Adrianne inhaled the fresh scent of natural forest and felt the rough bark prickle her hands. The mental fog around her actions lifted as she remarked optimistically.

“I feel energized already. Don’t you agree, idiot?”

Behind her, Novus seemed spirited. As he sighed, it almost seemed like his spirit would leave his body.

How was I supposed to know that inventories could run out of space? I only wanted her to charm the merchant and lower their prices… it’s a perfectly useable technique! I did it to the female merchant afterwards.

“Quit calling me an idiot! I’m your teacher!”

Adrianne felt refreshed both from seeing Novus’ aggrieved face and resting on their way to and from the town’s markets. Adrianne still remembered the look of coins in Novus’ eyes as he sold their fox hides.

“Of course, baka sensei.”

Despite not knowing the last two words, Novus growled a response.

“I am not—”

Suddenly, Novus’ hand gripped Adrianne’s arm and yanked her back as he crouched down. Adrianne made to scold him but stopped when the severe look in his eyes shot a silent message.

With a sudden glow endowing her eyes, Adrianne looked towards where Novus’s attention shifted.

Ahead of the duo, a pack of three creatures were gathered around the muddy ground of a vibrant green herb in a sparse forest clearing. In stark contrast to their otherwise bland brown fur, the creatures held a red racing stripe down their back and abnormally long claws.

Novus’ hushed tone revealed the name of the wild creatures.

“Blood Racoons.”

The Blood Raccoons all rested except for one sniffing around the muddy ground.

Adrianne memorized the name and began to observe the area for any advantages. When Adrianne found one, she made to alert Novus. Any natural advantage could mean the difference between an easy fight and a difficult one for them both.

“If we—"

Adrianne didn’t get a chance to explain anything as Novus unsheathed his sword and moved towards the Blood Raccoons from the front. Adrianne’s hushed words rebounded off Novus as she internally rebuked his ‘say as I do, but not as I do’ teaching style.

“Novus! Hey! What are you—”

Adrianne was silenced as a faint crimson aura lined Novus’ figure, sending shivers down her spine. Then, slowly, the crimson aura gathered into Novus’ hand as it spun into a halo-like circle, and he launched it at the Blood Raccoons.

Slice!

Squeak!

The guarding Blood Raccoon had the aura halo slice through its torso and was killed, but not before alerting the other blood raccoons through a dying cry. With fright and immediately sensing danger, the two Blood Raccoons were already within range of Novus’ sword.

Slice!

The aura halo returned to Novus as it melted and formed a layer over his sword. Then, with a swing, it raced towards the oncoming teeth.

Squeak!!

One of the remaining Blood Raccoons dodged at the last minute, and Novus’ new sword only drew a bit of blood from its injured arm. Mysteriously, The blood caught onto the rusted sword, and an odd phenomenon occurred. Like a thirsty vampire, the sword drank the blood, and the small rusted spots peeled off to reveal the shining steel underneath.

Adrianne looked in amazement as the remaining Blood Raccoons charged at Novus. But, even from behind, Novus repositioned his body and avoided the blows. It was as if Novus had prearranged a scripted battle for the Blood Raccoons as they collided their claws and chased after Novus’ feet. Adrianne almost voiced unfair thoughts when she saw Novus position his sword before a leaping Blood Raccoon. Unable to stop its leaping momentum, the Blood Raccoon impaled itself on Novus’ sword, and the party gained another bout of experience.

Adrianne mumbled her questions to herself.

“Is fighting that easy? It’s like a slaughter with faster movements.”

Meanwhile, Novus plunged his sword into the last charging Blood Raccoon, and his sword absorbed the remaining blood before it escaped into twinkling lights. Then, feeling refreshed, Novus stretched his muscles and felt like they had gained a tiny bit more power.

Is this the effect of Player’s Body? I temper myself with a bit of the power that I expend?

Novus thought for a bit longer before gathering and concealing his Crimson Aura again. The ability's physical manifestation aspect had proved quite useful. Then, he pulled up the description of his latest bargain.

Cursed Villager’s Sword

This sword was initially the prized item of a villager in a town far away. However, after being betrayed by their greedy, thieving friend, the villager cursed this sword with their dying breath. Now, the evil spiritual remnants residing within will not allow anyone to wield it unless they contain a hateful, unlucky nature.

Rank: Iron (Low Tier)

Passive Effect 1: Critical Strikes have a chance to cause the enemy to suffer from the Bleed condition.

Passive Effect 2: Durability will be restored upon infliction of the Bleed status effect.

Durability: 76%

Requirements: Acknowledgment by the spirit remnants in the sword.

Defeating the Blood Raccoons was much easier with the sword bleeding them out. With my aura frightening the sword’s spirit remnants, I won’t have to worry about losing control either.

Novus was familiar with spiritual swords and how to convince the spirits residing in them of his power. One was the bonding of mutual traits. Currently, Novus was unlucky. After all, he had been forced into another world with little to no power and in a different form. However, he wasn’t hateful by nature. Thus it required his other method: brute force. Coincidentally, Novus’ Crimson Aura was the perfect fear-inducing tool to cower the spiritual remnants in the sword.

Novus’ hands moved, and the sword found its way into its sheath.

I noticed it before, but the creatures here seem starved of mana. Is it just the environment? Perhaps, that's why there haven't been any challenging creatures.

While Novus thought, he was already harvesting the little herb the three Blood Raccoons had gathered around. Meanwhile, a curious Adrianne looked over Novus’ shoulder.

“What’s that plant?”

Novus pointed in a few directions as he briefly explained.

“A healing reagent. Specifically, a Dewdrop Herb. There are a bunch of unharvested plants in this forest. So if you want to be useful, grab the Vitalysis Root by that tree or the Stardroop Vine hanging over there.”

Adrianne looked over to the spots Novus had pointed out, but she required her Spirit Eyes to notice the subtle fluctuations of mana being pulled into the plants.

“How do you—”

“The plains were bare, probably picked over more, but at least the forest has some valuable herbs.”

Adrianne was about to try and ask the same question but gave up when she saw coins in Novus’ eyes. She thought it better not to mention anything about Novus’ hoarding conditions.

…

After that, trekking through the forest became unimaginably easier for both Adrianne and Novus. Adrianne continued to learn at a blistering rate, while Novus felt the long-forgotten strength returning and tempering his body after each fight.

Adrianne began learning to carve as Novus explained the various aspects to her. Though Adrianne much rather preferred the automatic system carving that many players chose. But, Novus insisted on Adrianne learning the ‘proper’ manual carving way.

…

“How much longer? How big is this forest?”

“Really? You're concerned with how much longer? It’s only been an hour.”

Novus bickered with Adrianne as they waded through a thick patch of shrubberies.

“Well, I want to know how much longer I have to clear away this brush! Is it that hard to tell me?”

Novus caught himself before he rolled his eyes at Adrianne.

This one has really been sheltered, huh.

“If I knew, then I would tell you. Unfortunately, the shopkeeper’s directions weren’t very exact.”

“He even gave you directions?”

“Yeah, he was a nice guy. Even drew out a rough map, but the thing is illegible.”

“Here, pass it to me. I can read it.”

If so, please, but the thing doesn’t even say any cardinal directions.

With some twinkling light actions, a map appeared in Novus’ hand that he passed over to Adrianne. Or at least he tried. Suddenly, mid-way through handing the map to Adrianne, a flying creature sprung from the trees and snatched the map out of Novus’ hand. The speeding creature continued into the tree canopy and looked back at the pair.

“What is that thing!?”

Adrianne seemed off-put by the creature that looked like a monkey but with a lion’s mane and owl’s silent face.

“A Whooke! Quick, Adrianne—”

Before Novus could finish, a few more hands sprung from the bushes and swiped at the pair’s feet. However, the hands didn’t seek to inflict damage. Instead, the hands phased through Adrianne and Novus’ bodies as they pulled out glittering lights that soon formed into items.

A Whooke near Novus stole his Cursed Villager’s Sword, but, with a downwards palm from Novus, the Whooke remained pinned to the ground as it scrambled to get away.

Unfortunately, another swooping figure landed on Novus’ back as its hand phased through him and retrieved a prized flower.

Novus’ Divine Sense alerted him, and a decisive light flashed in Novus’ eyes as his Crimson Aura stretched out like a rope to grab the fleeing Whooke on his back.

Crunch!

Novus snapped the pinned Whooke's neck, retrieved his sword, and cut towards the Whooke still trapped by his Crimson Aura.

“GET BACK HERE!”

Adrianne’s shout shook the nearby Whookes, and they fled away in the tree canopies. Before they left, Novus used his Divine Sense to see the general direction the troop headed in and slashed the head off the Whooke with his prized flower.

Adrianne made to run after them, but Novus’ hand stopped her shoulder from moving. She turned around in a huff as Novus explained.

“You’ll never catch up with them in a straight run.”

Thankfully, they were low in numbers or else those dirty little robbers might have taken everything we own.

In fact, Novus despised Whookes. They were a natural thieving enemy to any hoarding creature. But that’s why Novus also knew their patterns. And how the two of them would get back their items. A nasty smirk graced Novus’ face just as Adrianne was about to protest.

“It’s time to work on concealing your presence.”