Chapter 9: [Vol 0] Chapter 8

They left the campsite after finishing breakfast. Although White had came to terms with wearing his mask, Shinri still had hers with her usual coat. As she had said that it was a necessity for her, White no longer asked about it. He still respected the privacy of others.

As for him? He could finally enjoy the feeling of wind against him face again. It was liberating, but well... he'd need to get used to this feeling as if he had something missing on his face. 

As they moved through the sea of trees, Shinri began her lesson about being an adventurer as promised.

"We will be out of the forest before evening, but we don't have to rush. Since it's a good opportunity, we'll use the things in the forest as our teaching material this time."

Picking up an ordinary twig that had fallen off a tree, Shinri continued.

"The forest is home to many things, and it is imperative that you pay attention to a few things... like this."

Snap--- She had broken the stick into two.

Following that peculiar action, she slowly drew out her sword from its sheath and faced the tree before them. When the young man had wanted to ask what she was trying to do, suddenly the girl spoke out.

"...It's coming."

"W-What!"

The earth started to shake, as if signalling the start of something---

"Back up three steps from there, hurry!"

White tensed up and instinctively felt that the 'combat' had already started. However, this time he no longer treated it like a game. Not taking anything into chance, White trusted in those words and immediately leaped backwards. 

A few seconds later, a dozen sharp tendrils burst forth from the soil beneath where he was standing---!

"See that, these are the roots of the [Elderoot Bark]. They may seem like normal branches, but whether you do it intentionally or by accident, this is what happens when you desecrate the forest."

(I wasn't the one that did that! That was so CLOSE. Literally!)

The young man broke out in cold sweat as he saw the spikes that remained impaled from the ground.

How ferocious! He had not expected his first lesson to be this blood-tingling! White had not seen her for someone who was so... daring! 

However, it seems that the masked adventurer beside him was already used to it. It made him wonder if she had already planned for this to happen. Maybe the source of confidence was from the fact that they weren't in any real dan----

Crash----!

A violent sway of some dozen vines struck wind, missing only a few inches away from his left ear.

(FUCK! This is for real!)

White immediately threw away all his gullibility and refocused.

Letting out a light chuckle, Shinri steadied her sword stance and reassured him at the side:

"Stay behind me and watch for now. After this demonstration, you'll coordinate with my movements for the next one."

White nodded while gulping loudly. Shinri smirked.

"Don't get cold feet now... This is just the beginning."

"I'll be in your care."

White returned with a fearless smile. But deep inside, he thought that this person was really capable of anything.

Of course, in a bad way.

White was seen lying down on the ground while taking in deep breaths. At the side, Shinri was currently cutting down a nearby plant-monster without breaking a sweat. It was already approaching its end.

After a few hours of 'practical training', although he was only dodging most of the time, White had opened his eyes to a variety of monster plants also known as the "Mutant Plantae". He had also slowly started to understand why things were different from this world and the game.

The reason was due to the 'setting'. It was the influence and interactions of 'mana' and its environment.

Monsters appear in the game for no reason at all. Of course if one were to get technical about it, they were created to fit the 'theme' of a region the game had developed. For a circus-themed park, killer clowns would spawn and in a prehistoric zone, it wouldn't be strange for dinosaurs to roam the fields. The players wouldn't question the trivialities of how the game worked, because there wasn't a need to.

It was part of the 'game'.

However, what White had understood thus far, was when a world is merged with that of reality and the essence of the game, there would be implications that result from it.

For example, mana (MP) exists in the atmosphere of this world, that is why people could recover them 'naturally' as if breathing in oxygen. And because MP was the medium of how one could use 'spells' to influence the laws of nature, it had also become something that could 'create' monsters out of their original forms. Monsters have unpredictable natures, but most of them become violent from the change as they lacked the sentience to control the mana inside their new forms: A pig would become a monster boar, and a tree would become a monster tree.

Inversely, that also meant that living creatures which could sustain their self-consciousness would become intelligent AND stronger. One example of them, were the demonkin. At the lower ends of the caste was the common [Goblin], a lesser demon. Vampires and succubi were also one result of such an 'evolution'.

The evolutions had created items, monsters, and even places which wasn't a part of the original game.

Theoratically, even humans could become monsters. However, it seems that there hasn't been a precedent in history for something insidious like that happening so White was somewhat relieved.

In this way, another peculiar ecosystem came into existence. In the form of a "Dungeon", artificial monsters would be spawned from places rich with condensed mana, creating the "Dungeon Cores". As a result, these monsters were often considered as non-biological and would disappear once the cores inside their bodies were taken or destroyed. It is still unknown how the dungeons imitate and form these monsters in the first place, even though centuries of researchers have been employed to observe the myriad of dungeons in this world.

That is why dungeons remain to be one of the few mysterious, and dangerous places that exist today.

Another thing Shinri had shared with him, was the fact that apart from otherworlders like him, only about half of the living creatures in this world were fortunate enough to possess the ability to access their 'status'. These people were known as the 'Ascendants'. Since this power was said to belong to a Goddess in this world, they were automatically considered as beings of higher birth and lived better lives than those without.

He thought that it was strange why only half the population was granted with this ability, but he didn't think much beyond that. At least he now knew the reason why Shinri had been so nonchalant about him accessing the Status Window. It turned out that it wasn't anything too special in this world like he'd initially expected.

... ... ... ... ... 

In any case, White was currently catching his breath after a strenous bout with the Fanged Deadnettle that was far higher-levelled than him. With a dagger he was given by Shinri, White was taught on how to exploit the movements of some of these Mutant Plantae to land a few strikes.

The Deadnettle had a simple attack pattern; expand its pistil into a large jaw and shoot it forward. Sometimes it had directional variations, or it would shoot out a short-range acidic spit, but Shinri was able to adapt to those changes without breaking a sweat.

White's job then required him to only go in whenever the Deadnettle's jaw was parried. He would leap on top of it and stab it a few times before it recovered from its stun.

It also helped that the weapon he was using had some additional effects that helped him dish out some substantial damage.

〚 Moonsift Fang ❙❙❙❙❙❙ ♦ Rare Grade ✠ Equipment - One-handed Dagger ♦ 70 Attack 〛 

The Moonsift Fang was a jaded dagger with a black handle. The grip covered with a tape of black leather, and a piece of amethyst that was embedded snugly above it. Additionally, it had a weapon passive called「Moon Flow」, which increased critical damage in exchange for durability.

Due to how experience (XP) was shared based on contributions in battle, White was currently at Level 2 for his efforts. His stats were raised by 1 each, and he could now move his body better. 

It was his first attempt at combat, and it was... extremely tedious.

[!] Skill updated.

♦ Passive Skill: 「Pain Reduction」has leveled up to 2.

◤NEW◢  ♦ Passive Skill: 「Dagger Proficiency」obtained.

⑆「Dagger Proficiency」▣ Lv 1 ▣ Ability to use a dagger. ⑆

Incidentally, he had his question about skill points (SP) answered earlier during breakfast. It seems that SP do exist, but they only appeared after an Ascendant had obtained a class, that was when they were at least Level 5 or higher before they could start accumulating points. But apparently using them on non-combat passives like「Pain Reduction」was quite wasteful, so hardly anyone uses their hard-earned points that way. After all, they were saved for the more powerful skills when one had reached their growth limits, where levelling up even once could take years.

In the end, White thought that there was really no easy way out. The only efficient solution was just like Shinri had told him: Endure the beating until he got used to it. 

Thinking about his future made his head hurt. 

... ... ... ... ...

"Krieeekkkk!!!" The Fanged Deadnettle let out its death throes, before withering and falling flat on the grass. After picking up the "monster drop", Shinri came over to where White was resting with casual steps.

Different from dungeon cores, monster drops were 'pieces' of the monster that falls off from their main bodies. And because of the mana stored in them, they are useful material that is sought after in this world. For example, monster fish meat would taste better than an ordinary fish, and the fang of a monster boar would become material for a powerful axe; Each monster drop was unique to their characteristics. It is also because of that, the Adventurer Guild has an easier time identifying things like kill count, and its funding for a wide-scale operation across the country.

"How are you feeling?" Shinri said as she leaned against a tree nearby.

"...Stronger." 

White felt strength filling his body, as if every inch of it was in his control. For example, his eyes got a whole lot clearer, allowing him to see things in more detail. His other senses also got better, as if he was slowly becoming superhuman.

"That is what it's like to level up. But train your focus. It is normal to feel this way. You need to try to control your strength and all your other senses together."

After taking a mouthful of water from her canteen, Shinri continued:

"Get used to it, especially at the lower levels. If your body cannot keep up with its changes, you might overestimate your enemy and lose control over your own movement. That is the one thing that kills many aspiring adventurers. The key is the coordination of your senses.

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Accept every change you can feel so that you can maximize your understanding of your body's new potential."

Shinri had experienced the same thing in the past that she knows what White should do. White nodded as he listened to her advice. After a while, he started to get the hang of it. After taking in a deep breath, he got back his focus.

"Looks like you got it. Then I think we can call it a day."

Shinri said as she pulled him up from the ground.

"We're not going to continue?"

"Don't exert too much strain on your body, you've only just levelled up. Although it's earlier than scheduled, we should be able to head to Halvan before it gets dark." 

"Okay.

"Ah, before that."

Shinri came over to him and held his hand. Just when White was about to overreact again, she peeled off the gauze pad on his palm. With a cheeky grin, she explained, "Your wound is healed already, so I'm taking it away. This is reusable after all~"

White didn't question it, although it was a little strange for Shinri to mind something like that. Was the gauze perhaps some kind of amazing healing item that was worth way more than the dagger she gave him? 

... ... ...

The two went on their way towards Halvan, a city in the Luna Empire, a dynasty that had etched itself onto a big portion of the continent. Apparently, it was also home to many veteran adventurers working as mercenaries. Although only half of the world were Ascendants, adventurers were still considered by many as relatively common in this world. This meant that it was easy for him to blend in even as an otherworlder, as long as he took on the inconspicuous profession of an adventurer. It was also easy for him to learn the ropes following the people around him.

---Evening time.

As Shinri had calculated, they had left the forest before the sun set. 

A colossal fortress covered in steep, stone walls soon came into view.

"We're finally out..."

The girl stretched her shoulders and spoke lethargically. White silently thought that he too, would never want to camp in the Rotting Forest again. The uneven routes had left many blisters on his feet, even through the leaves that he had applied to hasten natural healing.

But White couldn't help but feel slightly sad, as he recalled all of the eventful things that had happened in there.

"This dagger..."

"Just keep it, it's not even that expensive."

"...Thank you."

White had wanted to return it to her, but it seems that Shinri wouldn't have any of it. The young man had no choice but to accept it gratefully.

"Oh that reminds me, before you go... I'll give you something else that's handy."

Another gift? White felt even more indebted to his saviour.

A heavy pouch was placed on his hands. As he received it, he heard the clear jingle of coins inside.

"Th-This is..."

"Yep. Money."

"But I... it's too much..."

"No, it's not. You'll need them for the registration fee at the guild remember? And those are living expenses for a while too. The places I told you, did you remember them?"

"...Y-Yes..."

White unfolded a map in his pockets. It was a crudely-made map drawn by Shinri with the places that he should visit when he entered Halvan.

However, he was still unable to accept the money. He thought it was better to earn it on his own.

Truly, being saved time and time again, even having to be taught of various things while getting to this city was already more than enough, but the hard-headed girl merely pressed the pouch of coins onto his hands.

"You know... being overly modest is sometimes a bad thing, take it before I change my mind."

"...T-Thank you..." 

"You're not a bad person, White." Shinri smiles.

"Consider this as my investment on you if you will, I hope the next time we meet will be the time when you will have grown much stronger, otherworlder. And when you've made it big, you'll have to treat me to a meal yeah?"

When the girl had offered him a handshake, White could tell that she was saying goodbye.

"..."

"What's wrong?"

"You're not... coming with me?"

"...Always with the unexpected questions huh... you are really..."

Shrugging her shoulders, Shinri continued with a gentler voice.

"Farewells aren't uncommon in our world. I believe you'll understand this eventually. I am leaving now, because I have something else I need to do."

Adjusting her mask, her voice became lower.

"I know we've only met for a short while, but I think I've kept my promise."

"Shinri-san..."

"Oh stop being a crybaby, you're so dramatic. ...But well, we'll definitely meet each other again."

What did she mean by that?

"So in the meantime, why don't you start a journal?"

"A... journal?"

"A growth record, of your experiences while I'm gone. And when we meet again, you can tell me all about them."

"You're... right. That's... a good idea."

But the young man wasn't actually paying attention to what she had said. After all, this was... farewell.

Holding back the tears forming in his eyes, White took her hand and shook it firmly, not wanting to let go. But the girl slowly shook it off, and took off her mask to which White became dumbfounded after.

Looking at his profile more clearly, the girl smiled and said her final farewell.

"...I believe you'll be fine on your own now, White-kun."

"..."

"Now go."

White shuffled his feet towards the city gates in a daze after he was pushed from the back. Their parting had been so sudden, and he found himself stealing glances behind him. 

No, he was unable to hold back his emotions.

White suddenly shouted at the top of his lungs, a voice which he thought he would never muster up ever again---- "THANK YOU, SHINRI-SAN!!!!!!!!"

...Had he regained a part of himself at last?

From the distance, he could see the girl in her mask again, waving at him lightly as he moved further away.

Clenching his fist, the young man muttered under his breath:

"...I will do my best, so you should too... Shinri-san."

White covered his top with a hoodie commonly worn by merchants. It was another parting gift Shinri had left in the money pouch. He thought that it was quite a fit for him in order to blend in with the city.

At last, his journey would begin... but he would do it alone again.

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