Sometime before the journey to First town....

  Harwin had grown accustomed to his life in the elfin village. He still missed the modern facilities of the old world, but as time passed, he began to appreciate the simple life. Well, simple in sense that their was no corporate rat race here.

  The lad's day began just before dawn-break. He got up and went on a walk around the village. He could never ever leap like the wood-elves due to physical limitations, so he avoided running around a place which was way above the ground. A simple fall could have been fatal for this human.

  After a quick walk, he used to do some basic exercises — from push-ups to squats. His method was a bit unorthodox, he did not count but just did it until his muscles were sore. Now, it did not matter how sore he got, as he could simply cast a healing spell and feel as refreshed as if just having woken up from a peaceful slumber.

  However, this was not the end of his training routine. Just before preparing breakfast, he did, at least, five hundred swings to improve his mastery over the blade. It was challenging at first, but after months, he could manage to complete them in just an hour or so. With this, his first training session came to an end. It was important to follow a strict and engaging physical routine, as he did not want to be a burden during enemy encounters.

  For breakfast Harwin usually took porridge with some fruits. Some mornings, he would prepare salted meat with bread. On some occasions, he would get invited to the chieftain's house for different meals, but he did not like to impose much.

  There was one more routine that the young man would follow very strictly: self-grooming. He did not care much about his appearance before coming into this world, infact, not until arriving in this village. More precisely, this habit began after encountering an elfin maiden — Alisa. Harwin could never compare to the eflin beauty standards, but he was still a good-looking chap. He was as tall as any youngling. He had a head full of hair which came down to his forehead, it was styled neatly. His eyes were black — pitch-black — which matched his hair. As for his physic, it was clear from his intense workout that he would be ripped, lean muscled, to be precise.

  Harwin maintained a clean shave which was difficult to do at first considering he did not have a shaving kit in this world. Also, he would take a bath daily. He did not have a bad odor but had still bought a perfume of sort from a merchant. After assistance from the village mage, Iqural, he had managed to replicate it on his own, so he smelled better than the rest.

  After basic hygine, Harwin would visit Iquaral. The latter was assigned by Graftel and the village chief to act as an instructor to the lad in relations to magika training. Iquaral was kind of a jerk — arrogant over his talent. He respected Harwin for bringing a cure for the plague encountered by the village but that did not mean that he was any less demeaning and rude whilst teaching. It was one of the very reasons that Harwin never learned how to craft an eco shard under his guidance.

  The lessons usually consisted of reading and meditation for concentration purposes. Alisa would take part in this class as well along with a few other aspiring elfin mages. There were only two intermediate mages in the village besides Alisa and Iquaral. Harwin had only recently made it to the list, but he was only Aina intermediate mage at the moment. He could perform one to two intermediate spells before magika depletion, but it was still remarkable progress in a short time-frame.

  Iquaral was his instructor, but Alisa was the one who took role as the actual teacher. It was only due to the attention of the latter that Harwin had made so much progress.

  After the magika class, Harwin would meet with the chief to discuss various matters or new ideas that could further improve the village. These meetings usually extended up to lunch. The chief would insist Harwin to take lunch together on every single occasion, but he would rarely take up the offer.

  For lunch, Harwin ate a variety of dishes, from greens to fruits to meat whichever was readily available while being the most nutritious. He had become quite the chef during his time spent in the village. Once again, the credit went to Alisa.

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  After lunch, he would read till the evening. Of course, there was limited access to books for the young man, infact, most of them were provided to him by Alisa — once again, his greatest benefactor. Harwin had to go over some books several times due to its contents, mostly any books related to magika. Such books often contained incantations which had to be memorized, not for casting, but for maximum output of the spell. It should be noted again that it was entirely possible to cast a spell without any sort of ritual or incantation, but its effects would not be the same. Incantation-less spells was basically a skill used by mage-swords. Quite a difficult endeavor to pursue but not incredibly rare, either.

  After this reading session, Harwin would begin to make his way towards the practice grounds. Before the visit to Neilwisk, he had to use the shabby and poorly maintained one but after his exploits, which helped the village flourish, he was allowed and acknowledged enough by the others to use the main one.

  Landel was there every day, practicing and waiting for his student or, to be more specific, a friend. This was the actual training of the day where the instructor put in as much effort as the student. The training consisted of swings, piercing at specific marked points with the blade and, most importantly, sparring.

  There never arrived a day when Harwin was even close to defeating his master in sword-play. They used real swords to be prepared for actual combat. It was not until very late that Harwin was trusted with a real one, even most younglings had to wield a wooden one during sparring against one another. This small amendment or bending to the rule was only possible due to the expertise of the instructor who was able enough to handle any type of situation.

  Their training session lasted till the late evening, but that was not the only indicator. Most importantly, the session ended when Harwin was out of breath and could not even manage to stand anymore. It was a harsh way of ending but deemed necessary by Harwin himself.

  After another quick healing spell, Harwin would head back to his house. This was the best part of his day, at least considered by himself. Alisa would be waiting by the door, sometimes with books, sometimes with food but always with a smile. The lad never expressed it through words, but the feeling was clear, although, not accepted by his heart yet.

  The two would begin to talk before entering the house and till leaving it. It was usually Harwin who prepared the meal with Alisa helping with few preparations.

  Her uncles never liked that she hung around Harwin's place, but they did not forbid it, either. As for the chief, he never minded it. The chief considered Harwin to be an honourable and amiable individual, he knew that the lad would never harm his grand-daughter in anyway.

  The dinner consisted of meat dishes, mainly. He trained rigorously, so he had to in-take protein as well. Graftel had ordered the captains and youngling scouts to share some of the game meat with Harwin. Few of the bunch did mind this instruction a bit as the latter was never involved with hunting, so they, intentionally, gave him the leftover portions. Harwin sometimes bought meat from the local butcher as well, but it was not as readily available resource which meant it was expensive.

  After dinner, Harwin and Alisa would talk about their day. There never was a day that the two had nothing to share with each-other. Most of the conversation revolved around magika. The former listened more than talking as if taking lessons. However, the two would never maintain eye contact, just few glances from time to time. The two enjoyed eachother's company quite a bit, somewhat due to being isolated from the rest of the villagers. Of course, there were some unfamiliar feelings involved but those never leaked out during their conversations.

  When it would be time for Alisa to head back, Harwin would accompany her on the way to her house which was at a considerable distance from his own residence. It was only due to Harwin being a worry-wat, otherwise, Alisa was enough on her own. She not only had an important position, but also remarkable mastery over magika — Aina advanced mage.

  After returning to his house, Harwin would always notice how empty the place really was. There was some furniture he had bought but there was no one to occupy it. He would then sit on his bed, remember his family and solidify his resolve. His actions did not make it seem like he cared for them anymore, but deep down, he was always trying. His efforts were apparant in his training, when he made progress by leaps and bounds in a small duration but that was never enough. It was never enough, and he understood that as well.

  Harwin wanted to return back, yes, but every moment that he lived in his current world, the sealed spot in his heart would only grow bigger. He did not want to be selfish, yet, he was constantly tested about that choice as well.

  After thinking and reminiscing for sometime, he would lay down and close his eyes. His nights were not much peaceful, though. He feared of interacting that strange void space once again.

  This was the day in the life of Harwin. There were, of course, some variations from time to time, but his routine (including his thoughts and feelings) remained almost the same. Although, all of this will be shattered once he has to face the new challenge posed by the evil deity.