Auron was eating breakfast again—his favorite meal: bread and water. As he chewed, he had a somewhat flat conversation with Lola.

  “What are you doing today?” she asked.

  “I was maybe planning on hunting… but I don’t know,” he answered.

  “Alone is dangerous,” she warned.

  “That’s why I’m not sure,” he replied, trying not to laugh.

  It was the kind of conversation two rocks would have: monotone, emotionless, like siblings forced to talk right after a fight.

  Auron felt an elbow bump into his side. Sarah gave him a knowing look that clearly said:

  “Ask her already.”

  He waited just a little longer—for his own amusement—before finally asking:

  “Would you accompany me then?”

  “Yes. When?” she answered immediately.

  “After breakfast?”

  “It’s not smart to fight after eating.”

  “Okay… short break then.”

  “Alright.”

  Auron almost burst out laughing, so he quickly finished his meal and stood up.

  “See you here in a little,” he said.

  Lola only nodded.

  ---

  “Were you waiting long?” Auron asked when he returned.

  “No, I just got here,” she said. They began walking toward the forest.

  “So… what are we hunting? You can decide—I’m fine with anything,” he said, not bragging, just trying to break the silence.

  “Considering we’re only a two-man party, it’s smartest to hunt razers. They’re weak enough for us to handle and have plenty of meat.”

  “Razers it is.”

  They reached the forest soon and slowed their pace, weapons drawn. Auron now got a good look at Lola’s sword. It was thin, cheap-looking, and had clearly seen a lot of use.

  As they ventured deeper, Lola suddenly raised a hand, stopping him.

  “There’s something here.”

  Auron heard nothing, but he trusted her instincts. A faint rustle came from the vegetation. He spun around instantly—only to hear another sound behind him.

  “I’ll take this one. You handle the second,” Lola said.

  Auron barely had time to answer before a razer burst from a bush beside him. He brought up his sword just in time to deflect the bite aimed at his throat, redirecting the monster with the momentum.

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  Now facing it, Auron struck first—executing a sword slash after sidestepping to its left. He altered the skill, increasing speed while sacrificing accuracy and power. It worked: his blade cut through thick fur and drew a shallow line of blood.

  He quickly drew his sheathed dagger and threw it in one motion. The dagger hit the razer’s side. It buckled but lunged again—slower, predictable. Auron stepped aside and delivered another strike.

  He won.

  When he looked at Lola, her fight had ended long before. She watched calmly, ready to help if needed.

  “You are…” she said.

  Auron exhaled.

  “…pretty weak.”

  He sighed, spotting the second razer corpse at her feet.

  “I guess…”

  “What skills do you have?” she asked casually, already lifting a razer.

  That question made his mind race.

  She knows about skills? Does everyone? Does that mean—? No… the world would be more advanced if everyone came from Earth. So skills must be normal here.

  “I only have Sword Slash,” he answered honestly.

  “And I see you’re working on Dagger Throw?” she asked.

  Working on? Is that how skills are developed here?

  “Yeah…”

  “Why don’t you train Parry first? That’s a common beginner skill,” she said as they began heading back—Lola carrying two razers, Auron only one.

  “I don’t know…” he muttered, still processing.

  And then—

  A feeling slammed into him like a battering ram. His entire body trembled. He dropped to one knee. Lola dropped the razers, rushing toward him, but her voice was muffled.

  The feeling was incredible.

  He knew instantly what it was:

  He had leveled up.

  The rush lingered, warm and addictive, then faded, leaving him with a pounding headache.

  After assuring Lola repeatedly that he was fine—though she clearly didn’t believe him—they finally returned to the village. Auron excused himself, found a quiet spot, and focused on his stats again like he had in the forest.

  The categories were easy enough to sense… but the numerical values were still a blur.

  His headache pushed him out of his trance.

  He pulled a small jewel from his pouch—a leveling reward, he was sure. He hoped it would help him perceive his stats, but nothing worked. Not focusing, not imagining menus, not yelling commands.

  He was furious.

  Wasn’t he supposed to have some kind of interface? What was he missing?

  And beneath that anger was something else… something he hated admitting:

  Lola was so much stronger than him.

  He couldn’t even carry both razers. They had to stop several times so he could catch his breath.

  This wasn’t how my hero story was supposed to begin…

  And he couldn’t even track his growth properly.

  And how was he supposed to learn skills? Through training alone?

  ---

  Later, Auron returned and helped Lola prepare the razers.

  Skinning them was much harder than he expected, but with her guidance, he managed. Cutting off unusable parts was even harder—Lola outpaced him easily.

  “Do you want to train parrying?” she asked out of nowhere.

  “Yeah. Please teach me.” Determination flared in him.

  She fetched two wooden swords as training weapons.

  “First, just block each strike,” she instructed, swinging slowly.

  Auron blocked all three.

  “Now time your blocks better. Guide the strikes away—like you did with the razer, but cleaner. That’s a proper parry.”

  He parried again successfully.

  “Again.”

  She increased speed.

  He parried.

  “Again.”

  This time he managed two out of three—the last hit his shoulder.

  They repeated the drill. Every time he failed, she reduced speed slightly so he could barely keep up. Once he adapted, she increased speed again.

  Knowledge formed inside him—like the “Dagger Throw” skill earlier. He was getting used to the feeling.

  Time flew. Eventually, he was completely exhausted, though part of him wanted to continue.

  “Thank you, Lola… for teaching me,” he said, guilt rising from his earlier envy.

  “It was fun,” she said simply, before gazing in the distance. Her side profile glowed in the slowly setting sun as she said:

  “Looks like she’s here.”

  Auron followed her gaze. A horse approached fast.

  “Is that your sister?” he asked, standing to see better.

  “Yes,” Lola answered.

  “She rode all the way here just to take the carriage back?”

  “No. She completes a few adventurer guild quests around the village. When she needs supplies, she stops by and offers her horse so we can bring more goods to trade.”

  “The village must be important to her, huh?” he said as they approached the carriage.

  Lola didn't reply. And Auron felt that there was some tension in her walking.

  When they got closer, Lizzy was talking with Melina and Robben who stood beside the carriage. Then she spotted them.

  “Lola!”

  She sprinted forward and hugged her sister tightly.

  Auron stepped aside, giving them space, as he thought that siblings would need that after not seeing each other for so long and greeted Robben and Melina.

  “Hello again, Auron,” Robben said, shaking his hand with a smile.

  “I guess this is goodbye now. Please say goodbye to Sarah and the kids for—”

  Auron was cut off by a sudden tackle from behind—Laura, Leo, Sarah, and the other children swarmed him like bees would honey.

  “Goodbye, Sir Auron!” they shouted in almost perfect unison.

  “Goodbye, guys. Make sure to be good, alright?” he said.

  “We will!”

  “Goodbye to you too, Sarah,” he added. She nodded.

  He shook everyone’s hands—because the kids insisted—then turned to Melina.

  “Well, is everything ready?”

  “Yes. We have much to trade this time,” Melina answered.

  “Well, that’s good news, right?”

  Melina merely looked away.

  “So you’re the dead weight stopping us from bringing more goods, huh?” a voice called from behind.

  Auron turned. Lizzy stood there, smirking—Lola’s sister through and through. Same yellowish hair, same features, just smaller.

  “Oh, yeah, that would be me,” Auron joked, scratching the back of his head.

  Lizzy grinned wider and placed a hand on his shoulder.

  “I’m just messing with you. Any friend of Lola’s is a friend of mine.”

  “Okay…” he managed, relaxing again.

  “Well then—let’s get this carriage rolling!” Lizzy exclaimed. She hugged Lola once more, then hopped onto the carriage.

  “Melina, you take the first shift. I’ll take the next.”

  “Alright,” Melina replied, grabbing the reins.

  Auron climbed aboard, but Lola caught his sleeve.

  “See you again sometime?” she asked.

  “Yeah, I’ll see you again somewhere sometime,” he answered, shaking her hand with a smile.

  She smiled back. He waved and stepped onto the carriage, sitting beside boxes tied down with rope.

  As they began moving, Lizzy—seated in front of him—said:

  “Goodnight, Auron.”

  Then she closed her eyes and just seemed to drift off.

  This is gonna be a long journey…