Two powerful continents coexisted – they were the Theron and Ebraxan Continent. These two were neither in a friendly relationship nor in a hostile relationship. They had established a give and take relationship based on trade considering there was a significant difference in their climate.

The Yves Empire was located in the Theron Continent.

Theron resided on the warmer side while the Ebraxan was on the colder one; this allowed them to stand on equal negotiation terms about food, animals, magical beasts – and humans. Slave trade had been the most profitable business available; it was no wonder people dared to engage in this kind of work despite the risks.

So when Zellis saw the silver-haired girl's seemingly lifeless body in the forest, he thought she was a runaway slave. The child was also surrounded by rubbles as well as freshly severed body parts. She seemed she was left to die, although weirdly, she was on the mountain and not the foot of it – his master hated outsiders, so he set up a magic circle to prevent intruders from entering.

Of course, Zellis still called his master to tell him what he found, expecting him to say that he should let her be like he always did. Imagine his surprise when his master had gone with him to check, then told him to save the girl.

Well, Zellis really thought the child was about to die. Even if not dead, she should be hovering between life and death.

The girl's arms were thinner than the hunting bow he used, and her eyes were sunken, akin to a corpse. Not to mention she appeared extremely gruesome when placed beside a decapitated arm and a complete set of human guts. Thankfully, he had killed his fair share of people, so the scene had not bothered him much. Nonetheless, this was Zellis's first time seeing such a dreadful sight considering he preferred a clean and swift way to end people.

It took two weeks for her to wake up and another two to nurse her back to health. Healthy enough to stand up on her own and fatten up a little. Zellis would admit after gaining weight, the girl does not look as horrifying as before. He even thought the girl was too pretty for her own good, which was why she became a slave.

The boy hated slave traders, so he pitied her, but he knew it was up to his master if he would let the girl stay. He was also under the man's mercy, although it was the opposite of her situation since he wanted to leave, but he couldn't.

Calculating his time remaining in the mountains, it should be another three years before he could go back.

Zellis suppressed his lazy yawn as he eyed his master, carefully picking herbs. "Master, what should we do with the slave?"

"Did she tell you she was a slave?" His master did not bother to look at him as he checked for the quality of the herbs he collected, planning to make a medicinal concoction for the girl.

The boy did not hide his disbelief; his master was too generous with this girl. Even Zellis needed to get his own herbs when he was sick. "No, I just guessed. She looked like she was from Theron. They were the only ones who have colorful hairs."

"And?"

"And –" Zellis curiously checked his master's bag and the things he gathered when the man flicked his forehead, "– ouch. Why would she be here other than being sold as a slave? Ebraxan was too cold for people who grew up in a humid climate. That would also be the same for me. There was no way I would step even near Theron."

His master turned to look at him appearing amused. "You forgot one thing."

"What is it?" He curiously asked, touching the red mark on his forehead. "Did I get it wrong?"

"Yes," the man answered as he dusted his clothes. "You're smart, but you need to remember not everyone is you. Your reasons will not be their reasons, brat." His master looked at his bag for a moment and nodded, appearing satisfied with the things he gathered; he pointed back to where they came from, signaling him to go back. "Sometimes you won't understand things, and that's okay."

"I don't understand." Zellis blankly stared at him as his thoughts got tangled.

"That's the point." The man shook his head as he gave him a disappointed look. "I take that back. You're not that smart after all."

Zell wanted to curse him out loud, but he held it in. He already did that once, and the punishment was not something he would willingly do ever again.

The boy started training at the age of five years old. His father had given him to this man right after his birthday. His master was someone his mother greatly respected at that time, so he also trusted the man. That was until he made him go through a lot of pain, disguising it as his' teachings.' The man had taught him a lot of o things, from catching his food to killing a person.

He felt his master did not age since the first time he saw him. He always had this long black hair tied in a bun as well as a pair of what he thought as gray eyes – it turned out his master was blind, and he was beating him up all this time without eyesight. From what his master had told him, he was using mana to 'see,' and his eyes had long since been unusable after he was poisoned.

Which made him wonder, as far as he knows, he was the most powerful man he had met. Who would hurt his master?

It took them no time to reach their dwelling.

When they arrived, they saw the girl awake again as she glanced at the two of them. His master instantly disappeared, probably going to the kitchen to make the girl's medicine. Zellis was left alone with the girl then decided it would be better to sit on the chair beside her bed in case she needed any help.

"Are you feeling better?" The boy asked, debating on whether he should be more talkative, but it was too troublesome.

Thankfully, the silver-haired girl seemed to realize what he was struggling with. "I'm getting better thanks to you and… that man."

"Oh, I call him master. He hasn't told me his name yet." Zellis remembered that it was not because his master did not tell him. It was because he never asked. They had been together for seven years now, but most of the time, he was thinking about cursing the man more than getting to know him.

The girl nodded and seemed to have understood their relationship dynamics in one glance. Surprisingly, when she regained consciousness, she acted way too calm, as if this was not her first time waking up in a foreign place. When she brought the girl, she was too dirty, and her clothes were way too big for her. They had to wipe her and call for some civilian girl in the town to help her take a bath.

His master appeared in the doorway holding a bowl of medicine, and he mentally sighed in relief, glad that he could go back to his room and rest. Zellis' training for today was incredibly exhausting after his master told him to go higher in the mountain. The closer you were to the top, the more difficult it was to fight magical beasts; they would become smarter and have various skills. This one time, he accidentally went deeper than he should be that his master needed to save him.

Well, on the good side, that was one less work for him.

"Master, do you need me to do anything before I go?" The boy inquired, praying inwardly that he wouldn't; he was just asking out of politeness.

The man thought for a moment as he placed the bowl on the table beside the girl's bed. "No, need. You should go back."

"Then I'll see tomorrow, master."

Kira turned seven years old in the middle of nowhere.

Time had gone by fast, even more so if you recently had a traumatic experience and you went to hell and back. The girl found out she was in another continent, way too far from what she originally envisioned, but in this case, she should be thankful for her dear magic teacher's miscalculation. His first mistake was removing the girl's shackle, and the second was his ignorance that she was a dual mana user. Even her father was not aware of that, but in this case, she would like to thank her mother for telling her to be careful.

The now seven-year-old girl woke up and found herself inside a cottage in the middle of the woods. The boy, whose name was Zellis, saw her in the mountain during his training. He decided to save her, which she was thankful for, and had taken care of her for at least a week before she woke up. The boy also had a master she had yet to get the name of. Both men assured her they called a civilian woman to bathe her, which was very considerate of them.

The girl could now walk and go out; her benefactor spared her from his routine check-up and bitter medicine concoctions. Although the herbs were helpful, they were too bitter, and she would like to be ten feet away from that medicine bowl unless she needed it. That was one of the worst things she had tasted in both of her lives, considering she was also not a good cook.

On the other hand, it seemed it would take a long time before she could return home. Never mind returning to Yves, she had no idea how she could even step foot in Theron. Kira also had no method of communication to contact her father; the dumbest thing she could think of was joining a merchant van from Theron, who came to Ebraxan to trade. But then, she also needed to take precautions to avoid slave traders – at this point, if anyone had the gall to kidnap her again, she would not hesitate to kill because of irritation.

Kira would still dream about being tortured every night; she doubted she was healthy mentally.

The silver lining she could see was that she met the man who, after turning blind, had increased his mana perception skill. He casually mentioned one time that she had yet to balance the two kinds of mana inside her, and unless she became successful, she had to endure great pain while using her powerful skill. Which she assumed was her teleportation magic since her ice magic never gave her problems.

"You should also call me Master," the man casually replied as he checked her pulse. "My name is not something that anyone could casually use."

The girl turned silent for a moment. "Then you can call me Kira, Master," she finally said after much thought.

"Then, if you want to go out, you are healthy enough to do that." 'Master' informed her as he packed his things, preparing to leave. "But I assume you would need to stay longer from what I can see from the state of your power.

Kira was about to ask how did he know when the man replied calmly, "Child, you are too young to outsmart me. I've seen your kind –" he showed an amused expression, smirking after, "– you originated here in Ebraxan. Unfortunately, the people who hunt your kind are also here, so you should be careful."

The silver-haired girl inclined her head to the man showing a curious expression. "Can you tell me more?"

"I suppose," he replied, leaning on the counter and placing his supplies on it. "Porters was said to have existed the same time as mana. At some point in time, your number was as large as magicians and swordsmen. Unfortunately, as time went by, your population dwindled, and people started to hunt you for your magic. Who would not want a porter that could shorten the distance in just the blink of an eye?"

"What happened… to us?" Kira found the story doubtful; why would their population suddenly go low? There must be something the man had not told her.

The man called 'Master' seemed to have read her mind as he gave her a small smile. "I'm sure you're aware that the usual mana crystal could not detect a porter's magic. A special one should be used. It also specifies the complexity of your magic. One, you need to be a woman, and two, you need a large mana reserve. I'm not talking about a regular large one – I'm talking about a sea of it," he informed her, deep in thought as he continued. "If one of the two conditions were not met, you would die before the age of 30."

Mana came from two sources: it came from nature and a person's soul. That was why magi would have elemental magic – the balance of the two in your body would dictate how well you could manifest it. For Kira specifically, she had an abundance of both, but her soul was much stronger, so her mana reserve could not keep up. A person who fails to balance this two would destroy the ability to use their skills. Teleportation magic primarily relied on two's harmony. That was why it would cause death.

That was why both of mother and grandmother – who were also porters – died early.

"Thankfully, I did not know how you did it, but you've managed to gain balance with your soul and mana reserve. It will take no time for your soul to assimilate with your mana. Usually, when this happens, it might take a decade. But seeing you're young, it would integrate better as you grow. You currently have a large reserve, and if everything went well, you could travel from continent to continent."

"…and how long would you say this would assimilate?"

The man considered for a moment, then raised five fingers.

"Five months?" Kira guessed, pleased that she could see her family soon.

"No," he denied as he shook his head. "Five years."

Zellis found out his master and the girl had a teacher-student relationship and not only in name.

"Hey Kira, what's the thing that you do when you wake up in the morning?" He asked when the girl asked him to spar.

The silver-haired girl would wake up early and then do unusual poses before and after a run. Zellis had tried to copy her once in the comfort of his room, but her whole routine took so much time that he decided it was bothersome. When he asked his master about it, he only told him to focus on his training since it wouldn't be helpful for him to replicate what she does.

Kira stabbed the sword he gave her a few weeks ago on the ground then wiped her sweat. "Those are for… flexibility."

"Is that what master told you to do last time?" Zellis drawled then showed disinterest after guessing what they must have talked about.

Kira shook her head for a moment, pondering if she should explain. "Well, he did tell me to increase my flexibility. What he didn't tell me is the way to do it."

The boy was also there when his master explained the reason. Men created the widely taught swordsmanship skills; this was why the skills would better integrate on men. Although that was already thousand years ago, women had yet to find a style that fitted them. Especially if a person were exposed to the men-oriented type first, it would be hard to change paths and create a separate one tailored to a woman's physiology.

As a result, whenever the two would do a mock fight, Zellis would always have the upper hand.

It seemed that what she was doing was quite effective, though; he saw the changes in her sword practice. Kira had focused more on defense than attack. It allowed her to deflect the opponent's movement and return it to them. Granted, it was too flowy for his tastes; it might not work well with his style.

Looking at it, he would see the girl practicing footwork at night whenever he was about to sleep. It was an exercise he had never seen before, but he guessed his master taught it to her. Zell felt doubtful. His master was much harsher to him when he was at the girl's age. It was to the point that when he was first given a sword, he was thrown instantly into a group of magical beasts and was told to fight based on his instincts. That was why he had developed the habit of finishing a fight the fastest way possible since the longer it would take, the more dangerous it would be for him.

The boy stared back, curious if it would help him fight. "Should I also learn what you do?" He curiously asked, handing the girl a water jug.

"It's always good to increase your flexibility," she replied, then muttered a word of thanks as she received the jug. "You could join me at dawn and night – for footwork – before you sleep."

Zellis thought it was fine; it could not possibly be that hard. "Do I need to know anything before going with you?"

"Just bring your sword in case." The girl casually mentioned, then gestured to him to continue the fight.

If Zellis knew what gotten himself into, he would never ask Kira to let him join. Frankly, he wanted to quit and call it a day, but whenever he thought how his swordsmanship started to feel a little bit easier than before, he would find himself walking to the practice grounds at dawn.

The silver-haired girl might have broken his back at some point after some forceful stretching and strength training. It was already quite a few days after, and he could still feel his muscles aching. To be honest, Zellis did not know where the girl had gotten her strength. In the morning, she had to wake up to do her early stretch and run. Then she would follow his master's planned routine – which includes putting your life in danger multiple times – and by night, she does strength training along with footwork.

Zellis thought his master was a monster for having him do all kinds of things in the mountains, but after seeing someone who had the will and the way, he would never dare complain again.

The boy tried to keep up with Kira's routine, and it was something he would never recommend unless they were willing to go through hell. Kira would never let him do anything half-assed, if she told him to split, and she would make him split. It was a good thing he could see the results; on the other hand, the pain took a long time to subside, so he had to do her painful exercises while in pain.

Ah, his master had yet to say something about it though it seemed they had his private consent seeing he had not stopped them yet.

The girl must have one hell of a family.

He believed no parent would subject their child to tortures like this – except his father, of course. Zellis imagined Kira's family to be terrifyingly strict as he compared them with his own. The passive-aggressiveness whenever he met his brother and sisters and the constant feeling of death was not something he would wish for others, much less to his junior. What was worse was that his father tolerated the situation and encouraged it. Thankfully, her mother cared enough to entrust him to his master temporarily.

Zellis' mother died after being killed by his father when he was five, right after he was given to his master. He had not even seen her body nor her grave until now. His master said it would be too dangerous for him to go back unless he could protect himself.

He was thankful for his master's care, even if he tended to joke about it most of the time. In truth, the only thing he knew about him was that he lived alone after his mother had saved him that one time. He was on the verge of death, so in return, he agreed to protect and take care of him until he could do so himself.

His only wish was to take revenge – and maybe follow his master after, who knows.

A month later, Kira finally succeeded in threatening Zellis to be her consistent sparring partner. Although their master would tell them to fight occasionally, that would be a weekly occurrence.

Luckily, the two were close enough to engage in friendly banter, so the girl took this opportunity to blackmail Zellis by scaring him that she would tell their Master he was slacking. Kira had noticed that the boy was doing the bare minimum when fighting with monsters then would sleep when he could. It was not some grave offense to be lazy, but that was under the assumption you would not get caught.

Usually, to prove that they completed their daily monster kill, they needed to show their master the cores they've gathered. Zellis, who tried to outsmart the system, would increase the cores by twos or threes, so it would appear like he was improving.

"And whose fault do you think was that?" The boy frustratingly replied as he groaned at her. "I have to sleep during those times because that was the only time I could catch on sleep." Compared to his usual routine, his hours of sleep were halved, for he had to join the girl with her training regimen. As a result, he found a neat way to rest more during the morning when their master was not around.

Kira eyed him while he was doing a split then pushed his back harder; the boy let out a high pitch squeal as he cursed under his breath.

"Zellis, you can't fool me. The higher our power level, the less time we need to sleep. You're intentionally lazy." She accused, trying to stop her amused tone from showing as he helped the boy up.

The boy let out a sheepish grin as he defended himself. "Well, also that. But don't deny you're being an asshole for trying to betray me."

"A good person wouldn't blackmail someone in the first place," she sarcastically replied, stating the obvious. "So what do you say, sparring partners?" The girl held out a hand in the air then glanced at him as if asking he would take it.

Zellis rolled his eyes and shook her hand. "Sparring partners."

It seemed her plan to practice her new sword skill on her fellow disciple had gone without a hitch.

It came as a shock when her master told her she should stop practicing her previous style, seeing it did not fit her. The stance, style, and movement were made for men. Its change as a person grew also catered to men more than it does to women. Women perform with less stiffness and more on technique. Therefore, she thought of how fencing in her previous world relied more on defense and flexibility, disregarding the straightforward characteristics of swordsmanship.

Kira also continued her daily training, pilates (improvised, of course), and footwork she learned from her previous life. She knew that being in combat could lead to death, which meant she would need to win by hook or crook if she ever found herself in one. Thankfully, Kira got her martial arts mastery down in her previous life, and although it would take a long time to get to the same level she had before, it would be an excellent addition to her fighting skills if she could.

The girl needed to hunt monsters in the morning and she gathered herbs every afternoon. They would need to sell them as well the monster carcass they obtained during monster hunting. Zellis told her they should keep the monster cores since their values do not decrease. Additionally, it would be an excellent way to earn quick money when needed.

Monster carcasses could also be used as food if they don't have poison.

Zellis and her needed to cook alternately since they should also do their laundry. On the other hand, Kira had no idea where her master would go during the day, but she could guess it was because he was part of a magician organization. Members should be present during the day to help with research or whatever they were assigned with. It could be they were monster hunting, searching for new ruins, or engaging with the organization's internal affairs. Needless to say, the practice of magi from Ebraxan or Theron does not differ that much.

Kira had never gone outside the mountain, not because she wanted to stay but because their master did not allow her currently. The man had set up a magic circle that would not let you go out, and to her amazement, it covered the whole place. It worked so that whenever someone would try to enter, they would be scared off then lured out. For the two children, whenever they were not allowed, and they would try to go beyond the foot of the mountain, they would find themselves teleported back in the middle.

The girl was not complaining, she could train all day, but it could get pretty dull without anything else. Zellis had already stayed there six or seven years before her; it was a wonder how he could endure being alone for a long time.

"You know you're not a very good cook." Zellis told her after their night training remembering what he ate that night.

Kira, who felt bad about the boy earlier, wanted to take back her pity. "Then don't eat, stupid. What are you complaining about? Maybe you should ask Master if you're that desperate." The girl suggested, then returned her sword to its sheath after cleaning it.

"Ah, now that you mention it. Have you noticed anything weird about Master?" The boy asked, following her on the way back to their sleeping quarters.

Kira thought about anything worth noting about the man and guessed. "You mean what he usually does when he's not here?"

"No, no that. I mean Master's age. Can you guess it?" Zellis had been insisting the man was older than he looked, and the girl had always said it must be because he was just young-looking, 'baby face' if you will.

"You mean he's way over a hundred?"

"You got that right! Maybe 300 years old?"

It was common knowledge that the higher your power level, the slower you would age and the longer your life. Kira had been in the man's care for more or less a month now, she had seen his strength, and if she estimated, his master would perhaps be stronger than her father. That implied that at least he was at power level black. Too bad she had never seen him use magic and sword at the same time, so she wasn't sure if he was a magus or a swordsman.

"But he still looks young." Kira glanced at the boy, who stopped walking momentarily to think. "The life span of black power level users should be about half a century. Then he reached purple when he was 15 years old?" She wondered, mentally calculating how that would fall between the timeline of five hundred years.

Zellis slapped his open palm with a closed fist happily. "Ah! Isn't that too young? Then he's a genius."

"Yeah, sure is," Kira mockingly replied, feeling it was impossible to do at a young age, and continued to walk. After her unfortunate encounter with the black organization, she made her power from yellow to the boundary of green and blue. Now she had to wait approximately five years before she could absorb it all. Wasn't it too good to be true to be at power level purple at the age of 15?

Of course, Kira had yet to know she was another monster herself considering she could beat a fully-fledged mage using her firepower.

Moreover, Kira doubted he was only a hundred years old. Her master knew her magic all too well, and he was the one that said there were no remaining records about it. The girl knew it, too; the magic was passed from Porter to Porter via journaling; they would then hide it before they died as a way to transfer their knowledge.

Unless he knew someone her kind who willingly gave him information or he had lived long enough to know about it.

Zellis waved her goodnight when they were inside their cottage, telling her he would wake up late the next day so he could not join her for her training. The girl nodded absently as she entered her room.

She wondered why her master saved her. Kira had a nagging feeling it was way more than she suspected.