At the break of dawn, Ian and Gaelan headed back through the portal and arrived in the dank caverns within Mount Sacris. Of course, Ian made coffee before leaving to avoid the possibility of a caffeine headache. The two of them exited the cave and traversed down the mountainside. The rising sun cast warm beams of light across the sky, contrasting with the crisp morning air of the forested region.

Ian took the opportunity to admire everything around him: the diverse species of trees, the colorful flowers and ferns, and the skittering animals. One of the creatures looked similar to a squirrel but its dark eyes radiated intelligence far above its peers. Long brown fur similar to feathers protruded from the tips of its ears. Another distinct feature was the fluffy tail which dwarfed its main body. The little creature followed the two for a few minutes before losing interest and darting back into the undergrowth.

During the first couple hours, even while marveling at the forest, Ian kept his eyes peeled for danger. But, Gaelan’s nonchalant attitude eventually rubbed off on him, at least until they accidentally crossed between a mother bear and her cubs. Somehow, the bear didn’t bother him all that much compared to the werewolf, especially since the situation created an opportunity to see his mentor in action.

Instead of some extravagant battle like Ian expected, Gaelan simply planted a foot on the ground. A surging ripple of earth rumbled out from beneath his foot and toward the bear. The earth surged at his will and rose into a mound, startling the charging beast long enough to overwhelm it and pin it to the ground. In a strange way, the earthy coffin reminded Ian of when kids bury each other in the sand while visiting the beach.

“That is awesome!” Ian exclaimed, almost involuntarily. Seeing magic used properly for the first time outside of the forge filled him with glee as though he reverted back to a child. Compared to virtual reality’s fabrication of magic, the real thing gave him the same heart-racing thrill as a giant subwoofer.

“Perhaps, but this much is fairly doable even for some with low Earth Affinity,” Gaelan calmly replied.

Excitement oozing from his voice, Ian said, “So basically, I’ll be able to do that as well. Nice.” After all, what guy wouldn’t be excited at the prospect of moving the earth at will? Of course, he knew beforehand that such a thing would eventually be possible, but seeing it firsthand truly cemented the fact in his mind.

Upon seeing his apprentice so excited to someday use magic, Gaelan smiled. It reminded him of when his father taught him the basics. Suddenly feeling awkward about the unfamiliar emotion, he wiped the smile off his face and said, “Come on, let’s get going.”

Ian nodded, and the two resumed their journey. He looked back one last time at the bear violently thrashing in an attempt to escape from its prison of hardened dirt. The two cubs nonchalantly lay down next to their mother as though nothing was wrong, which he found rather humorous.

“Will that bear be able to get out of that?” Ian asked.

“Eventually. I only made it strong enough for temporary restraint.”

Impressed, Ian stopped worrying about the beast. Leaving it behind, they traversed through the woods without any other issues until reaching the treeline. Early afternoon sunlight shone upon the city wall standing proudly in the distance. Both Ian and Gaelan looked at each other and realized something they should have thought of earlier.

“These bags kinda stick out like a sore thumb, don’t they?” Ian rhetorically asked.

“Indeed they do…” Gaelan muttered. The two contemplated their options for a minute until he offered, “I’ll take care of it, so just leave it all here for now.”

Tilting his head thoughtfully, Ian asked, “Would it even be much of a problem to carry these through the gate, though?”

Gaelan shrugged and set down all his bags by his feet. Then, he rubbed his beard and said, “It might not be an issue, but explaining where it all came from could prove troublesome for you or draw unwanted attention to you in the future. Always best to err on the side of caution.”

“Sounds good, I guess. What did you have in mind for bringing it inside?”

“It’s a secret, at least for now,” Gaelan answered with a sly grin.

“Haaah… should have known. It’s not like you ever remember to explain important things to me anyway,” Ian muttered while giving the man a sour look.

The big guy rolled his eyes and said, “Just go ahead and leave everything here and meet me back at the house.”

He said that like he would get there before me… Although, considering that one instance from the first day we met, I wouldn’t put it past him, Ian thought while setting everything on the grass. After a brief wave of farewell, he casually traipsed across the open field toward the gate. Along the way, he stretched and rubbed his sore shoulders. Sweat also accumulated enough for his clothes to stick to his skin. If traversing between worlds became a commonplace event for him, then he definitely needed to figure out a better way to transport everything.

Upon reaching the bridge leading across the moat, Ian thought to stop by the Visitor Center and let Aria know of his return. She would likely want to be notified in order to resume the lessons. However, as soon as he stepped through the entrance to the building, he saw an unfamiliar man behind the counter. The man stood at least a head shorter than Ian due to bad posture. His pale, dry skin clung about his bones as though it might fall off at any moment. Thin black hair drooped from his head like a mop. Dark brown eyes sitting above sunken cheeks looked up at Ian with an almost apathetic gaze, almost to the point of lifelessness. Clearly, the man suffered from some sort of disease which made him look far older than his actual age.

“What can I do for you, sir?” the man asked, his voice feeble and raspy.

“Oh, sorry. I was just dropping by to say hello to Aria while passing by, but I guess she isn’t here,” Ian answered. He tried his best to not focus on the man’s frailty or even let any pity or condescension show in his expression.

“I see,” the man quietly said, nodding weakly. “She had the day off today. I assume you are a friend of hers?”

“Kind of. I’ll just head home and let her know I’m back some other time, then,” Ian said, briefly giving the man a wave of farewell while backing out through the still open door.

“Very well. Have a nice day, sir,” The man replied.

With that, Ian shut the door, sighed, and resumed his casual walk back to Gaelan’s house. Thoughts about what kind of disease might have been plaguing the man filled his mind. Perhaps he could ask Aria about it later.

* * * * *

When Ian arrived at Gaelan’s house, he stepped through the front door for the first time since joining them in their house. The room he entered contained many high-quality furnishings. Most likely, it served as a parlour. It certainly gave off an air of formality that made him uncomfortable.

Stepping through the door opposite the front entrance led him to the dining room, but he continued on to the living room at the rear of the house. The first thing he noticed in the room was the pile of bags and boxes stacked behind the couch. Apparently, Gaelan really did arrive before him. In fact, the man himself was sitting on the couch with his right arm around Aella who happened to be reading a book of some sort.

Noticing Ian even before Gaelan, Aella turned her head, smiled gently, and said, “Welcome back.”

“Thanks, Mrs. Marlow” Ian replied, smiling in return. Although the greeting was as simple as could be, it still filled him with comfort. Such a thing never occurred with his own mother back on Earth. It made him wonder if he could possibly consider these people a second a family.

“Like I’ve said before, just call me Aella, dear,” she corrected before refocusing on the book in her lap.

“Alright. I’ll try to remember that next time,” Ian said. He then took out the box containing the french press and checked the contents. “Argh! You’ve gotta be kidding me!” he cried out, startling the two on the couch. Bianca also peeked into the room to see what happened.

“Something wrong?” Gaelan asked.

“It’s broken…” Ian quietly replied. If one could mourn an inanimate object, he certainly did so at that moment. Even Gaelan furrowed his brows in disappointment.

“What’s broken?” Aella asked, her curiosity rising in concern for the items that came from Ian's hometown.

“It’s a coffee maker,” Gaelan answered, his voice tinged with pride for knowing something about an object from another world. Briefly, he glanced at Ian and nearly laughed upon seeing the young man holding the box as though he had just lost a pet or something.

“What’s coffee?” Bianca inquired from the doorway.

“It’s a drink from Ian’s homeland that’s similar to tea, I suppose,” Gaelan answered.

Eyes glimmering with curiosity, Bianca asked, “Is it good?”

Gaelan shrugged. “To me it is. It’s a little on the bitter side, though.”

Chiming in, Aella suggested, “If you’re desperate to fix it, I’m sure Barton could handle it.”

“Really?” Ian asked, instantly perking up.

“Sure,” Gaelan confidently replied. “Man’s the finest glass worker in the city. At least, he claims to be…”

Did Mrs. Marl- er… Aella know the carafe was made of glass beforehand? It was still in the box… Perhaps it has to do with her magic?

Interrupting Ian’s thoughts, Gaelan asked, “So, up for some training before dinner?”

“Ugh… I was hoping for a day off…” Ian groaned.

“You already had a couple of those. We’ll need to get you toughened up so that you don’t need me to babysit you all the time. Although… I’ll probably go with you again either way.”

At least he’s honest…

“Um… could I go with you next time as well?” Biance shyly asked.

In a knee-jerk reaction, Gaelan’s head whipped around to face his daughter and he immediately asked, “What? Why?”

“Umm… well, it sounds like a really interesting place,” she answered. Then, almost to herself, she quietly added, “I could find new recipes, see new things, learn about new plants…”

“I’ll consider it…” Gaelan hesitantly replied, at which his daughter gave an adorably pleasant smile that could warm the even coldest of hearts. Satisfied with the reply, she waltzed back into the kitchen with a skip in her step. She even struck into humming a catchy tune.

Once she was out of earshot, Gaelan’s eyes moistened ever so slightly as he muttered, “Haven’t heard her sing or hum that song in years…”

“That’s because you’re always in the forge,” Aella retorted, giving him a quick flick on the forehead. “Now, are you two going to get your training in or not? I have to admit it’s a tad difficult to read with everyone chattering around me.”

“Yeah, we’re going,” Gaelan replied, rubbing his forehead. Craning his neck to look at Ian standing behind him, he said, “Come on, time to train.”

“Haaah… fine.”

Before heading outside, Gaelan kissed his wife on the head. Her lips curled into a happy smile. Even while walking through the door, Ian wondered how they could go from a quip to a kiss in only a few seconds. It was truly an unfamiliar sight.

* * * * *

“Hahahahaha! You’re supposed to block that!” Gaelan chided through a cheeky grin.

Opposite the man, Ian bent over coughing. A right hook from his muscular mentor had just landed on his gut. Once his coughing spree finally ended, he raised his head and stood straight. Both men faced each other shirtless and barefoot. Taking a deep breath, Ian prepared himself for another whooping and muttered, “Wasn’t expecting a spar…”

“Hoh~ It seems you still have energy. Good. Very good. Let’s go again.”

“Isn’t this somewhat counterproductive?” Ian asked.

“Of course not. Let’s put it like this: while in your world, I realized the place was absurdly peaceful, so I decided to pound some pain into you early on to prepare you for any dangers down the road.”

Is this guy serious? No, wait. He’s totally serious… Ian thought while squinting at his mentor. Will this even help at all, though?

“I’m taking it rather easy on you, so just do your best to keep dodging or blocking my attacks for now,” Gaelan instructed.

Sighing in resignation, Ian pulled from his limited combat arsenal and assumed a defensive boxing stance he learned back during his high school boxing days. He hoped the stance would offer enough mobility for his current needs.

Upon seeing the defensive stance, Gaelan grinned and lashed out with a sharp kick aimed at the rib cage, yelling out a loud ‘Haap!’ in the process. In Ian’s eyes, the man’s leg blurred, but it looked similar to a low kick from Muay Thai, or perhaps even Tae Kwon Do. Either way, he knew focusing on such a thing could get him seriously injured. Despite initially expecting another punch, he reacted just in time to block by raising his own leg to stop it.

“Gah! Ouch!” Ian exclaimed as the kick cracked against his thigh, sending him off balance.

“Get used to it!” Gaelan retorted while throwing a quick jab toward Ian’s chest since his guard dropped due to the low kick.

“Ugh!” Ian groaned as the fist landed squarely on his chest, knocking the air out of him.

“Heh. If you see a chance to strike back, then give me your best shot!” Gaelan exclaimed before jumping in and throwing a right straight toward Ian’s jaw.

Even though the wind had been knocked out of him, Ian righted himself, coughed, and raised his guard again. Adrenaline pumped through his veins and pushed him to his limits. He narrowly ducked below the swing that looked like it might kill him if it landed. Seriously, was this geezer actually trying to off him? However, instincts told him to go for a counter. He did.

Honestly, the sudden movement on Ian’s end briefly surprised Gaelan. He watched with great interest as his apprentice closed the distance and attempted to jab his abdomen. Although he knew he could dodge the hit, he decided to allow it to land, figuring it would be better for Ian in the long run.

Flesh cracked against flesh. The initial slap of his jab landing on Gaelan’s abdomen startled Ian. Pain shot through his arm. On top of that, hitting someone with all his strength was a new and unfamiliar experience, even when considering his attempts at boxing several years earlier.

“Ouch!” Ian cried out, retreating a few steps.

“Hahahaha! You have weak wrists!” Gaelan interjected. “We definitely need to toughen you up!”

Due to preoccupying himself with checking his hand, Ian never saw the heel hurtling through the air toward his face until it was too late.

“Whoops…” Gaelan muttered as Ian fell to the ground completely unconscious.