Riattus smiled and disappeared. His voice came from outside the hatch:

- “You can come out, no one is here. The nature disguised even more the exit, there’s grass and a big bush around this. I had a pile of leaves and a big branch around the opening, but now, it’s perfect. I almost forgot how beautiful this World is, with the morning sun.”

Ronald pushed the hatch, and it opened completely. The dog jumped to the outside and sniffed around. Ronald followed him and closed the hatch again. There was a small lever disguised as a rock and following Riattus instructions, he moved it to one edge, hearing a closing sound from the hatch. Riattus nodded.

- “Yes, like that, if needed, you can use it again to enter my hideout. Not that I think you will need it, but it’s good to know that you can, right? So, we must think about what you will do from now on. But first, let’s get you down this mountain, shall we? Follow me, there’s an edge on this direction where you can use my next Card, the “High Slide”. When you reach the bottom and if you want to come here again, you will need the “High Stairs” to make a path to climb up here. Better if we don’t make too much noise, I don’t want to attract any danger towards my saviour.”

Ronald followed him, calling out the dog in a low voice. In the edge, Riattus was frozen, looking down. He looked worried.

- “What’s the matter? You see something down there?”

Riattus nodded.

- “Yeah, and I don’t like what I see. Quick, put your hand on the bag and say, “Binocular”, so that you can take it out more easily. Then, look down there. Be prepared, the sight it’s a little upsetting.”

Ronald did that and what he saw made his face turn pale. For a while he looked around the village on the ground, increasing the magnification from time to time. He tried to look and understand what was before his eyes, despite the nightmare images that he was seeing.

A village with wooden huts, with strange dark green beings dressed in a cloth around their lower halves, with the size of a ten-year-old and some with almost two-meter-tall, judging by the dead horses nearby. Two horses were being roasted alive in a fire, pierced by a stick that was being rotated by one of the tall beings. On another fire, there were two live naked men, being roasted too. Fortunately, Ronald was on top of a mountain, because they seemed to be screaming their lives out.

That was too much, he put the binocular on the ground, ran to a nearby rock and throw up. He took a few deep breaths and rushed to the binocular again because Riattus was calling him with urgency. When he looked to where Riattus was pointing, he saw a pile of human bodies near the fire, already roasted and being sliced by some of the green creatures, but those had breasts, females, perhaps. Another look to a different direction and the sight was even worse. Two women were dead on top of a table, being eaten raw by five small beings while two of the tallest ones were raping the dead women. On the nearest table, a woman was still alive, screaming while the green beings were eating her arms and legs and a taller one was raping her, even while she was dying by the loss of blood from the wounds made by the eating. Near them, a blond naked woman was tied to a pole, watching that scene and crying her eyes out. She was next, judging by the small beings that were striping her, preparing her for their meal. Ronald pointed to that woman and looked to Riattus.

- “We need to help her!”

Riattus slowly shook his head. He had hate in his eyes.

- “No, it’s useless. Even if you save her, her mind will never recover from what she is seeing. As fast as you try, she will be killed as soon as you do something, by the nearest Goblin. I always hated those things. If I wasn’t confined, I would have eradicated all the Goblins in this World, by now. I almost managed to do that, on my time. It’s better if we go down there and you kill everything in there. Don’t you think you can save any Human, it’s hopeless. After every single one of them is dead and you absorb the Mana Orbs, I will explain those things. But now, do me a favour, avenge the Humans, ok?”

- “Yes… What can I do?”

- “Get ready. The “Slide” Card costs 100 mana, the “Giant Spider”, it’s 100 mana, the “Big Rat” costs 150 mana, the “Rock Ball” will cost 200 mana, “Bottomless Hole” will be 200 mana, “End Life” costs 100 mana and “Sonic Blast” it’s 100 mana. You have 500 Mana, and because of your bracelet, you have 1.000 Mana to spend. If my math is correct, you will spend 950 Mana. Too short for my taste. It could be enough, but many Goblins could be hidden, and you will need Mana to summon more Magical Beings. I never went into a battle with less than 10.000 Mana…”

Ronald was looking at the Cards, and he wondered why the cost of the Traps “Rock Ball” and “Bottomless Hole” were more than the 100 Mana that the traps should be. But Riattus explained again because he would use those trap Cards immediately, the cost would be double. But the lack of Mana was worrying Ronald as well. He looked at two Mana Spell Cards that Riattus told him to put on his deck.

- “How can I use this? I have 1.000 Willpower, I can change some of it to Mana, right?”

- “Yes, it’s better if you learn how to do that, so hold one of them in your hand and say, “Mana Spell Card, Activate!”. You will feel the same tickling on your body when it activates, similar to the popping of a Mana Orb, signalling that you have gained more Mana. Use both Cards, one at a time. You will spend 200 Willpower but will gain 400 Mana. You will feel a minor headache because you are messing with your Willpower, but it’s not difficult to endure, and it only lasts a moment. In a fight, that brief moment could cost you your life, that’s why it is wise to be prepared beforehand so you don’t need to do it when you are in danger. It is better to always have at your disposal more Mana than you think you could need. Most Mages don’t do that, and that’s why I was never defeated. Well, along with my absurd Level and amount of Mana, of course.”

- “I understand… And what about the other Cards? I have to throw them like a frisbee like the Mages were doing in the cave, right?”

- “Yes, but try not to point one of them towards the dog, he might think you are playing with him and bit it, destroying the Card before it could activate. Now, increase your Mana, I want to stop the pain of those two women as soon as possible.”

Ronald used the Mana Spell Cards as he was told and felt a headache each time. Not too strong, but he could tell that it was something important, like if his brain was losing something. But the tickling that followed, stopped the headache.

At the edge of the cliff where Riattus was standing, Ronald placed the Card on the floor and activated it. A big slide appeared, starting at the place where the Card was and going all the way down, until it stopped on the ground below, with a gentle curve. Ronald pulled the dog, and they both jumped to the slide. He had to close the dog’s mouth because he was trying to bark in a surprise caused by the speed of the descent. In the end, they stopped near the edge of the slide. When Ronald stood up on the ground, the slide disappeared, and the Card was on the floor next to the place where the end of the slide used to be. He picked the Card and pulled the dog by the rope, making sure that he wouldn’t try to get loose to fight the Goblins and be killed. Riattus pointed to the nearby forest.

- “A few meters ahead that forest, it’s the Goblin Village. I saw a lot of Goblins, some Orcs and a Goblin Shaman. The Orcs are stronger than a Human, and the Shaman can use Magic and summon Magical Beings. But don’t let the small size of the Goblins fool you. If a group of them attack you, they act like a pack of wolves, they can be very dangerous. Get from your deck the Spell Card “Fire Rain”, you will use it as a last resort. For attacking, look to where there are more Goblins and throw the “Rock Ball”, the “Sonic Blast”, and the “End Life”. Throw the “Bottomless Hole” to the front of a group that ran towards you. After that, summon the “Big Rat” and the “Giant Spider” by throwing them to the middle of the Village and let them run loose. They will kill everything that moves, it doesn’t matter if it’s a Goblin, a Human or a horse, but they are more or less obedient, you can order them to attack a particular enemy if you want. Have your sword at hand, you may need it. In case a Goblin comes to you, release the dog, it will distract him long enough for you to kill the damn thing. To make sure they all died, use the “Fire Rain” Spell Card. Get ready to use the other Magical Beings Cards that you have, the other Rats and Spiders. You have two more Willpower Cards if needed, but be ready for the headache, ok? After the “Fire Rain”, you will have 350 Mana to summon more Magical Beings, but I would prefer if you saved that Mana for an emergency. We have a full day ahead of us, but you will get the Mana spent when you sleep. And even like that, you will only get 500 Mana, because of your Wisdom.”

Ronald nodded, and he rushed to the forest, with Woof running at his side and Riattus floating on the other. Near the edge of the Village, Riattus signalled him to crouch. Ronald saw the group that was eating and raping the woman right at his front. His blood boiled. The woman was still screaming, but it was a low scream, her life was leaving her body with each bite. The other woman tied to the pole was screaming in a hoarse voice, it didn’t even sound Human anymore. The panic and the fear made her mad and was making her scream without realizing that a Goblin was eating her left leg. Her eyes looked dead. Just as Riattus told him, she was already lost without any kind of hope to recover from what happened to her and her companions. From afar, the horses that were being roasted were still neighing, and the men were screaming, while the Goblins were making some strange, inhuman snores, that looked like a big pig calling for food.

Ronald started by throwing the “Rock Ball” to the nearest group with the command word for the activation, killing the woman that was being raped, in the process. The Rock Ball went straight ahead, smashing the huts and every Goblin and Orc on its passage until it disappeared in the forest at the back. The “Sonic Blast” went in the direction of the tied woman, ending her suffering and killing every Goblin on its path. Ronald threw the “End Life” to the group of Goblin females that were slicing the roasted bodies, killing them and some youngster Goblins. He then threw the “Big Rat” and the “Giant Spider” in the direction of the men that were being roasted, and he ordered:

- “Go right in front, kill everything!”

Strangely, the Rat and the Spider looked at him and the Rat nodded his head while the Spider clacked the mouth pincers. They ran ahead, killing every Goblin they saw. Woof tried to get loose, he seemed to recognise those Monsters from the cave, and he wanted to attack them. Ronald pulled the dog and tried to calm him down:

- “I know, boy, but they are not after us. This time, they are on our side.”

Suddenly, from a nearby hut, a Goblin with an animal’s skull on top of his head appeared, and he was pulling something from a bag that he had on his hand. Ronald reacted immediately:

- “Woof, attack!”

The dog ran toward the Goblin Shaman, with Ronald right on his tail. Woof jumped and bitted the arm that was holding a Card, making it fall to the ground. Ronald arrived and a straight pierce to the Shaman's throat ended the fight. Ronald picked the Card from the floor and the bag of Cards and pulled Woof to the forest again. A quick look to his back showed two Orcs running towards him, but they fell in a quick throw of a “Bottomless Hole”. After a few moments, the Big Rat and the Giant Spider arrived. The Rat had some nasty cuts at his sides and the Spider had some missing legs. Riattus told him that they were waiting for orders, it seemed that there was no one alive for them to attack. Ronald approached them after Riattus assured him it was safe, with Woof staying behind, barking at them.

- “Silence, Woof! “Big Rat” and “Giant Spider”, thanks for your help. I hope you recover over time, I may need your help again.”

The Rat nodded his head again, and the Spider clacked her mouth pincers. They disappeared, leaving on the ground the Cards. Ronald picked them up, and he then threw to the air in front, the “Fire Rain” Spell Card. Upon the activation, Magic Fire came down in flushes, burning completely the village and vaporizing the dead bodies. Any Goblin that could be hiding in a hut was sure to be vaporized as well.

Ronald went to pick the Cards that he used, and strangely, he could feel where they were. Riattus explained that it was his link to the Cards that allowed that. There were Mana Orbs all around, and Ronald went to each of them to absorb the Mana. In total, there were 21 Orbs, some red and some white. Ronald thought that Woof could have some, but Riattus advised him otherwise:

- “Keep them all for yourself. Woof will have more opportunities. You need to get stronger or you won’t last long on this World. Do it quickly, we need to find a safe place for a talk. I need to explain some things to you.”

Ronald nodded and after popping every Orb, they left to a house in ruins that was near Riattus mountain. Riattus looked around and he seemed sad.

- “This used to be my house when my life was simpler and more peaceful. And also when I was naïve and thought that the people living in this World, could be helped. I should have stayed in here, farming and living in peace. Maybe I could have married and have some children and use my power to keep the surroundings safe and free of Monsters…”

Ronald was puzzled.

- “What do you mean by Monsters? The ones on the Cards?”

Riattus slowly shook his head.

- “No, on the Cards, they are called Magical Beings. I was talking about real Monsters, like Goblins, Orcs, Harpies and Lamias. Goblins and Orcs, you already saw them. Harpies are half women and half hawk, with wings and dangerous claws. They like Human flesh, a lot. Lamias are stranger. They are half women and half snake and despite liking to eat Humans, they also like to mate with them. Rapping would be the most appropriate term because no Human in his perfect mind would ever want to copulate with one Lamia and be eaten in the end. In this World, there are Humans, Dwarfs and Elfians. But not your usual Dwarf and Elfian that you may have encountered in your homeworld. They are all mean, dangerous and they prefer to kill you on sight instead of talking to you. Humans are the same, most of them don’t deserve to live, but occasionally, you can find a really good person, but they are very rare. Finding a good Dwarf or an Elfian is harder, but there were some in my time. I had two friends that were with me until the end. They were killed during my last battle.”

- “Strange… Why are there so many bad people? The peaceful ones, they are killed upon birth or what?”

- “No, it’s even stranger than that. Every year, near the middle of it, on Seya’s month, a flying Mountain appears in the sky, through a big Gateway. It travels around the World during that month and in the churches throughout the World, a female Knight appears, fully dressed in dark armour. Anyone upon his sixteenth birthday and on the following adult years can go to a church and be judged by that Knight. On some churches you have to pay to enter, on others it’s free while in many others, you must be allowed by the Priest, to enter. If you are judged as a good soul, you can cross the Gateway and leave this World. If not, you can try to improve and try again next year. If you fail by the third time, you won’t be allowed to try again. That Mountain stays for an entire week and then it leaves, returning in the next year, in Seya’s month again.”

Ronald was puzzled. He knew that name from stories that he heard on the orphanage.

- “No way… Seya, I know that name. Wasn’t he the one to create the Gateways that allowed Humans, BeastKind, Dwarfs and Elfians, to spread among the stars, more than a thousand years ago?”

Riattus nodded.

- “Yes, with the help of his friends he created Gaya, that flying Mountain. Eventually, he became a God, and he is the God of this World. I don’t know why he lets things go as they are, maybe he abandoned this World or maybe he doesn’t care. Better if you don’t say this out loud near another person, there are a lot of church fanatics, and the Church is a force that you can’t take upon lightly.”

There was a strange thing in what Riattus told, and Ronald noted it:

- “Did you ever try to leave this World by going to a church to be judged?”

Riattus shrugged his shoulders.

- “I wasn’t a good person on Earth, and in here, I became even worse. I failed three times, I could never try again. Maybe you have better luck than me, but I don’t know which month it is, I don’t know if Gaya will return soon or if she just left and you need to wait an entire year.”

Ronald stopped to think for a while. There were a lot of things about that World that he didn’t know anything about.

- “Judging by the weapons and the clothes of the guards on the cave where I appeared, and the Church being a strong force, I guess that there’s some weirdness going around, without talking about the Magical Cards.”

- “Yes, we are in Medieval times, with Mages, Knights, Kings and spoiled Princes, Princesses and rotten Nobility. Merchants, Church, commoners and slaves fill the rest of the ranks. We need to find a way to gather some information about Gaya’s return and a job for you to gain money to eat while remaining under the radar of anyone that could want to use your powers for a personal agenda. In the meantime, you need to level up quite a bit, so that you can defend yourself in case of need. But levelling up without drawing attention, it’s difficult, but it can be done. You can go to an Adventurer’s Guild and apply to be a helper and a carrying mule, helping a group of Adventurers by supporting them without the actual need to fight. Like that, no one will notice that you are stronger than you look, and you have more Magic than a normal Farmer. Because you are strong, no doubt about it. A Goblin Shaman has a very thick skin, and you pierced that one easily, like if he was made of butter. You are also very fast, you started running after Woof, and you both reached the Goblin Shaman almost at the same time. And you could throw your Cards at a great distance without any visible effort. I had to level up a lot, to be able to do half of that!”

- “I see… But Seya’s month… What’s that? It’s some special thing or only the name of the month?”

- “Name of the month. It’s also the month when the Demonoids were defeated, in God Seya’s homeworld. At least, it was what I learned in school, back on Earth. Here, the months have the names of God’s friends and some family members. Winter, it’s Heiji, John, Hina, and Zak. Spring it’s Arys, Duncan, and Myra. Summer, it’s Erza, Xenya, Null, Seya, and Ryn. Autumn, it’s Lionelia, Bicary, and Talia. Each month has twenty days, and each day has twenty-five hours. Judging by the noise of the birds and the number of flowers and fresh grass all around, I guess we are in the middle of the Spring, maybe on Duncan or Myra’s month, but I am not sure. It can also be Autumn, the weather is similar in those two seasons. That’s why I don’t know if Gaya already left or if she will arrive in five months.”

Ronald was thinking, some things didn’t pile up quite well.

- “I once saw Gaya on my World. I was told in the orphanage where I grew up, that she was a kind and gentle being that always protected life. Why she doesn’t stay here for a while, making sure that the people don’t suffer?”

- “I asked that on my first try. The Knight told me that if she stayed for more than a week, she could be tempted to intervene, and God Seya don’t want that. And even a week, sometimes was too much. Normally, when she is visiting, peace reigns all around. Crime goes down, wars stop, and people try to be gentler. I was told that many centuries ago, a war was being fought between two Kingdoms during Gaya’s visit. She was sad because she saw a lot of beings dying on the battlefield and she begged for God Seya’s help. History says that he appeared high in the sky, enveloped in a strong light that looked like a small sun and he sent a huge flush of Fire Magic on both armies, killing everyone. Next, both Castles of both Kingdoms were obliterated and the Nobles and the Royal family inside, along with the servants, Knights, horses and chickens, were also vaporized. Since then, nothing similar occurred again. The holes on the battlefield and where the two Castles were, are still there. Not even grass grows up in there.”

Ronald shook his head.

- “Damn! God Seya don’t play around, does he? I have read every History book that I could find about him and his friends and I always thought that he was a kind and powerful Half-Breed Mage before he became a Deity. But here, he is very strict, right?”

Riattus shrugged his shoulders.

- “I suppose. Just thinking about what I saw on my time, I can’t judge him. And who am I to judge a God, right? This is a “shilum” World, with “shilum”, disgustful people. And a lot of resentful beings, because of the ones that were denied the exit from this hell. But there are a few good people that sooner or later, will be granted exit. And there are also some that were good people, but before Gaya arrived, they had some bad luck and they either died prematurely or they made a very bad thing, to save themselves, to save a loved one or to avenge a death. It was for those that I tried to take over this World. I always thought that if I could enforce peace, even by force, things would become a lot better. Well, along with huge wealth, women, lands and Castles, of course. What? I never said I was a good person when I was alive, right?”

Ronald smiled.

- “Yeah, that didn’t turn up too good for you in the end, right?”

- “Well, I almost accomplished. If I was a little more careful and killed every Mage that showed a hint of hate or despise against me, I might be alive to turn this World into a better place. But I tried to make them see my way. It was a bad decision on my part. But don’t worry, I will make sure that you don’t ruin your chances to leave this World. But first, we need to get going and leave this Kingdom, before some guards appear in search of that dead Prince. If we head North, we will arrive in two or three days to the Kingdom of Loriath. It’s not a bad place to stay for a while, or at least, it used to be. I don’t know how things are now, but it’s better than staying here and explaining to the King what happened in that cave, right? In there, we can look in the Adventurer’s Guild if we can find a World Map to see how things are around us. We also need information about what happened during the last years. I still need to find out how much time as passed, since I disappeared and became like this, not dead but not living either. I may have to talk with that Magical Knight to see what can be done for me. I rather die for real, instead of being like this forever!”

Ronald touched the Card Box at his neck.

- “I bet that if I destroy this, you will disappear.”

- “Maybe, and maybe not. Either way, you could lose me, and I wouldn’t be able to help you. No, for now, let's leave things as they are. I am also curious about what happened in my absence. Some people that I knew may still be alive, or their children. I wouldn’t mind seeing them. And try to kill some of them, of course. Ahahahah!”

Ronald shook his head. He looked through the ruined window to the empty field outside and the forest at some distance.

- “Well, we might as well start walking. I don’t know what we can do about food, but me and Woof here will need to eat. I am not hungry, but I don’t know when was the last time that he ate.”

Riattus smiled and pointed to the forest.

- “Well, during our travel, you can use your Magical Beings to hunt some rabbits, birds, or snakes. A Goblin is disgusting, but Orc tastes just like pork. The lower half of Harpies taste like chicken or pigeon, and the lower half of Lamias taste like a snake. At least, food will be available if you won’t mind the hunting and the killing. There is also a lot of fish in the rivers, but you need a Bear Card or a Beaver Card. I saw some of those on the piles that you took from the dead Mages, so I guess you won’t have any problems with finding food. For hunting birds, you could use a Hawk Card, that you also have. How good are you, cooking hunt?”

- “I know how to do it, I work… worked, in the kitchen of a local restaurant, over the last two years. The cooker always said that I had a natural talent for cooking, and he taught me a lot of dishes. The restaurant always had fresh hunt on Fridays, so I have some experience with it. But I can order a Magical Being to hunt for me?”

- “Yes, as long as you point to the prey in sight. Or else, it will look everywhere and kill everything that moves, prey or Humans. When they are more in sync with you and when you level up and increase your Intelligence, they will be more obedient and understand you better. By then, you just need to say to one of them to search for hunt and they will bring you every eatable prey that they could find.”

- “What, those Beings get smarter as I level up?”

- “Yes, if you increase your Intelligence. By the way, take out one of the rings and the Status Sphere, we need to see the points that you have and place them in the right place. You need to allocate your points so that you can use more Mana. You can have a lot of Mana at your disposal, but when you spend it, if your Wisdom is low, you will not recover that huge amount, when you go to sleep. Remember, the Mana that you can recover during sleep depends on your Wisdom. High Wisdom, more Mana. You had 350 Mana, let’s see how much you got with that village.”

Ronald put his hand on the Sphere after taking out one ring and they both looked at the inside.

Race - Human

Name - Ronald O'Sullivan

Age - 25

Job - World Traveller

LV - 92

ATK - 13.860

HP - 9.240

Skills - none

Hp Armor - 0

ATK Weapon - 0

Equip Intelligence - 0

Equip Wisdom - 0

Physical Attributes:

Strength - 100

Quickness - 50

Body - 100

Mental Attributes:

Intelligence - 500

Wisdom - 500

Special Attributes:

Willpower - 500

Mana - 2.470

Xp (x2) - 212

Then, a message appeared, saying, "Each XP gives 5 points to spend on Attributes. You have 1.060 points. Choose the Attributes and the number of points to allocate". It then started to show just the Attributes.

Physical Attributes:

Strength - 100

Quickness - 50

Body - 100

Mental Attributes:

Intelligence - 500

Wisdom - 500

Special Attributes:

Willpower - 500

Mana - 2.470

Xp (x2) - 212

Riattus pointed to the Wisdom amount.

- “See? You should have 500 Mana at your disposal because your Wisdom is only 500. You have 2.470 of Mana because of your fight, your bracelet and the Willpower Spell Cards, minus the 1.050 Mana that you spent. If you don’t increase your Wisdom, when you lose that huge amount of Mana, you will only recover 500. But maybe it would be better to increase a little your Physical Attributes. You are too strong for a Farmer. Ok, first, the Mental Attributes. Put 500 on Intelligence and 500 on Wisdom. Then, place 10 on Strength and 50 on Quickness. I think your “Farmer Stats” need to go up quite a bit, making your strength and speed more believable. We can do that in the end.”

Ronald did it and his stats updated.

Race - Human

Name - Ronald O'Sullivan

Age - 25

Job - World Traveller

LV - 92

ATK - 13.860

HP - 9.240

Skills - none

Physical Attributes:

Strength - 110

Quickness - 100

Body - 100

Mental Attributes:

Intelligence - 1.000

Wisdom - 1.000

Special Attributes:

Willpower - 1.000

Mana - 1.000

Xp (x2) - 0

Riattus nodded in approval.

- “Looking better… Your excess Mana was used to improve your stats with the points… Remember, because of the bracelets, you have 2.000 Willpower and 2.000 Mana to spend, but the Status Sphere can only show you, not your hidden equipment. Now, put the ring again, place both hands on the Status Sphere and say the command “Disguise Ring, update Physical stats!”. Like that, on the next time that you look at your stats in a Sphere, it will show you as a strong Farmer. I think…”

Ronald frowned. Riattus didn’t sound too sure of what he said, but after saying the command, his “Farmer Stats” appeared.

Race - Human

Name - Ronald O'Sullivan

Age - 25

Job - Farmer

LV - 14

ATK - 2.130

HP - 1.420

Skills - none

Hp Armor - 0

ATK Weapon - 0

Equip Intelligence - 0

Equip Wisdom - 0

Physical Attributes:

Strength - 110

Quickness - 100

Body - 100

Mental Attributes:

Intelligence - 200

Wisdom - 200

Special Attributes:

Willpower - 200

Mana - 200

XP - 0

Riattus smiled.

- “Perfect. I was not sure if it was going to work for you or not. Now, your cover story. You need one because you have a higher level than a Knight and more strength, too. If anyone asks, you came from the far East of the Kingdom of Terbik. It’s a very small country where farming and fishing are the main businesses. They trade the exceeding products with the nearby countries, but they always had a problem with hordes of Goblins breeding like cockroaches. Well, it used to be, in my time, but I was told that Terbik was always like that, since the beginning of times. I suppose it still is. And you, being a Farmer from a region where you had a lot of opportunities to die and to level up thanks to the constant fighting against Goblins, no one will think your level and strength are strange. It will also be a good way for you to find a Party of Adventurers that want to use your strength as a Carrier. And if you can also cook, you won’t have any problems with finding a job. If someone asks about your rings, say that they were a present from your wife and your daughter, that were killed by Goblins.”

Ronald frowned, he had to remember that part so that no one thought he was suspicious. Riattus made a small smile and continued:

- “I forgot to warn you one thing before you sent the Spider and the Rat. If they were killed, you would lose some of our HP. You would also feel pain all over your body. Not enough to make it unbearable, but it could be a distraction during a fight, like the headaches.”

- “How much it’s “some”?”

Riattus shrugged his shoulders.

- “The same ATK amount that the attacker had minus your Spider and Rat’s defence. Things almost got dangerous, but I was counting on the surprise attack. Orcs are very strong, one of them could easily kill both of your Magical Beings, but the Orcs were killed instantly, or it was your Spells. Either way, it worked.”

Ronald was angry.

- “You could have told me that before we went there! What if the Rat and the Spider got killed?”

- “That’s why I told you that you need more Mana and to be ready with more Cards at hand! But you are right. I suppose I was too angry, and I didn’t remember to tell you about that. Sorry…”

Ronald got up, and he caressed Woof’s head.

- “What do you say, boy? Shall we believe this old ghost, or we leave him here and try our luck without him?”

Woof waved his tail while leaning his head to get a rub behind the ear. Ronald smiled.

- “Yeah, you are right, let’s give him the benefit of the doubt, but if he pulls another stunt like that, we burn his Card Box, ok?”

Ronald went around the ruined wall where they were hiding, and he looked at Riattus when Woof joined him.

- “Are you coming or what?”