observation increased to level 3]

Zach’s eyes widened. Two lines of information appeared before him, rather than just one.

[“Princess” Blanchefleur Karin Tulipalo, Age 16]

- {Status condition(s): sleep-deprived (stamina debuff)}

‘Hmm. She’s one year older than me. Wait, doesn’t that mean I can see more data about my items.’

He quickly brought the mage’s staff out and looked at it.

[Apprentice Mage’s Staff, Rarity D]

- {Attributes: 50% absorption rate}

‘Well, I guess it’s still useless for things I already know. But I guess it’s good for confirmation. Now, back to scanning people!’

[Lydia Lagron, Age 24]

- {Status condition(s): none}

[Deltris Brighten, Age 43]

- {Status condition(s): none}

[“Apprentice” Ferney, Age 15]

- {Status condition(s): none}

Zach continued to look at the names and ages of everyone else he could, but as he did, his excitement gradually turned into guilt. Of all the people there, none of them had any abnormal status conditions. Snowy was the only one.

‘I guess it’s because of the nightmare dungeons. It’s not really my fault the notification didn’t appear last night, before bed. If it happens tonight, I’ll definitely clear it for her.’

“Hey, are you ready to go?” Lydia asked.

“Yeah. Sorry, I was lost in thought.”

The convoy started moving again. Middlepoint and the sleazy innkeepers soon disappeared beyond the horizon.

Back on the road, Zach figured they could resume their magic training. He had studied for hours yesterday, back on Earth, but since he couldn’t cast any spells, he didn’t know how effective they were. Plus, he had questions about the mysterious “darkness element” that he somehow had an affinity towards.

“Lydia,” he asked, “how does drawing in a different element affect the spell?”

“It depends on which dimension of magic you are using. For first dimension magic, dot manifestations of one element will cancel out manifestations of their opposite element. That’s why shooting manifestations can be so effective at dismantling spells before they are cast. It’s a property called magical interference.

“For the second dimension, it’s even simpler. The linear spells you’ve been learning, the elemental shot spell, simply creates a corporeal lump of the element before smiting your enemies. The more corporeal it is after you draw it, the more like the real thing it gets and the less it responds to magical interference.”

“I see. So let me guess, water and fire are opposites. Earth and air are opposites. And light and darkness are-”

Lydia suddenly turned wide eyed and clamped her hand over his mouth. She looked around wildly, trying to see if anyone had overheard.

“Fall back with me until we are out of earshot,” she whispered.

Once they were far enough behind the convoy that no one could hear them, Zach asked, “What’s wrong?”

Lydia flinched, “Make a promise with me. When you are around other people, you will say that light has no equal. There are only five elements.”

“Why?-”

“Just promise me, first.”

Zach nodded. “I promise.”

“Alright then,” Lydia sighed. “You are a sharp one, Zach. You’re completely novice in the spatial arts, and I guess that makes you unbiased.

“Just like how it is forbidden to talk about chakra, it is even more forbidden to talk about the darkness element and necromancy. For the past decade, even the mere mention of the darkness element brings ruthless inquisition. Entire libraries have been destroyed. As such, this subject has been nearly erased from the minds of our youngest generation.

“If you ask a child how many elements there are, they would say five. If you ask an adult the same question, they would insist that there are five. But if you ask the dead, they would say there is one more.”

Zach gulped.

“What does it do?” he asked hesitantly.

“I couldn’t tell you… and please don’t ever ask anyone else that question.” She made a stern face. “Somehow the darkness element allows one to reanimate the dead and do other things. Of course, there are no more practitioners or even documents. All I know is that it is a very destructive magic.

“When I was a little girl, creatures called undead roamed the north. Then one day, about twelve years ago, the King’s family went to stay in a northern town. That town was suddenly attacked by a powerful Lich and an army of organized undead.”

Zach’s eyes trembled from shock.

‘So Liches exist in this world too?’

In most games, a Lich was a sentient undead that can be created when a wizard trying to avoid death binds their soul to their body. While their body dies and starts to decay, the intelligence of the man keeps on living inside as a form of perverted immortality. Liches were almost always a high-level enemy.

‘I seriously need to do more research tomorrow,’ he thought.

“Needless to say,” Lydia continued, “the King’s wife and daughter were killed in that attack. Enraged by their death, he rallied our country. It was like every industry was converted to fighting the undead. I remember the strange mixture of chaos and order at the time. Everyone had determined attitudes and there was a bonfire at the local library. It turns out, books detailing the practice of making undead were being burned. Practices that could eventually lead to the creation of an undead were being outlawed. Even the practices that strengthened or nourished the undead, even if indirectly, were also outlawed.

“Yet, it was effective. In less than two years after that, the entire Dark Continent, the home of the undead, was conquered, and the Thane Kingdom became the Thane Empire.

“But this is still recent history. The war is still fresh in the hearts of our people and their hatred is strong. That’s why you shouldn’t ask questions about it so casually. Not only is it illegal, but it can trigger dangerous actions from those who are sensitive. Do you understand?”

Zach nodded. “I understand.”

“If I ever run into someone that uses it, what should I do?” he asked.

Her brow furrowed, “The best thing you can do is run.”

“Is it that dangerous?”

“I don’t know. No one has taught me how I should fight against it,” Lydia said reluctantly. “But I’m sure there are plenty of veterans who can. So don’t worry about it. Just run away and let them take care of it.”

“O-okay,” Zach said, but wasn’t reassured for some reason.

The two of them caught up with the rest of the convoy and resumed their magic practice. No one suspected a thing.

To the shock of Lydia, Zach revealed that he had an affinity towards “all” the elements. After which, she had him prove it by drawing defensive formulas. When he ran out of mana, she had him practice the motions while she watched.

Zach’s mind wandered back to the subject of the darkness element. Because of Lydia’s story, both his cautiousness and curiosity had peaked. In fact, he wanted to try using it.

Even if it was illegal, the darkness element was one of the six elements that exist in this world. To neglect it would be like a warrior choosing to tie one hand behind his back rather than using his whole body.

And he had to admit, dark magic was always one of the coolest kinds of magic (in games). The only reason it wouldn’t be cool was if it actively corrupted his mind or soul. However, he could easily figure this out by simply looking it up. If it turned out that the darkness element was self-destructive, he would not try it in the first place.

Of course, he would have to wait until he was alone in a dungeon or back on Earth to try it. What he was about to do was illegal, after all.

…

Meanwhile a huge man clothed in wolf furs was trailing the convoy from a safe distance, watching a certain boy with an intense gaze and biding his time.

[End Chapter 23]