Leaves rustled and dry twigs crunched as Gray walked. Having decided on his future course of action, Eliza had taken him to the forest behind Rorin village for training.

He cast a glance over at his companion. Unlike him, Eliza was walking through the forest without a sound, somehow gracefully stepping along even dried leaves without so much as a crackle.

"...Just how are you doing that?"

Eliza smiled and said, "With enough practice, maybe even you will be able to reach this level, Gray."

"You really think so?"

Eliza nodded. "Of course. You need only be embroiled in countless battles for your life while in pitch darkness. I am sure that even a novice like you will pick it up in no time at all."

"...More like I’ll die first."

Eliza shrugged. "Either or. Though dying wouldn't be too much of a setback so long as a skilled priest is there. Just try to avoid having your head disfigured or your body dismembered in the process of dying."

"...You seem more experienced with that then I'd like to think."

Eliza's eyes dimmed.

Gray felt a shiver run up his spine.

"In any case,” Eliza said, ”Are you sure that you really want to get powerful quickly, Gray?"

He nodded, in spite of the lingering dread in the back of his mind. "Yes. I have to get stronger. The longer I'm away from home..."

He trailed off, not knowing what to say.

"...In any case, I NEED to master space magic. Even if I have to die trying, I'll do it."

Eliza nodded. "Bold words. Or is it the reckless naivety speaking...? Well... I suppose I'll find out soon enough."

Eliza's voice took on a strange intonation at the end of her speech.

Concerned, Gray said, "What do you mean, Eliza?"

She smiled and patted Gray's shoulder. "Experience is the best teacher. I wish you luck."

And with just those words, she vanished.

"...Eliza?"

It was silent. No answer.

Gray's eyes flitted around the surroundings. He had been relaxed and inattentive with Eliza there. After all, why be concerned when Eliza was strong enough to tear apart a whole building? But that inattention came back now to bite him.

Their walk had led into the depths of the forest. It was deep enough to where the sun barely penetrated the dense foliage and offered little light.

Gray twitched and he drew his sword. The feel of the weapon was awkward in his right hand and not much better in his left. Still, it was light, and it seemed that he wouldn't be having any problems wielding it for an extended period of time.

...Of course, while his arm might be up for it, he doubted that his cardio was up to par. A few slashes might be all he had.

Gray's blue eyes scanned the area, flitting here and there.

Shadows loomed in every direction. Rustling foliage could hide countless enemies.

"Eliza? Don't you think this is a bit much? I mean, I don't even know how to use a sword!"

Gray exclaimed, but while he wanted to vent his frustration, he didn't dare raise his voice above speaking level.

He was alone, in the dark forest, with only a blade and some leather armor.

It was silent, but now that he listened, he could hear more than he had before. And what he heard only caused his nerves to fray.

Slight rustling in the distance, sound that could be from wind or monsters hiding in the brush.

Soft pattering that could be either forest animals or... something else.

"...Damn it. Whatever. Focus Gray. Focus."

He forced himself to calm down. Eliza wasn't here, and because of it, he had to keep himself calm.

Normally in a situation like this, if it had taken place in a game or a story, he wouldn't need to worry. Eliza would probably be somewhere close by. Near, but out of sight, ready to swoop in when things got out of hand.

But from Eliza’s casual remarks about dying being not such a big deal, at least dying from injuries, Gray was inclined to believe that he wouldn't be so lucky to be saved by her. If anything, he'd be meeting the reaper before his ‘companion’ showed her face again.

SNAP.

A loud and sudden sound.

Gray jumped and turned his head in that direction. However, it was too dark to see anything.

He tightened the grip on his sword, the knuckles in his right hand turning white from tension.

A slight breeze.

Before Gray had any time to react, he was sent sprawling on the ground.

"B-wah."

Somersaults, spontaneous cartwheels... no. It was more accurate to say Gray was sent rolling around like a ragdoll by a single attack.

By fortune or fate, he had managed to keep a hold on his sword. However, being sent sprawling disoriented him.

Green blurs, dark emerald interspersed with brown and black. His vision was a mess. However, his survival instincts were somewhat intact.

After a while, he realized he was lying on the ground. Gray quickly rolled over and scrambled to his feet.

Another breeze flew through the air.

A heavy impact sounded not far from where Gray was. He didn't know what it meant, but he quickly swung his sword at the source.

SCREECH.

He met resistance, one causing a high-pitched screeching noise.

Gray gritted his teeth and stepped back, holding the sword out in front of him in a pose he vaguely recalled being used by fencers.

His body throbbed in more places than he could count. To be honest, it hurt so much that Gray would have loved to just do nothing more than sit down and let his head shutdown like his headache was threatening to do to him.

But he couldn't. While the words of Eliza saying he wouldn’t die so easily in this world were reassuring and considering she wasn't one to joke around, Gray could be fairly sure he would be fine even if he was mortally wounded. The injuries would be healed and it would be like a bad nightmare.

But the memory of that pain would be very, very real, along with the sensation of life slowly leaving his body. Something like that...

Sheer dread forced Gray's nerves and mind to remain focused and alert.

A blur. The thing that had impacted the ground moved.

Since it was in his vision this time, Gray managed to react.

Stepping to the side Gray wildly swung his blade at the blur. A savage flurry of diagonal slashes cut through the air.

SCREECH, SCREECH, CLANG.

In return, a trio of sharp noises resounded.

But that was it. Immediately after, there was a loud explosion as whatever that thing was impacted against the trees, diverted by Gray's blows.

It seemed to have been dazed, as the thing stopped moving after the debris settled down.

Gray knew better than to think he had won. Holding his sword out in front of him, Gray stepped towards the fallen trees to take a look.

Staring at the thing trapped beneath a fallen tree, he realized what was attacking him.

A slime? The thing attacking him looked exactly like the cute blob Gray had encountered on the trek across the grasslands.

Logically, it should have been relatively weak. After all, a hit from Gray's bag had splattered the slime from last time. But as luck would have it, the slime he encountered this time was anything but weak.

He thought it was odd how he heard screeching noises whenever he hit his attacker. Looking at it now, he realized why.

Instead of a gooey, viscous body, the slime was multifaceted and reflective. Chiseled, it looked like an emerald gemstone. In short, a metal slime. That was what he was fighting. While not quite like the one usually popularized in RPGs since this one was a gemstone instead of pure metal, he had no doubt it was just as strong and just as annoying to defeat.

Before he could curse his luck, the slime shimmered, shining a bright green.

Instincts Gray didn't know he had fired and he jumped behind a tree. Immediately after, a blast of wind shot towards where he had been standing. But instead of a heavy impact, the sound of trees exploding, there was a quiet snick and then the sound of countless trees being felled. Unlike before, the blast of wind contained invisible blades, easily tearing through the forest.

The slime shined again.

At that point, Gray realized fighting was useless and did the sensible thing: run away.

Waiting for the moment just before the slime finished its attack, Gray dodged and ran off into the forest. Whether it was deeper or closer to the exit, Gray didn't know. All he knew was that he was extremely out of his depths.

Blurs of brown and dark green passed by him as he ran. Somehow or another, he was moving faster than he had ever before in his life. Though, that could just be the adrenaline in his body forcing him beyond his limits. Actually, it was probably just the adrenaline in his body, now that he thought about it. And because of that, Gray had no doubt that, any minute now, his body would suddenly give out-

"Dammit!"

Gray tripped on a root, sending him sprawling once more to the ground. Realizing that the metal slime would be on his heels, his body instinctively rolled into a somersault, allowing him to keep his forward momentum.

-Unfortunately, he forgot that he was holding a sword.

"FFFFF-"

A slash of burning pain on his left arm that quickly turned numb. Gray didn't need to bother looking to know that he had cut himself. And bad, if the lack of feeling was any indication. While the leather armor he wore was good for impact and should have stood up against monsters, it seemed Eliza didn't think he would be dumb enough to try and cut himself with his own sword.

Blood splattered behind him as Gray continued to run.

A mad dash. He didn't know where he was going, or where Eliza was. Reason would have it that she would be somewhere nearby to stop any threats to him, but it seemed she had taken on the 'do or die' style of teaching from hell.

The sounds of trees falling down behind him as well the sound of air being cut apart told Gray the slime hadn't given up on its pursuit.

"Dammit! Metal slimes are supposed to be afraid, not chase after the players!"

He let out his heart's frustration at the world's cruelty.

Awooo!

Of course, the world wouldn't take being scolded to kindly.

Howls echoed not far in front of Gray. Soon, those howls were followed by the sound of rustling branches and underbrush.

“For the love of-"

Gray didn't even have the time to curse his luck. The creatures in front of him were rapidly approaching, and the slime behind him wasn’t far off either.

He looked left and right, searching for a possible way out.

Unfortunately, all he saw were trees and more trees.

A heavy crash from behind him.

Turning around, Gray saw that the metal slime had arrived. Itss body was already shining green, preparing another blast of wind.

Snarls erupted from behind him. Craning his head back, Gray saw a half dozen wolves emerge from the darkness. The same types of wolves that could apparently kill him with a single sneeze from what Eliza had said.

Moving forward, he would have to face an enemy that could cast magic and was practically immune to his weapon.

At his back, he was outnumbered and faced a group of monsters that were far beyond his capabilities.

A snap decision. He didn't have time to think. Trusting his instincts, with no other options, Gray chose to face the enemies he could at least wound. He quickly spun around and lunged at a wolf, stabbing out with his sword.

Of course, the wolf was far more experienced than him and easily avoided the blow. In return, the wolf lunged at him.

Heart pounding and faced with a mouth filled with razor teeth, Gray frantically dove to the side. But he was too slow. While he reacted in time, the wolf was too fast for him.

Searing pain from his left side caused his mind to blank and his vision to white out for a moment. In that state, he heard more than saw the torrent of blood splashing on the ground from his side.

But he didn't have time to think about that. Rationale was out the window, and all he had left was his primal instincts.

Do or die.

Live or don't.

A pair of wolves leapt towards Gray, top and bottom. It was an attack that left no room for retreat or escape.

Time seemed to slow down.

He was going to die. Both the wolves were too fast. He couldn't dodge in time. As a result, the only outcome for him was death.

...But would he let that be it?

To die without achieving anything. To disappear in a foreign land, without being able to see his family, his friends... to fade away without having a chance to fulfill any of his commitments.

"No. I WON'T DIE HERE!"

A primal instinct denied his impending doom.

Gray's body hurt everywhere. His left side and arm were mangled without a doubt by the first wolf's attack, and the rest of his body was bruised from the metal slime's ambush.

His breath was ragged. His body was starting to ignore his commands. Even the sword in his right hand felt heavy.

It would be enough to stop there. He simply wasn't able to win. There was no way out for him.

-In that case, he would just have to make one.

He couldn't avoid the two wolves. Without a doubt, they would connect with his body. Their attacks were too fast for him to avoid.

So he didn't bother.

Twisting his body and offering up his already mangled left arm, Gray managed to avoid fatal blows from the wolves, turning an instant death into a painful and more delayed one.

The pain sent his mind blank again, the shock almost sending him unconscious. But he held on. Tightening his grip on the sword in his right hand, Gray let out a strangled roar and slashed at the wolves gnawing on his body.

Was it because the wolves didn't expect resistance, or were they stunned his suicidal actions? Either way, neither moved, allowing Gray a clean strike.

The sensation of tearing flesh passed through his arm, and the smell of iron reached Gray’s nose. If he looked down, he would have seen the corpses of two wolves collapsed against the floor. But he didn’t. Instead, he looked into the darkness, glaring at the countless pairs of crimson eyes staring back and roared, "COME ON!"

One of them drew close. It was a wolf with pure silver fur. Emerging from the darkness, it stared at him briefly before turning tail and fleeing. The remaining wolves swiftly followed.

"Yeah, that's right. RUN AWAY!"

He thought they had run away because of him killing two wolves. What Gray didn't realize, however, was the fact that the metal slime was still behind him and had been charging up a spell during his fight.

A brief flash of light was all Gray had for a warning before everything turned black.

"...Reckless. Really, far too reckless."

Eliza muttered as she passed her hand over Gray's body and cast a healing spell.

The surrounding trees for miles around had been blown away. The metal slime's last attack had been an explosion, a suicidal act converting all the mana stored inside it into energy.

Why it did so, Gray would never know. Of course, that wasn't the same for Eliza.

She glanced over at the crater where the slime had been and sighed. "In the end, it's because I stayed too close by."

Eliza was powerful, on a level far beyond any of the monsters in the forest. Even the Emerald Wind Slime, which could be considered the ruler of the forest, was far from her match. Thus, when she saw Gray's last stand and moved closer to rescue him, the slime had changed its tactic from simple wind magic to a sudden explosion.

-Let it be known that such an attack was no small matter.

Emerald Wind Slimes were formed from a Grass Slime absorbing mana from the air for at least a dozen years. Either that, or it had devoured countless monsters, enough to where its energy crystallized inside its entire body.

In any case, an Emerald Wind slime was essentially the same as a walking magic stone.

While it usually didn’t matter too much since its energy was relatively stable, enough to where even death didn’t release it, pushing the slime too far could lead to such a situation.

It was something Eliza didn't account for.

The white-haired woman's clothing was wrecked. The leather armor she wore had ripped apart, revealing her pale body beneath. Only the portions covering the important parts remained, and that was only due to the fact that women's armor were specifically reinforced in those areas.

Eliza looked down at her clothes and sighed. "And to even force us to spend more money... that slime was spiteful indeed."

Of course, she didn't blame it. After all, it was Eliza who hounded the slime down and forced it towards Gray in the first place.

Because Emerald Wind Slimes contained so much energy, killing it would cause Gray's magical prowess to increase by a large portion. Enough to go from a Failure to a Dabbler, jumping two entire grades. It was the quickest and most surefire method to do so.

Unfortunately, it seemed that she had overestimated Gray's powers.

Eliza frowned, brushing away some of the dirt in Gray's hair.

"...So weak. But then how did you save me?"

A question she wanted answered.

The bonds Eliza had on when Gray found her might have seemed fragile, but they were in fact artifacts designed to constrain and seal someone as strong as a Braveheart. In order to have released those bonds, Gray either had to have a Rune that could overpower them, possess Almighty magical prowess, or have the release sigils. Obviously, he lacked the latter two. Thus, Eliza had thought he possessed the former and devised this situation to meet his wish of gaining power.

A Rune could grant its power to its wielder without their conscious knowledge. Since Gray didn't know he had one, Eliza thought that she could force its powers out. After all, a Rune had a mind of its own and would never allow its Master to perish. Their existences were linked, and the disappearance of one would mean the disappearance of the other.

...But it seemed like Gray didn't have one. Even after all he had gone through, no abilities emerged. There were no spontaneous spells, and there were no world changing phenomena.

Eliza sighed and focused on healing Gray's wounds.

“…You were really reckless this time.”

The young blonde had suffered grievous wounds. It was to the extent where, to an onlooker, his body would have looked like nothing more than a corpse. Blood stained his body, his left arm was torn apart, his legs were mangled beyond recognition, and his torso had caved in from concussive forces. The injuries were enough to make even the most experienced surgeon shake his head in despair.

-But that wasn't the case for Eliza.

"Be healed, and be restored."

A soft mantra. With just those words, time itself seemed revert on Gray's wounds. Before the naked eye, shattered bones reformed while torn flesh and veins were bound together, establishing a whole once more. Blood that spilled from Gray's body returned, and his corpse-like pallor became a healthier shade of pink.

Eliza had not been joking when she said she could save him from a near death state.

Watching the slow healing, Eliza sighed. "Using your body as bait to kill your opponent... it seems I'll have to chastize you when you wake up, Gray."

Gray didn't respond, still unconscious from the recent battle.

"Still, I suppose I have to commend you. Being determined enough to continue fighting even with your back against the wall..."

It was a will to live, one far stronger than anything Eliza had ever seen. A will so bright that she was almost dazzled by it.

Just what could cause him to stand so strong even in the face of certain death? Just what could make him continue fighting even as his body was being torn apart?

Eliza sighed. "If I had your will, maybe..."

She shook her head. There was no use thinking about the inevitable. Even if she had his determination, his will to continue on against all odds... it wouldn't guarantee that she could succeed.

There was no point thinking about what ifs. All Eliza could do was prepare Gray the best that she could. For the sake of the one who gave her another reason to live, for the sake of the one so weak that she had to protect him... for the sake of keeping him safe even after she left his side.

That was all she could do.

Gray woke up.

That was the first thing he realized. The next was that he had woken up when he shouldn't have been able to do so. And the last was that... his body didn't hurt.

His eyes were still bleary, and when he moved he realized that he was laying on something soft... or at least his head was.

Something about the situation was familiar…

"Are you awake now, Gray?"

A lovely voice.

Gray's weariness vanished in an instant, and he scrambled away. Before he knew it, his hand had already gone for the sword at his waist, drawing it and pointing it at the one who had spoken.

Eliza smiled, completely unfazed by his reaction. "I see that you've improved. Congratulations on achieving 'Dabbler' status in your physique and combat skills."

"Dabbler status?" The sudden change in topic and Eliza's lack of reaction threw Gray for a loop. He shook his head and then said, "No, more importantly... are you trying to kill me, Eliza?"

"Hm?"

Seeing her nonchalant expression, Gray narrowed his eyes. "Back there! When I was almost killed! Why didn't you come help?"

He waved his free arm at the surroundings.

Broken trees, a huge crater, pools of blood... it looked like something from a war rather than training.

Eliza tilted her head, staring at him with her crimson eyes, and said, "You wish to improve as fast as possible, do you not?"

"That-" Gray's sword lowered. With those words, he remembered why they had set out in the forest to begin with. In his frustration and anger at almost being killed, no, in actually being killed, he had forgotten about it.

'I want to improve as fast as possible, even if I die trying.'

Those weren't the exact words he had said to Eliza, but the sentiment was there. Remembering that, Gray sheathed his sword and let out a long sigh. "...You're right. Sorry, Eliza."

She shrugged. "I do not mind. It would take a miracle for you to be able to kill me in any regards with that pitiful strength."

Her words caused a jolt to go down Gray's spine.

Right... Eliza's on a level far beyond any of those monsters.

He remembered how she had blown up the basement of the building with a casual wave of her hand and how she had gotten them out and miles away within a few seconds. A woman who was so strong that he doubted even a nuke could stop her.

A woman who he had raised his sword against.

"Haha... no hard feelings, right?"

"Of course not. As an analogy, why would a parent be afraid of their child throwing a tantrum?"

"…That hurts."

Eliza laughed. "In any regard, now that you have achieved Dabbler status, we can set out for the capital in earnest."

Gray blinked. "Wait. Is that all we're doing here?"

Eliza nodded. "Of course. As a simple frontier village, there is no more that can be done here. And with word spreading of the sudden appearance of a Divine Artifact in this area, it will become busy soon as more adventurers arrive."

Right. That Divine Artifact... Gray had forgotten about it.

For a moment he fantasized about obtaining it... then he remembered that the Eternal Kingdom was going all out to rope whoever got that as the 'hero' to fight against the invincible demon king and promptly threw that thought away.

"Alright," Gray said. "Then what are we doing next?"

"Well," Eliza said. "We can head straight to the capital and look for space magic there, or we can take a longer route around the area and increase your abilities by challenging some dungeons. The latter is more dangerous and no doubt painful, but if you-"

"Alright. Let’s do that."

Gray agreed without a hint of hesitaiton.

The reason why?

It had been a terrifying experience facing off against the monsters alone, but he could 'feel' the progress he had made.

His body was lighter and his sword felt natural at his side, enough to where he could draw it and be battle ready from a sleeping state. What Eliza said about life and death experiences being the best teacher was true, and also the fastest way to improve. The best way to save time.

Time. He was running short on time, and his near-death experience had reminded him of how important it was for him to improve, quickly.

He had to get back. He had to make sure that his parents weren't worried about him. That his friends weren't concerned. That his commitments were upheld.

In that split moment before he had died, he had a flash of what could have happened.

Never knowing why he had vanished, never knowing how he had disappeared... something like that was a fate he didn't want to invite on anyone he knew.

It was painful. A pain I know too well.

So even if his body was aching, even if he felt pain that bleached his mind white, he'd rather cause his body to shatter than experience that regret of only adding more burdens to those he knew.

Eliza nodded. "Then it's settled. Though, I will have to buy a new set of armor before then..."

When she mentioned that, Gray realized the state that Eliza was in. Specifically how everything but the most important parts of a woman were revealed on her.

Normally, he would have been embarrassed and spluttered. But at that point he couldn't be bothered to make a fuss and just said, "How did you end up like that?"

"How else?" Eliza said. "I had to protect you from the slime's explosion."

"...Oh."

"Well... look away for a moment, will you, Gray? I need to change into some spare clothes. Unless you want to look. You'll need to take responsibility in that case though."

He sighed realizing she was teasing him again and simply turned around. In the meanwhile, Gray decided to pull out his phone. It had been a while since he'd used it and, with his newfound abilities, he thought it might be a good idea to research some actual sword techniques on the web. Though he doubted he could use them properly, he could probably ask Eliza about them.

With that thought, Gray reached into his bag of holding and selected his phone as the target to withdraw.

Pulling it out, he turned the phone on. At least, he tried to.

"Dead?"

His phone flashed to the phone company's logo, but immediately went dark. It seemed that the batteries had drained since he last used it.

Gray sighed. "Of course."

Having a useful tool in this different world? It seemed like he had been expecting too much. The only thing he had to help him survive was Eliza and, while she was nice enough to him for saving her, he doubted that it was to the extent of devoting everything she had to him. It was already a miracle that she was being nice enough to powerlevel him.

His only recourse was to get stronger amd fast. Enough that he wouldn't need to rely on Eliza in the eventual case she left him behind. She had a life of her own and though she joked about staying at his side as his girlfriend or lover, he doubted she was serious about it.

Someone as strong as Eliza was no doubt connected to extremely powerful people who would need her back as soon as possible.

"Alright. I'm finished, Gray."

Eliza's voice drew him out of his thoughts.

Eliza had changed into a black blouse and pants. Form fitting, it was a bit distracting to look at, leaving nothing to the imagination.

Gray stared for a bit and then sighed, shaking his head. “Then, let's head back to town." He started walking and then realized he didn't know the way back. "...Er. After you, of course."

Eliza shook her head and then smiled. "Follow me."