Six weeks after the lizard battle we were now deep in Canavar. Some time ago we passed a point where stronger and bigger beasts lay beyond, but we haven't encountered anything challenging so far.

We are also almost at the place where the rivers intersect. When we reach that point we're going straight east to the ocean.

I've been increasing my combat experience while refining my magic. I've gotten a lot better at gravity. I might be better than Felix at the moment.

Scratch that, I am better than that jerk. And I proudly show it off in front of him to annoy him.

"Everyone down and stay quiet." Diana said quietly.

The whole squad obeyed her orders.

"What's wrong?" Julian whispered.

"There are strong mana signatures up ahead. Stay here while I go check it out myself." She said, then quickly jumped up on a tree and made her way to whatever was ahead.

Diana is part of the Asenath tribe. They are a cat-like humanoid race. They look human but have cat ears, and a tail. Their senses are like that of a wild animal. So they are more aware of their surroundings.

After about a minute she came back.

"There is a group of orcs hunting up ahead." she said then paused. "And they're making their way here."

"How many exactly?" Julian said.

"Four." she responded. "I can take care of one by myself. The rest of you team up in groups of two and choose an opponent."

Everyone nodded.

Well now, who should I team up with?

From the corner of my eye, I could see Luna staring at me.

"Can I help you?" I said confused.

"Well... Do you maybe want to t-" she started to speak then Leon interrupted her.

"Arata, you team with me. Orcs are strong, even I would have trouble with a whole squad of them." He said.

How strong is Leon?

"Got it." I turned back to Luna. "Sorry, what were you saying?"

"Hmm." Luna pouted. "Nothing." she said then turned away.

What did I do to her?

Everyone had finished forming their team. I was with Leon, Felix with Julian, Luna with Monty, and Diana by herself.

"Everyone get in position." Diana said quietly.

I concentrated on trying to find their mana signatures. Until I sensed four different hostile presences. They were closing in from all sides. All the teams separated from each other to lure one over. Leon and I got ready.

Everything was silent.

Then there was a low whistle in the air that I was only able to hear due to me heightening my senses with mana.

My whole body shivered.

I know this feeling. My senses are telling me that I'm in danger. To run away. Without thinking I quickly extended my hand to the right and repelled outward with gravity magic.

"Huh?" Leon said taken by surprise.

In front of my hand, there was a spear floating in midair. It had a wooden shaft that was super thick and very long, it probably stood taller than Leon. The head of the spear was made of metal and it pointed straight at me.

"A-Arata." Leon said still in shock.

"T-that was close." I said as I set the spear down. It leaned from the floor to my shoulder.

If I hadn't stopped it when I did it could've impaled straight through both me and Leon at the same time.

"Y-Yeah." He said. Then we heard movement in front of us. "Stay behind me." Leon put himself in front of me.

Soon a giant monster came into view. It looked sort of like a goblin but way bigger with more muscle. Plus a goblin is goofy looking while this monster has terrifying features.

With red skin, he had bones sticking out of his back. His bottom jaw had oversized teeth which always made him look angry.

"Grr." it growled at me and ignored Leon. It pointed, not at me but the spear. "Grahg Karr." It said as he glared at me with hostility.

"You want your spear back?" I said while I extended the oversized spear.

"Hmm." He grunted with a nod.

If I give it to him will he leave us alone? Yeah, I don't think so. I have a better idea.

"Here, go catch it." I said. Then with gravity magic, I flung the spear far away.

"GGGRRRAAAHHH." It roared. Then the other three orcs came out of hiding. The rest of the party got ready for battle and so did I.

"Get ready it's coming." Leon said as the orc charged at us.

Leon dashed forward. With clenched fists, the orc swung down at him. Leon dodged and sliced at his forearm. The orc was unfazed and merely shrugged it off.

immediately after Leon and the orc clashed. The orc was fast but not as fast as Leon. Leon dodged all of the orc's attacks while the orc had several sword wounds on his body. Although they weren't deep enough to cause serious damage.

The orc caught Leon off guard and was about to land a punch. But I jumped in and slashed at his back with lightning, which left him stunned for a second. Giving Leon enough time to land a good hit. Slicing him straight across his chest.

The orc grunted and then pulled back.

"Good job." Leon said to me. "Now, let's go."

The orc clenched its hands into fists. Then all of the wounds Leon inflicted on him healed. The air grew heavy. My body started to shiver again.

At that moment I sidestepped to my left, only to find the orc's log-sized arm thrusting violently through the air right where I used to be.

'Fast.' was the only thing I thought as I put distance between us.

It even went past Leon. The orc seems to be after me or at least making me a priority.

"Arata." Leon called out. "Be careful, this isn't a normal orc."

Leon charged forward. The orc quickly spun around and threw a kick. Leon ducked but the orc redirected his kick back towards Leon. Leon who barely managed to dodge was about to take a punch to the face. I stepped in and was about to slash at the orc's neck.

However, my face hit something hard.

"Ugh." I groaned as I felt a stinging feeling run through my whole face. Starting at my nose all the way to my ears. It felt like my entire head shook from the inside.

A very unpleasant feeling.

It was the orc, his hand wrapped around my face as he held me off the ground.

"Arata!!." yelled Leon. "awk." He let out as the orc kicked him away.

He was too focused on me that he didn't notice the orc's attack.

I felt the pressure around my face getting stronger. The orcs grip was getting tighter. He's planning on crushing my head. My sword dropped to the ground.

My heart started beating faster and faster every second. My mouth was being shut by force, I couldn't breathe. My body was shaking out of pure terror.

Am I. . . Going to die.

No.

I can't. I can't die.

Not here. Not at this moment.

I made a promise to return safely.

I concentrated a repelling gravitational force from all around my body.

Not enough.

More.

I added more mana to the spell.

Then I felt it. The orc's grip weakened.

More.

"Hmm." The orc grunted.

I forced the orc's hand to open. I didn't drop to the ground but instead stayed afloat in midair.

"Hah ah." I immediately took in deep breaths as my mouth was now free.

The orc tried to get ahold of me again but failed as his hand kept being forcibly opened. He then swung at me but his fist never reached me.

With an extended hand, I let loose the full force of my gravity magic down on him. I intended to crush him to the ground but he was too strong. The only thing I did was hold him in place.

"AAAHHH." I heard a yell. It was Leon as he was fast approaching.

He thrust his sword straight through the orc's chest.

The orc roared loudly in pain, then fell silent. Leon pulled out his sword.

I let go of the gravity spell, as I couldn't hold it much longer, and fell to the ground. I wiped the blood off my nose.

"Arata." He said. "You're. . . Okay." he said in relief.

"Y-Yeah." I nodded. I was still shaking in fear from my near death and ended up grabbing tightly onto his shirt.

He then patted my head and I felt myself relax.

"WATCH OUT!" Diana yelled.

Leon grabbed me and sprinted away. That's when I looked back and saw the orc back on his feet.

"Leon, Arata." I heard Diana call out. "Are you both alright?"

"Yeah." Leon responded and looked back at the orc. "That's impossible, I'm certain I stabbed him through the heart."

"Clearly not." Julian said.

"He must have shifted to the side at the last minute." Leon said.

"Excuses, excuses." Mocked Luna.

Huh? Wait a minute why are they here? What about the other orcs?

I looked around to see that the other orcs were... defeated? Although, those look different. They're smaller and have green skin.

"Leon, Julian. Come with me." Diana said. "The rest of you stay here for support. Now, charge."

"There they go." Monty said.

"I can't believe you fought a crimson orc." Luna patted me on the back. "You're so cool, Arata."

"Crimson orc?" I said confused.

"You don't know what they are?" She asked.

"No." I shook my head.

"The name crimson orc is pretty much self-explanatory. They are a stronger version of a normal orc. They can enhance their speed and strength to such a high degree that you'd need a team of A-rank adventurers or higher to defeat one." Luna said.

"Ohh they also have regenerative abilities and a strong defense." She added. "So that's why I was impressed when you immobilized it."

"You saw?" I asked.

"Yes, I also say how you were shivering in fear. And then you overcame your fear and overwhelmed the orc. You are so brave" she said.

How embarrassing.

"It sort of felt like he was after me." I said.

"They are attracted to large mana sources." Monty said.

well, that explains it.

"To me, you just looked like an idiot." Felix said. "You should've seen yourself, the way you flailed around was too funny." he said while laughing.

Ahh. He can be so annoying sometimes.

"Glad I kept you entertained." I said sarcastically.

"If it were me who fought the crimson orc, I would've beaten it easily." He kept taunting me.

"Aha, with what? Your little dirt ball?" I mocked.

"Ohh shut up. That joke has gotten old." He yelled.

"You guys are so friendly." Luna said amused.

"No we're not." Both Felix and I said at the same time.

"Hey, what did we miss." Diana said.

"Ohh, you guys are done. That's good." Luna responded.

They're done already that was fast.

I looked to where the crimson orc now laid dead on the floor. With limbs missing and his head split in two.

"Hey Arata, good job on keeping both yourself and your father alive." Diana said to me. "You have good instincts."

"Hmm." I looked at her confused.

"Well, let's get ready to move." Diana said.

"Where are we going next?" Julian asked.

"We are going to follow the orc's tracks back to their hideout." She said. "Don't worry, we aren't fighting them. I just want to check them out."

"Okay then, lead the way." Replied Julian.

We followed Diana very quietly so that no other orcs could hear us. After some walking, we were on top of a hill overlooking old ruins. In those ruins were at least around 50 orcs or more. We were a good distance away so they couldn't hear us.

"Why are there so many orcs?" I asked.

"Well, their species is very. . ." Diana started to say. "How should I put this?. . Active."

"What do you mean?" I asked confused.

"Hmm." she put her hand on her chin thinking of a response. "Not just the orcs but goblins too, they tend to get a little too excited."

"Hmm." I said in confusion.

"Look it's not something someone your age should know." she said.

"Ahh." I said finally understanding. "You mean horny."

Maybe I shouldn't have said that.

"Pfft." Luna suddenly burst out laughing quietly.

"Leon, what have you been teaching your son." Said Diana.

"Hey, Arata where did you learn that?" Leon asked.

well, it's too late. I have a good excuse for this anyway.

"You have some very interesting books hidden in your study, father." I said.

"W-Wha. What?"His face turned completely red. "I - I don't know what you're talking about."

"What was it called again?" I said thinking. "Ohh yeah it was 'How to please your woman that even a goblin could under-" Leon closed my mouth with his hand.

"Okay, that's enough." Leon said embarrassed.

"I didn't know you were the type of person to read those books." Julian said to Leon.

"Ah" Leon sighed. "My brother wrote them. They got really popular so I wanted to see them for myself." He explained.

"Your brother huh." Julian said. "Wait, the pervert one?"

Leon nodded.

"Anyway, Arata, you didn't do anything that was written in that book with little Nia or anyone else, right?" He asked.

"No way, I'm not interested in girls my own age." I responded.

"That's good." He let out a breath in relief.

"Wait, so what kind of girls are you interested in." Asked luna. "Don't tell me you're into older women."

Now how do I get out of this? I am into older women like Luna and Diana but I can't say that. I don't want to sound like a creep.

"No. I'm not into any girls right now but maybe when I'm older that'll change." I said hoping that will convince them.

Luna bent down and poked my cheek. "You're weird." she said.

I looked at her confused.

"Everyone, Lets go set up camp it's getting dark." Diana said.

We went far away from the orc encampment and got ready to go to sleep.

It was already dark, and all of the party was asleep but I was still awake. Memories of my old life were keeping up.

Have I ever fallen in love? Truly fallen in love?

I've dated girls before, but I can't say for sure that I've fallen for any of them.

I sat up.

I wonder how everyone's doing back in my old world.

Low grumbling snapped me out of my thoughts. It was my stomach.

Is there any food laying around?

I got up and looked through my bag. Surprisingly, I found a food bar that I still had laying around. I got my canteen and the food bar and walked to the furthest corner of the room. I unwrapped the small package it was in and started eating it.

It's not bad but I'm hungry. I then took a long sip of water.

"Can't sleep?" A soft and feminine voice said.

I didn't think anyone else was awake so when someone called out to me I got surprised and almost choked on the water.

I turned to my side to see Luna who made her way to me and sat down at my side.

"Sorry, did I wake you up?" I asked.

"No, I was trying to go to sleep when I heard someone moving around." She said.

"Ohh, I just got hungry." I said showing her my food.

After she saw it her stomach started rumbling.

"Hehe." She giggled out of embarrassment.

"Here." I broke the bar in half and gave one to her.

"Sorry." She said grabbing the piece and taking a bite. "It's so good." she said happily.

I don't find much flavor in it but she seems to like it.

"Here want some water." I said extending my flask of water towards her.

"Mm-hm." She nodded happily and took a sip.

I looked down to the floor.

"Is something wrong?" she asked me.

"Well. . ." I started to say. "No, it's nothing."

"Come on. You can tell me. We're buddies, aren't we?" she said. "Maybe I'll be able to help."

"Have you ever fallen in love?" I asked.

"Huh?" She turned red. "Love talk? Why are you thinking of that?"

"It's a concept that I can't seem to understand. How does it feel like?" I asked.

"Well. . . It sort of feels like. . ." she trailed off.

"I'm listening."

"Well, when they look at you, you get all nervous. When they call your name it feels like your heart skips a beat. They're always on your mind. When they get a bit too close your heart starts racing and your cheeks warm up."

She paused.

"Then you find out he went out with some no-name ugly wench and next thing you know your suffering from depression. Then you run away to become an adventurer and when you come back you find out he got married and had kids. And. And. And."

She clenched her fist

"Ha." she exhaled loudly. "Where did my Love life go wrong?"

Maybe I shouldn't have asked.

"Well, thank you for answering my question. Now that I've eaten I feel sleepy. So good night." I said while getting up and walking to my sleeping bag.

"Did that help?" She said following after me.

"Well, it's always the same thing." I said getting under the sleeping bag. "Like getting nervous, or your heart going all over the place. Everyone says the same thing."

"I get what you mean but it's true." She said while laying down with me in my sleeping bag. "Just wait until it happens to you, you'll see."

"I hope you're right." I said looking up at the stone ceiling then I looked at her laying next to me. "So, why are you here? You have your own bag."

"Do you want me to leave? Are you nervous? Did your heart skip a beat?" She said with a grin.

"You wish." I responded. "I don't mind you sleeping with me. I used to sleep with my sisters all the time. For me, it's nice to have company at night. But why here?"

"Your mom used to cuddle me to sleep when I was scared." she said.

"As I told you before, I'm not her replacement." I said.

"Can't you at least act like it." she said with a pout.

Then she grabbed my arm and put it over her shoulder so her head laid on top of my armpit. Then she hugged me with both arms around my chest.

"Fine." I patted her head. "There, there."

"Hehe." she giggled. "You're so bad at this."

"Forget it. I'm going to sleep now."

"Good night."

After those words, I quickly fell asleep.

"-ta. Arata. Arata." I woke up hearing Leon call my name.

"Huh? What? Five more minutes." I said.

"No, we're ready to leave now." he said.

"What." I quickly opened my eyes and tried to get up. But something held me down. It was Luna, she was still asleep holding onto me.

"We gathered all our things and are about to head out." he said.

"Why didn't you wake me up earlier?" I asked.

"I tried." he said. "But you wouldn't wake up no matter what I tried."

"Really? I never thought of myself as a heavy sleeper." I said.

"Well whatever, your awake now. So wake Luna up." he said.

I nodded.

I shook her a few times, forcefully opened her eyes, and lightly smacked her. Eventually, she woke up.

"Morning." I said gently.

"Morning." she said in a husky voice. "What's going on?"

"We're leaving now. So we have to go" I said.

"Ohh, okay." she replied.

"So will you let go of me now?" I asked.

She let me go and slowly sat up.

I sat up as well and looked around to find that the whole party was waiting for us ready to leave.

"You guys have fun last night?" Julian joked.

"Shut up." Luna responded.

"Doesn't matter hurry and get ready. We're leaving." Diana said.

Luna and I quickly gathered our stuff and joined the rest of the party.