Kyle laid flat in a small boat, as it floated across a small lake. He thought over his old memories while attempting to fall asleep. A pleasant breeze drifted over the lake. Chirps of birds and sounds of small animals could be heard from the nearby woods.

‘Ah…this is peaceful…’

Kyle, the Hermit God, had a small smile on his face as he thought about dinner for the night.

He had survived the battle on top of that mountain by sheer luck. A space crack, resulting from the intense battle, had managed to drag the Hermit God into a completely new world. One without cultivation, without brutal wars, a relatively peaceful land.

He still shuddered at the thought of floating in the nether after entering the space crack. He forgot how long he was stuck in the nether. The energies constantly tormenting his body. He eventually found an opening large enough for him to enter, escaping the hell that was the nether.

Luckily, it had deposited him on this land, similar to the mortal realm of long ago. He had retained his godhood and his divine body. As he did not age, he drifted from place to place every decade or so to not seem suspicious.

Kyle got up as the sun began to set and rowed the small boat to the shore. A small cabin could be seen only tens of meters away from the waterline. It was where Kyle lived, giving him access to the woods and the lake.

Kyle had travelled the land for many years since he had arrived, changing his appearance each time. His current identity was that of a hunter, living at the edge of a medium sized village. He had moved here four years ago as a refugee escaping a monster stampede from a distant land.

“Hi Kyle!”

A friendly voice greeted him as he pulled the boat to the shore and tied it to a post. Kyle turned around and returned the greeting with a smile.

“Hi Vanessa. It’s around that time isn’t it. Lost track of time, haha.”

Kyle’s current appearance was that of a tall twenty-year-old young man with slightly above average looks. He was popular among the single women of the village and was the subject of envy of many young men at the same time, although the latter was unknown to himself.

Vanessa lived near his hut, a few tens of meters away, with her little brother. Her parents had passed away when she was only ten years of age, leaving her to take care of her five years younger sibling. She was only twelve years old when Kyle arrived at the village. They quickly got along and had helped each other ever since.

Kyle grabbed two wooden buckets from the boat as he came ashore, containing his harvest for the day.

“Our dinner for tonight. I’ll go trade this one with Pete!” Kyle lifted up one of the buckets in front of the girl to show the contents inside. Half a dozen fish of decent size flapped around inside the shallow water.

“Okay, I’ll come with you. I’ll get Alex on the way back.” Vanessa smiled sweetly.

Kyle dropped one of the buckets beside his hut and walked into the village together with Vanessa.

The Drant village was named after the forest beside the village. There were roughly three thousand inhabitants living near the forest, forming the village. The majority were farmers that traded their produce at the nearby city.

Kyle was a popular figure as he was one of the few hunters in the village. Coupled with his decent looks, many girls and ladies greeted him as he walked through the village.

“Hmph! Smelly Kyle!”

Vanessa pouted and muttered in a loud whisper as she turned her head away from him.

“Haha, are you jealous, little girl?”

Kyle casually spoke as he returned the greetings.

“Who’s jealous! It’s not like I like you or anything! And don’t call me little girl!”

“Hehe, you really aren’t little.”

“Pervert Kyle! Die!”

Kyle’s stare at a certain region earned him Vanessa’s attempt at beating his arm as the pair bickered.

Kyle laughed as he attempted to evade Vanessa’s little fists. This was a rather common occurrence and was largely ignored by their surroundings. Of course, Vanessa failed to notice the glares of the single young women upon her.

Soon, the two had arrived at the other side of the village, where farmers lived.

“Pete! You there?!”

Kyle yelled out as he stood outside the field of corn that stood taller than a man’s height. The large house beside the field was unoccupied as it was too early for the farmers to quit work for the day.

“Coming!”

Soon, they heard a yell back from somewhere within the field of corn.

After a few minutes, a short thin man came out and headed towards the two.

“Oh, hey Kyle. Hi Vanessa.”

Kyle returned the greeting and handed the bucket to Pete.

“Give me a minute.”

Pete turned towards his house and went into the barn that was being used as a storeroom.

Soon, he came back with the same bucket emptied of fish and filled with various vegetables.

“Thanks, Pete. Say hi to Susan for me. We’ll be back in a few days!”

Kyle grabbed the bucket and bid goodbye to Pete.

Pete was one of the few people in the village that gave support to Vanessa and Alex after they lost their parents. His children often played together with the siblings when they were younger, bringing their families closer.

Kyle became acquainted with Pete and his family as a result.

The two walked back towards the village and headed towards the center, where the elder lived.

There was a large open space next to the elder’s house. A simple wooden building could be seen. It was a large construct that did not have any side walls. The roof was merely there to block out the rain and the sun.

A group of children of ageing from ten to twelve numbering about forty sat there facing an old man, listening and watching as he wrote on a blackboard.

Kyle and Vanessa waited outside the fence under the shade of a tree, waiting for the lesson to end.

Quarter of an hour passed and the lesson ended with children rushing out of the compound heading off to their homes.

A ten-year-old boy came running towards the tree after spotting them.

“Big Sis! Hi Kyle.”

“Hi Alex. Did you have fun? Let’s go, we’re having fish tonight.”

“Yay!”

Kyle smiled as he watched the brother and sister.

The trio walked back towards the small lake.

“So, you excited to go test your mana Alex?”

“NO! I want to be a hunter like Kyle!”

Vanessa giggled at Alex’s answer.

“But, if you become a mage, you can live in a big city and earn lots of money. And marry a few pretty wives too.” Kyle smirked at the youth.

“No! Kyle, take me hunting already! I can handle a bow really well now!”

“Well, let’s see about that after your test in three days.” Vanessa shook her head in defeat at her unchanging little brother.