Ever have a vision?

A dream so vivid and detailed, you feel like you could reach out and touch it?

I’ve never had something like that before. In fact, I could hardly remember having any dream of note.

And yet, I woke up this morning, and could vividly remember a series of events that transpired within my dream.

An immortal boy, and his obsession for an angel.

Fifteen friends and their quest for home.

And a careless dragon who connected everything.

Where did such a vision come from, I wonder?

I somehow feel that these visions relate to me in some way.

Since coming to this world, I’ve tried to keep an open mind. I don’t plan to immediately accept anything as absolute fact, but if someone told me there were ghosts and phantoms, I would have to keep that in mind.

With magic being a very real component to this world, anything is possible.

So mysterious visions like none I’ve had before? I can’t just dismiss them as wild delusions.

Perhaps, I will have another vision eventually.

But observing the vision leads me to feel that this vision really doesn’t have anything to do with me. The people within were unknown to me, though I can’t be sure I’ll never meet them.

On top of that, the world seemed off.

I’ve never heard of an angel-like race in this world, and dragons are beasts without sentience in this world.

In fact—the moon I saw within those visions seemed nothing like the three moons of this world.

—Hah, I must be going crazy.

Taking this too seriously.

Anyways, as I pulled myself out of my sleep, I let myself stretch out, and look around. I ended up sleeping in the woods, with very little clothes on again. Alone this time.

I am surprisingly comfortable sleeping anywhere. I thought it was just a trait carried over from my past life, seeing how prone I was to sleeping whenever and wherever I feel like, but according to Sentra, it’s natural. There are apparently plenty of races that have this sort of disposition.

That said, I don’t have any particular place I like to snooze at, and if it came down to it, I would prefer some shelter over my head.

These days I actually take naps in the trees, but for a long comfortable sleep, I stay on the ground, somewhere stable, or have Sentra create something like a tend with her powers.

Am I scared of wild animals or monsters?

Well, my perception to danger is sensitive enough to bring peace of mind.

Sentra on the other hand needs someone to keep her company. I use to comfort her to sleep, but nowadays I just have Yenna do it so I can have a bit of time to myself.

—Do I occasionally sleep with the two of them?

Of course.

Nothing dirty happens tho.

But honestly? I’d get away with it if I tried.

Maybe.

Yenna may see me as unreasonable and has enough awareness to know when I’m taking advantage of her—but even if I issue her a ridiculous command, she’ll probably end up doing it. She’s loyal and dedicated like that.

And Sentra? Sentra is far too dependent on me, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she was the one who asked me.

—But my views on sex are considerably different from what they use to be.

It’s strange when I say it outloud, but I sort of see it as an almost sacred thing.

It’s strange that I think that, though. My values have probably just been skewed, and considering something “sacred” feels out of character for me.

It’s not like I’m terribly tempted to ravage Sentra, despite her beautiful figure. I simply don’t have the desire. Even when Sentra charms me, I just want to tie her up and hang her upside down in a waterfall, or just beat on her a bit till she begs me to stop.

…

Actually, am I a fucked up person?

…

Nah…

So anyways, I probably shouldn’t keep Uncle Jenn waiting.

Yesterday, I spoke with him so that he could have a spar with Sentra for Yenna to learn from. She seems like the type to learn by example, so I thought it would be a good idea.

He heard rumors about Sentra, and how she apparently represented me during her trips to the nearby villages, but he had never seen her for himself.

So he seemed rather interested to meet her himself. As an adventurer, Jenn Karmish has various experiences, and he has seen a Kitsune for himself before, but never has he spoken to one, let alone fought with one.

So I think it’ll be an interesting experience for everyone involved.

[/hr]

“You’re bringing her?”

“Of course. Ellen likes it when I watch after her, and besides, Lin is cute!”

“We’re going pretty far into the forest. You make this hike regularly?”

“Of course. While it’s good to stay near the village, being too close could be problematic,”

“If you say so…”

Ah, I think he was being rude there?

Well it’s fine, it’s not like I’m really some sort of high noble.

“But you know, you don’t look like you make this trek very often,” He suddenly said.

Huh? What? “What do you mean by that?”

His remark came out of nowhere, but I didn’t slow down, and continue to navigate the forest while holding Lin’s hand. She seemed too occupied with a flower in her hand to care much about our conversation.

“You’re pretty good at hiding your fatigue, but your breaths are too harsh and irregular,”

Is that so?

No, I think he’s right. I’m not feeling any soreness, but I do seem to be lacking in stamina. It’s not really a problem for me though; I have the ability to travel large distances in an instant, without incurring any fatigue.

“You have a movement-type ability, correct?”—Oh! He remembers?

“That’s right. I can be anywhere in an instant,” I say, paraphrasing the details of my ability.

“Use it less,” He said.

...

“What? Why?”

However, he merely continued to walk, and as I looked at his back, probing for an answer, he remained silent for a long while, until finally—

—”You might get taller,”

H-hey! Who said I want to get taller!?

But before I could argue, the clearing by the river came into view. Sentra sat on the ground with her eyes closed, as if meditating, while Yenna seemed to practice her punches and kicks.

“Toya! Uncle Jenn!” Yenna shouted, as soon as she noticed our arrival.

“Yo! We’re here!” I said enthusiastically, completely dropping the earlier talk with Jenn.

Sentra cracked open an eye as her head turned towards myself and Jenn, and with a single fluid motion, she pulled herself to her feet and made her way towards us.

“Good Morning Mistress,” She greeted with a slightly bowed head, and then turned to my guest. “Good Morning Jenn Karmish,” She said with her usual soft tone.

Jenn on the other hand seemed surprised about something. Perhaps it was the 4 flowing tails, or the beautiful silver hair, but something about Sentra seemed to have caught Jenn’s mind.

Well, she is a beautiful girl after all.

“It’s good to finally meet you, Sentra,” He said, extending out his hand to her. She smiled in return, as she took his hand with a shake and nodded.

“Likewise. It’s good to put a face to the master who taught Yenna her martial skills,” she replied. “Toyaru says that the two of us will be sparring today for her sake, but I hope to see the skills of a Human Master,” She said.

“I too, hope to learn from this,” Jenn admitted.

I decided on now to cut into the conversation. “How about you two get ready. Jenn, you’re gonna use that spear?”

I gave Jenn the option to make use of a weapon if he wanted, and he decided to bring along a long rod with a blade on one end. He said it was a very versatile weapon, and fit his style of fighting just right.

“That’s right,” He affirmed, as he stamped it on the ground to affirm his pride for it.

“Very well. Lin, go sit with Yenna. Sentra, go stand over there,” I ordered the two girls.

As they obediently left Jenn to me, I elbowed him in the side, and said “You’re married, you old fart.”

Of course, I ditched him before he could retort.

Having no other choice, Uncle Jenn resigned himself to the battle, and met Sentra in the center of the clearing.

“Ok you two!” I shouted from atop a tree, “I want you two starting off 4 meters apart from each other. When I say ‘go’, the spar will begin. Anything goes, but try not to kill each other,” I said in high spirits.

As the two took their positions, and Jenn lowered himself into a stance, I shouted out the beginning of the spar!

“Go!”

Immediately following my signal, Jenn dashed forward, quickly closing the distance between himself and Sentra. Clearly Sentra was some sort of long-range fighter, so keeping close, within Jenn’s range of attack, was the best idea he had.

However, this tactic was seen through—Sentra managed to throw a ball, a wooden ball that quickly morphed and expanded into sort of net.

Jenn, managed to slice through the surprise net, however his advance was delayed enough that Sentra had time to gather her attack! A moment, later, a torrent of tree roots erupted from the earth below Jenn, and attempted to encapsulate him!

Through some sort of intuition or foresight, Jenn managed to dance around the various tentacles. However this detour gave Sentra the time she needed to back off and escape his range. As she neared a pair of trees, she chose now to fire off 5 concurrent bolts of white light. However, Jenn managed to easily avoid these attacks, and continued his assault.

This time however, the two trees behind Sentra came alive, as they twisted and turned, splitting up as they both began to shoot forward powerful branches towards and around Jenn.

However, Uncle Jenn’s movements were too swift to be captured, or even impeded, and with every step he came closer and closer to Sentra.

I watched the transaction bemused. Not even a minute had passed, and the field had been made a mess, while Sentra seemed to almost be cornered.

Jenn Karmish—current Chief of Ohen Village, he was known as a powerful traveller in his past, and is likely a powerful war potential within the Kingdom of Senilea.

However, my understanding is that he refused military service in favor of taking over the village as his father’s sole heir. Seeing as Senilea isn’t often in a position to fight wars, they acknowledged his refusal, but reserved the right to draft him in the future.

Honestly speaking, I can’t be sure just how powerful he is among humans, considering Senilea does not harbor very many threats, but going by stories of his past, Jenn’s adventures weren’t restricted by borders, and he claims to have slain many large beasts.

On top of that, in the last 30 seconds, I would say he was stronger than many of the soldiers Lein sent after the princess.

This man has the strength and confidence to lead a small army, despite having passed his prime.

A Lower Spirit like Sentra is barely an obstacle to him.

Even as she tries to restrain him, Jenn is able to blow away any obstacle she puts in his way at will. His spear shreds through the trees put in his path, and as she puts up walls to defend herself, he dances around them, and cuts them down.

Before someone with decades of combat experience, Sentra who has only fought up til now by crushing weaker foes from a distance, can’t compete.

Her strategies can’t account for his agility, and any attack thrown at him is blocked or avoided.

Realizing this, she attempts to make an escape—but her route is intercepted by a flying missile that crashes into the ground before her.

Jenn tossed his spear, shredding whatever was in its path.

Sentra froze in her steps, looking at the spear for a long moment.

She probably realized by now, but he could ended the fight at any moment.

A spear fired from afar with the power to shred obstacles and people. Jenn merely stood there with a broad smile after having fired his spear, without moving further—as if declaring the spar had been won.

However, a throwing technique, huh?

Wasn’t that Yenna tried to do before?

No, this is different. Yenna seems to have a talent for controlling her Spirit Force, but she’s unable to extend it towards objects other than herself. Not even her clothes, which means she often fights barefoot to prevent her shoes from being destroyed.

So what Yenna did before was merely use all her force to throw a regular stone.

Uncle Jenn on the other hand does not have this handicap. So he launched a spear infused with his Spirit.

Even now, the spear oozed his spirit, and the air around it seemed to spiral, as if threatening to cut anything that approaches.

He’s been using this technique throughout the fight—a Spirit Force technique that finely sharpens the air around oneself. It’s difficult to control, so Jenn still needs to dodge most attacks, but focusing this at the proper time and place, he can easily destroy Sentra’s improvised defenses.

You might say it was a bad match.

However that’s just not true. Sentra has more fire-power, and has higher potential to win, if she utilized her attacks properly.

But she has no experience fighting an enemy like Jenn Karmish.

“That was quite the spectacle, Uncle. However, don’t you think you finished that a little too early?” I decided to give my input on the fight.

As he turned to me, he cracked a smirk, “Hah, I’m sorry. I think I got carried away,” He admitted.

“Yes, yes. Now do it properly, or Yenna won’t be able to learn,” I said. Of course, I was also learning from this, and had already began devising counter-measures against an enemy like Jenn.

“Better yet, just keep going. Yenna, get down there and help Sentra,” I said. Yenna looked to me with surprise, however a moment later, she nodded and flung herself towards her teacher, fists ready.

“Hey! Hold on! I need to get my—”

“When an enemy drops his weapon, be sure to capitalize!” I announced without offering Jenn a moment to breath.

In a panic, Jenn continued onto the second round of this spar.

[/hr]

Author Notes:

So, I wrote a third of this chapter weeks ago, and have been putting off finishing it for a while. I already knew what the chapter would be, but didn't have the drive to write it till an hour ago. Honestly, I need some way to pick up my motivation. I wanted to solicit donations, being flat broke as I am, but really? Money doesn't motivate me very much (which is why I don't make promises like "reach X $$$ for extra chapters!"). Maybe I could get a ghost writer to write my story for me, lol... Nah...

Anyways, the dream mentioned at the start of the chapter has nothing to do with the joke Chapter 256 I wrote for April Fools (which I have since deleted)

Be sure to leave a rating for my story, and remember that any and all feedback and suggestions are appreciated and encouraged.