After listening to the words of the old man, Feran started to think about his words and consider his new stats as a success for the day, even though he was still reluctant as he felt like he could go on and do more.

- “… alright! I get it, but still… Veno kicked my ass in those 55 fights, besides, you said it yourself, this training method only works until level 5…”.

- “hmm… it might be true, but considering your high stats compared to your level, once you reach level 5 it shouldn’t be a problem to just do a mission for level 20 adventurers and over. By the way, thanks to the other bonus of your objects, you also get 3 extra stat points each time you level up… a normal person only grows a total of 5 stats points per level, yet you get 3 extra stat points, so while an average person only levels up 2 times and gets a total of 10 stat points, in 2 levels you get a total of 16, that’s practically the same that leveling up 3 times instead of 2… do you get it?” asked the man with a serious expression and furrowed eyebrows. Feran also got serious and thought a little before looking at the man again.

- “That means that if an average person and I level up 4 times each, instead of getting a total of 20 stat points, I get 32, which would be compared to leveling up 6 times… and in case an average person and I level up 5 times, I would get a total of 40 instead of 25, which would be like leveling up 8 times… right?” the boy asked with a little uncertainty, but hiding his excitement.

- “exactly! Now you get just how ridiculously strong you truly are, I mean, just by being a “World Hero” your stats are already high enough, but with the extra bonus of stats of those objects, you will always be even more powerful than others, some even with your same levels or higher… hmm… who knows? Maybe by the time you reach level 40 or 50 you will be already able to defeat enemies 20 levels over you” when the man said the last words, he couldn’t help but send Feran a challenging look filled with fire and fighting spirit, obviously the idea of someone able to fight enemies several levels higher was quite interesting for the old man. Feran chuckled at the man’s antics.

- “Alright, alright… I get it… now, let’s see my equipment” thought the boy out loud.

Equipment.

Alpha Shield: +52 V. / +26 D. / +26 MD.

Exp: 100%

Growth: 2 extra stat points.

Shieldman Wrist Gauntlets: +25 St. / +15 Sp.

Defender Ring (Sealed): +20 D.

Growth: 1 extra stat point.

- “hmm… do you notice how the stats that your Alpha shield gave you slightly increased?” indicated the man, the boy looked closer to the stats of the equipment and his eyes opened in surprise.

- “it’s true, it’s not much, but is something” said the guy with a half-smile.

- “Just wait a few dozens levels, and those stats will increase even more… hmm… if I recall correctly, by the moment you reach level 100, the Alpha shield should give you a total of +500 in stats”.

- “really? That much! it’s incredible!” the boy was really surprised and excited by those words.

- “tch… that’s nothing kid, legendary equipment and over can give you a total of stats that exceeds the thousand” the man said that with a wide grin while watching how the eyes of the boy started to shine just by imagining such high stats given by one single object.

- “alright kid! Now let’s see the progress of your skills…” Feran eagerly nodded before checking his skills.

Skills list.

Passives.

Actives.

- passive skill “Revitalization”.

- level 2: activates after resting for at least 10 seconds. The user recovers +15 Vitality points every 7 seconds. There’s no cost of ME.

- active skill “Cover”.

- level 1: lets the user choose and “objective” at a distance of 7 meters max, then the user gets transported there immediately. Each use costs 2 ME.

- active skill “Interception”.

- level 0: lets the user “stop” an “action” of the enemy at a distance of 1 meter max, only close combat basic attacks. Each use costs 2 ME.

- "Wow, look at that, I managed to raise my passive to level 2! the best thing about that is that since I'm only a level 2 with a level 2 ability, I guess I'm relatively strong" he said quite cheerfully seeing the level of his ability.

- "it's true, your current health is only “54” but you also receive a bonus of “+52” vitality thanks to your shield, you are already over the 100s in health, and your restoration is “+15” health points every 7 seconds, that means if you're weak, it will take you exactly 59 seconds, counting with the initial waiting time of course… however, in a fight that's a long time, if the enemy is strong, in a matter of 5 seconds it will kill you" the old man stated with obvious worry.

- "I understand" Feran replied, already thinking that he needed to improve even more.

- "on the other hand, using “cover” is not so easy on someone at a level far higher than yours, let alone talking about someone with a higher “stage”, so you should also improve it soon, besides that, I don't know if you noticed but you learned for yourself a skill called “interception” that allows you to block and even completely deny an enemy action" the man indicated earnestly.

- "Now that you mention it… it’s true! it's an active skill" the boy just looked at his new skill in wonder and excitement as he didn’t realize about the skill before while he was too focus on the fight.

- "You should know, I have no idea how you got that skill, there are some skills that can be learned even without the required level, but only if a master teaches them to you, and I’ve never taught this one to you, especially because it's level 25 Shieldman skill" Feran remained quite Calm while the old man explained.

- "Well, the description looks like a martial arts movement taught to me by my grandfather, although I learned it when I was very young, so I hardly ever use it, even in my world" the young man stated without giving it too much relevance, but for the old man this was important, he knows nothing about the world Feran comes from, but it seems that you can also learn high-level techniques if a master teaches them, that means there shouldn't be many differences between how to develop a person's “skills”.

- "Well, I think I'll go exercise and then go to sleep..." Feran said in a tired tone while getting up from the couch.

- "what do you want to exercise for? if you do some kind of exercise to strengthen yourself, you should perform a minimum of 100 times the same action to increase your statistic by just 1 point, and although it is safer than leveling up by hunting, it is also quite annoying and exhausting, especially for low-level people, as when leveling up they increase their stats much more, plus leveling up increases most of their stats and not one by one as regular exercise does" said the old man quite intrigued by Feran motives.

- "No problem, in my world I used to train every afternoon and nights before bed, it was an activity I was constantly doing with my grandfather" the boy just said with a smile which was reciprocated by the old man.

- "I understand, in that case, be careful while you exercise, and don't take too long, in this place we get up very early, so if you're too tired it will be worse for you" he said with a smile to annoy Feran.

- "Okay, oh, I almost forgot, I still haven’t asked you your name. Since I can't tell you old man forever, it would be best if you would tell it to me, isn’t?" said Feran with a defiant smile though it was only to annoy the old man.

- "Hahaha, my name is Samuel, the “Bastion” and “Berserker” Samuel, also known as the beaming old man" the man said with a bright smile as he pointed his thumb at his chest with pride, on his side, Feran only looked at him for a few seconds and then left the library laughing.

- "eh, what an interesting lad, I would have loved to meet the person who raised such a monster" Samuel said to himself as he tried to imagine what Feran's grandfather would look like.

Meanwhile, in the castle of the Liberteas king.

2 carriages had just arrived. Ryu, Tora, and Hayato came out from one of them, and Uriel came out from the other one.

- "The king will be here in a moment" said one soldier.

- "It's not necessary, we'll go in ourselves" Ryu stated pretty confidently.

- "I agree with Ryu" Uriel then talked. Ryu and his friends hadn’t noticed Uriel's presence until she spoke, so they were quite surprised by her sudden appearance. Ryu was a little nervous, so he only could start walking followed by his friends and Uriel closely behind.

- "Guys! it’s a relief to see that you’re okay, I was worried that something had happened to you and the others" she said with a smile.

- "worried? I bet you didn't even notice that we were the ones who were transported here?" said Ryu a little nervously, trying to sound intimidating but failing.

- "… actually, I remember everyone who was brought here" the girl stated confidently with a serious tone earning a look from the others.

- "I believe her, after all, she is intelligent and cares about others, if there is anyone who would notice those who got here, surely it would be her" Hayato indicated with a slight smile, looking at his friends.

After walking only a few seconds inside the castle, in the corridor, they meet the rest of their companions, the king and the generals of the king.

- "Trish! Seiras! Julie!" Uriel immediately ran to hug her friends in relief and happiness.

Alexander was glad to see her, the king and the generals were shocked by the shape of Uriel, not only by her hair but all that was her, just like Alexander, she gave a much superior kind of presence.

- "I'm glad nothing happened to you, Uriel" Trish said with tears in her eyes, as she was hugging her friend.

- "I can't believe it's really you, I'm so happy you're alive" little Julie and Seiras just nodded. Uriel, after giving a small greeting to all, and a bow to the king and his generals began to observe her surroundings.

-"Hmm... Excuse me, but where is Feran?" her classmates were surprised by her question, all except for Ryu who already suspected that Feran might have been one of the world's heroes.

- "What do you mean by Feran? why are you asking for him?" asked Seiras somewhat confused.

- "Well, I remember perfectly the 10 people who were glowing when that giant door appeared, and one of them was Feran, who is the only one who is not here" the young woman calmly said without knowing why the sudden faces of surprise and pity.

- "So it was him after all" said Trish with his head down.

- "What's the matter? why does everyone act so weird?" Uriel asks with obvious worry at the sudden reaction of everyone. Seiras and Julie only looked at each other, they already knew the situation so they felt bad, Trish only looking at the ground, the quieter were Alexander and Markus.

- "… Miss Heroine, there's something I must confess to you..." the king approached the girl, feeling anxious about her reaction, however before he could speak, Alexander approached Uriel and looked her straight in the eye.

- "Feran is dead" he spoke quite calmly as if it was nothing, the newcomers were all shocked by the news.

- "What do you mean? What happened?" she said at first with surprise, but then with a face that denoted some anger and seriousness.

- "I'm afraid we were all transported to different places, and Feran was transported very close to the boundaries of the country, in a place where it’s full of monsters” Trish said looking into her friend's eyes.

- "… damn it, unlucky bastard..." Ryu thought for himself as he clenched his teeth.

After a few seconds when Uriel's face looked somewhat lost, she reacted and approached the king.

- "Bring him back to life… bring him back…" she said with a serious, determined look, seeing the young woman's eyes it was obvious to the king that she would not be easy to handle.

- "I apologize a lot for the death of your companion, but I'm afraid I can't bring him back to life, the magic of resurrection can only be performed by specialists in the art of magic or for ancient objects" the king said somewhat embarrassed. The king's son decided to get next to his father and continue explaining the situation.

- "not only that, but it also has certain requirements, even if we can find someone capable of using that magic, or an object to bring him back, we would still need his body or the remains of these. In addition, there’s also something we know as the rule of 3, which dictates that when a person “dies”, you have 3 minutes to save someone or their death becomes complete, after that, in case a death was completed, you have 3 days after the death to revive them otherwise the person's soul completely leaves this world" the oldest prince states in all seriousness.

- "Do I look like I care about those things? we just got there, so we should be able to find his body" the girl talked with a quite hard yet low voice.

- "I think you don't understand, Miss, in this world there are many dangerous creatures that would not only easily kill humans, but also eat them, the longer it goes by, a resurrection becomes increasingly difficult, in the worst of the cases, people, many people, would have to be sacrificed just to bring one back" the prince spoke again.

- "You brought us here! so I would expect you to take responsibility for it, or do you want me to just accept his death?" she said looking into the eyes of the prince, the king, and his generals, even Uriel's companions were surprised by her attitude. Alexander for his part made his way to Uriel and put his hand over her shoulder.

- "Uriel, think logically, even if it’s true that they should take responsibility for bringing us here, the place where we are transported is completely random, they didn’t know that one of us would appear in such a dangerous place" he spoke calmly trying to get her to see reason.

- "yes, but..." the girl tried to debate with Alexander but was interrupted by him.

-"Also, at this point you should be grateful that most of us survived, including your best friend, we can take Feran's death as a learning experience, we must become strong if we want to survive in this place" Alexander's words in some way suppressed Uriel's anger, she wasn’t feeling good yet, but she knew he was right about most of them surviving and needing to be stronger to survive in this mysterious land.

Once Uriel calmed down, Alexander backed up a little, and walked in the direction of the king, followed by Markus, took a few steps and then stopped dry.

- "On the other hand, we all have families to go back to, we all have a life and a future that awaits us, but Feran was alone in our world, and he didn’t have a future or something, someone, waiting for him, so we could say that out of all of us, he was definitely the one who had to die, that would calm his suffering to remain alive" as he was turning his back on his companions no one except Markus could see his face with a slight smile on him and a victorious look.

His voice seemed calm, even if you didn't look him in the face you might think he was even a little sad, yet only 3 people noticed the truth.

In a quick movement that hardly anyone could notice, Ryu ran at high speed and prepared to attack Alexander from behind, using his “skill”, however, before his skill was even activated, Alexander moved in front of him and with a single punch, he threw Ryu across the hallway.

- “Ryu? What are you doing?" Uriel asked while getting closer to the boy with a worried expression.

Alexander, on his side, had an annoyed expression on his face as he looked at Ryu who now was standing up.

- “What do you think you're doing? did you forget your place, Ryu?" Alexander's gaze was fulminating.

Ryu finally stood up and send Alexander a glare, he was trying to harden his expression but by flinching once he gave a step forward it was that the others noticed he was in pain, this realization made his friends got to him in an instant.

- “Don't fuck with me!… "that will calm his suffering to remain alive"… you damn well know that it’s not that easy… tch, you must be the happiest about that fool dying. I'm sure of that, I know, if he was here, you wouldn't be brave enough to say half the things you've said" Ryu said a little annoyed.

- “And you're supposed to tell me that I'm happy with the death of our companion? the boy that bullied him and beat him practically every day. Just because this is a different world doesn’t mean you can become a hero, Ryu" the blond replied with a murderous aura, his eyes focused on Ryu, and then a quick look to his friends, it was a dare for Ryu and his friends, a dare to keep saying those things.

- “That's true! how can you even accuse Alexander that he is happy with the death of one of our companions? especially if we consider your past with Feran, I think the only happy about his death would be you and your friends!" said Markus quite annoyed, still mad that Ryu could even dare to attack Alexander.

- “Guys! It’s enough! This is not the time to fight with each other" said Seiras somewhat nervous, things weren’t exactly good so they didn’t need more problems at the moment.

- “… Maybe you're right, out of all of us here, I'm definitely the one who always bothered Feran, but I'll tell you something, Alexander… you can be sure that the bastard is alive, there's no way that that stray dog died so easily, especially considering how stubborn he is, with his stupid attachment to life and his inability to stay down or lower his head to others…" Ryu said with a smile, and a look that made Alexander understand how that last comment was a reminder to Alexander that Feran never looks to him the way the others did, the reason why Alexander has never liked Feran and would ask Ryu and his group to beat him up every now and then.

Ryu's words surprised everyone in a certain way… for Uriel, Ryu’s words made her think that despite how much Ryu and his friends would treat Feran badly, they might have some kind of respect for the boy, and by looking at their faces, it even seemed like they were worried about it, such a weird and unexpected thing to see and understand.

- “… I recommend you to accept reality once and for all, since you just got here you don't know this but in this castle there is a special fountain, which by using the right spell, allows you to detect the humans who were transported here, and a few hours ago Feran's light was extinguished, that means he is dead, accept it now and it will be easier for you…" with those final words, Alexander retired to his room, closely followed by Markus.

- “Tch… that dick…” Ryu couldn’t help to murmur in anger while clenching his teeth.

Seiras and Julie were highly concerned after watching that scene, so they decided to leave back to their rooms, Trish, on her side, only observed the back of her friend Uriel and the 3 friends that were quite serious looking at the back of Alexander as he was retiring.

- “Miss Trish, would you be kind enough to tell your friends where their rooms are?" asked the still stunned king, Trish nodded and the king left followed by his generals.

- “No matter the world, that arrogant guy doesn't change" Hayato said, looking at his hurt friend.

- “Fight" Tora indicated with few words as usual.

- “Not yet Tora, first we'll get stronger, then we'll kick his ass" Ryu stated seriously.

- “Thank you very much" Uriel said, surprising the young boys who didn't realize she was behind them.

- “what are you Thanking us for?" Ryu asked feeling rather nervous and confused at the same time.

- “… for believing so much in Feran, somehow your words encouraged me, it's obvious that you care about him more than you make us believe" she said with a smile, taking Ryu's hands on her own, making him feel more nervous and embarrassed than he was already.

- “Ha! As if that were possible, I only said what I said to annoy Alexander, besides, after so long fighting with that “dog”, I've already learned a little bit about him, and I know he wouldn't die so easily, he's a strange guy who clings to life no matter what happens, isn't he, guys…" the boys asked his friends while getting his hands away from the girls grasp due to his embarrassment. As the boy looked at his friends, he noticed how they were about to explode in laughter.

- “Hahaha! that's right, in the time we have “known” him, we've never seen him give up, I think we can easily not like each other, and still have some respect or admiration for each other" Hayato words somehow made Uriel smile.

- “Hey, speak for yourself, I don't admire that guy" Ryu said somewhat annoyed.

- “He's tough… he always gets up" Tora also gave his opinion about Feran.

- “Hahaha, thank you, guys! you're nicer than I thought" Uriel really looked dazzling as she laughed, it wasn't good for Ryu.

- “Tch, of course not! we're going to sleep, we're tired…" he said as he prepared to walk quickly out of the place where he was, followed by his always trustworthy friends.

Trish, on her side, approached Uriel from behind and stopped beside her.

- “I'm sorry Uriel, I know you liked Feran. Although they didn't talk much, they have already explained us a few things about what’s going on, and as far as we know, even if they start now, it would take about a year to prepare another teleportation “spell” to take us back home…" said the teenage girl somewhat embarrassed and with tears in her eyes. Uriel just looked at her friend with a smile before hugging her, trying to comfort her.

- “Don't worry, I'll make sure we're all okay. We can hold on for a year. Also… I had planned to stay and fight… I think there's something wrong here, and I'm not going to leave innocent people to die" she said with a smile and eyes full of courage, as she looked at her friend and wiped her tears with one hand.

- “Are… are you sure? This place seems to be really dangerous” Trish now asked with fear in her expression at the idea of her best friend fighting in a war.

- “I’m sure! Besides, I believe in what Ryu said, in the time I’ve known Feran, I have never seen him surrender, someone like him would not die so easily, it would be easier for Alexander's ego to vanish, hahaha…" as she said those last words both girls began to laugh loudly before looking at each other, nodding their heads and going to their rooms.