Dawn broke, and the sun's rays passed through the small slit in the window. Aaron got up as if he were at home, calmly, then checked how much time had passed. Five days in his world. How long had he slept?
He rushed downstairs and asked how many days he had been asleep. The old man's response was twofold: first, a look of surprise on his face, then an unexpected answer.
"You've only slept for one night." That was his response.
"What? But then how is it that five days have passed in my world?"
"I don't want to discourage you, but I don't know. What I can say is that everyone who has experienced the same situation as you has never been able to leave this world."
Suddenly, an old female voice came from the direction of the door, making Aaron jump.
"And no one knows how to reopen the door. Only entrances, no exits."
"Come on, Grandma! Don't scare our guest! He's already in shock."
"I know. But upsetting him for a moment is better than deceiving him for life. He could resent us forever if we hid this reality from him," explained the old woman.
Endras lowered his head in sad agreement. Aaron understood that his chances of returning home were slim. He decided to inform his mother of his supernatural predicament. He went to the "door" and sent a picture of the tree, hoping it would be at least somewhat sufficient, even though it would be impossible for her to digest the probable loss of her son.
He had reached his destination in record time without realizing it. Had he gained speed? Thanks to the monster he had killed? At least, that's what he thought. On his way back, he spent the entire day searching for another identical monster, not even thinking about eating.
Suddenly, as he turned toward the inn, a noise made him spin around. A boar—the same as the one that had pushed him from behind on the first day he arrived. Only now did Aaron realize that the beast was enormous, reaching two-thirds of his height. However, its skin didn't seem very tough. He grabbed the sharpest stone he could find.
As he straightened up, the boar charged toward him at full speed. Aaron let it approach and, at the last moment, dodged to the side. Once the first pass was done, the supernatural beast stopped, exposing its left flank to the boy. He took the opportunity to hurl the stone with all his strength, aiming as close to its heart as possible.
The target remained frozen for a few seconds before collapsing. Aaron was certain he hadn't hit the heart but rather its crystal. He rushed to his fallen prey to bring it to the guild and sell his trophy. It was incredibly heavy… so he decided to drag it.
Upon reaching Usay, he passed through the west gate, made his way to the guild, entered, walked five more meters, and then collapsed onto the counter. The young woman behind it jumped up and asked if he was okay.
In truth, he had suffered more injuries hauling the carcass than fighting. Despite this, everyone present in the guild at that moment remained silent, except for whispers of astonishment.
"Almost no one has managed to kill a Vixe alone while being a newbie.""And it has only one wound! He destroyed its core in a single strike!"
None of the guild members' words reached Aaron. He had passed out. And just before he arrived.
An intense light burned through the young man's closed eyelids. He opened them with difficulty, using his left arm as a shield. He had tried to use his right arm to ease the strain on his eyes, but he couldn't move it—his shoulder hurt far too much.
Ilîa, sitting at his bedside, awake and looking angry, asked if he was finally awake.
In response, he placed his arm over his eyes.
"You know very well that if something is too heavy, you need to ask for help," Ilîa scolded softly. "Don't ever do that again! We don't tolerate recklessness in the guild. But I also have to say, well done—bringing back a Vixe with so little damage takes skill. Your reward is on the table beside you. And don't forget: never do that again!"
"Wait, Aaron said. I collapsed just after passing the west gate—how did I end up at the guild? And where am I now?"
"Don't tell me you passed out all the way from the west gate! Do you have an invisible rope tied to the guild or something?"
"Maybe an invisible rope to you," the hunter retorted with obvious insincerity, which earned him a punch to the stomach. He regretted it instantly. However, the young woman had blushed, which amused Aaron even more despite the pain.
"Alright! Go pay the old man for your night at the inn. You have enough for it, she almost shouted. I'm not covering it after helping carry you here."
"That's fair. It wouldn't be right of me. Alright, I'll go pay. And see if there's a quest for me."
"Do that. I'll be waiting for you. Also, the guild master wants to see you for a rank promotion. Check your card—you'll understand."
With those words, she walked off quickly, leaving the young man with questions he couldn't ask.
Dressed, stretched, and fed, he paid for his night and his meal, then looked at his card.
Lv: 47
Forty-six levels? He had gained 46 levels just from killing a single boar. That had to be the only explanation; otherwise, he would have gained them without doing anything, which was impossible.
He checked his rank:
E ( ^ )
Aaron figured the symbol on the right indicated he was due for a rank-up. What if he reached level fifty? Just to see if it would affect his rank.
He rushed outside, eager to find another beast to kill.
A "Vixe," she had said. Maybe that was the species of boar he had slain. He headed toward the forest—there had to be plenty of them there.
After a good hour of searching, he finally came across one. Small problem—it was twice as big as the one he had previously killed, making it taller than Aaron. Intimidated but not stressed, he decided to… avoid it? Maybe a good idea. Or should he go find a stone as sharp as the one he had used on his last victim?
The second option was the right one. He moved away, searching for the sharpest stone possible, when an idea crossed his mind. He picked up a stone within reach, grabbed another one twice as large, and tried to sharpen the smaller one. It took him fifteen minutes to get the tip he wanted.
Once finished, he returned to his prey, keeping a good distance, with the stone in his right hand, ready to throw it like a dart. He waited for the right moment, regulated his breathing, and prepared the muscles of his entire body. The moment the animal exposed its flank, he threw the stone at full speed.
He had thrown it so hard that the stone pierced through the monster in mere milliseconds, then exited on the other side, embedding itself into a tree four meters beyond the body.
Aaron stood frozen in disbelief. He may have put all his strength into the throw, but there was no way he could have that much power. Almost speechless, he checked his card.
Lv: 73.
Seeing that number—and especially the fact that it had increased so much—made his heart race. Was such a massive level-up even normal?
He pushed all questions and doubts out of his mind to refocus on his prey. It had collapsed on its left side, tongue hanging in the same direction, mouth wide open as if trying to let out a final cry. Ignoring these details, the young man grabbed the Vixe—Ilîa's name for it—by the legs, lifted it onto his back, and headed for the guild. "I won't pass out again." That was the promise he made to himself at that moment.
After a journey with more detours than expected, he finally arrived at his destination, struggling to get his catch inside. He was covered in the beast's blood, which had drained onto him during the trek. Once inside, he went to see Ilîa—partly for his reward, but also for his rank-up.
Her surprise was expected, as was that of all the onlookers in the guild. The entire building fell into a stunned silence, with everyone staring at the hunter like sunflowers turning in unison toward the sun. Scratching his head nervously, he asked how much he would receive for his latest catch.
The only response he got was, "Ah! Uh… yes, you'll receive twenty gold coins, fifteen silver, and two bronze," spoken with eyes as wide as a pizza.
"And about my rank-up?" Aaron asked, trying to ease the tension.
"Well, for that, go upstairs, to the left. There's only one door. Knock and say your name."
"Alright, I'll come back later to collect the money."
"Sounds good, we'll do it that way," she replied with a smile, as the others gradually resumed their conversations—most of them about the young man climbing the stairs, knocking, and then receiving confirmation to enter.
The first thing he saw upon entering was immediate. The walls were as well-kept as those downstairs, the table just as clean, the desk packed with numerous documents, and the sofas almost luxurious.
A man in his thirties sat in a chair at the end of the room. He had red hair, almost chestnut-toned skin, well-developed arms, and an imposing face. But what truly surprised Aaron was that the man's ears were positioned on top of his head instead of the sides, blending seamlessly with his hair, sharing the same color.
Noticing the boy's astonishment, the guild master moved his ears and asked if it surprised him that much. The response was silent but clear: yes.
"Ha! Ha! You must have been isolated since birth to know so little."
"Uh… You could say that."
"Well, I understand why Ilîa had so many questions about you. You really are unique. Anyway, you're here to update your rank, if I understand correctly. Hand me your card for a moment, please."
Still wide-eyed, Aaron complied. The guild master certainly had a unique personality, that was for sure. Aaron sensed an overwhelming, controlled power behind his friendly demeanor, but he had no idea how to react to it. He didn't waver—he was simply frozen in place.
The hybrid man noticed this but kept his wide, non-mocking smile.
After a brief moment—five minutes at most—the man returned to Aaron and handed him his card.
"Here you go. Quite the leap, that's for sure. But well deserved. You're now Rank C!"
"Thank you," said Aaron as he took the card. "Alright, I'll be off then."
"Yes. Goodbye!"
The young boy left, his hands almost trembling.
As he made his way toward the exit, he heard whispers:
"Poor guy didn't expect to see such an intimidating guild master. I almost feel bad for him.""Yeah, we all went through that. He'll see that he's not actually that dangerous."
The moment Aaron stepped through the door, his fear disappeared. He decided to take a break to process everything before returning to training—and giving it his all!
Back at his paranormal inn, he took a long rest.
When he woke up, he paid immediately, then went outside to get some fresh air for half an hour before heading out to hunt.
He had decided to hunt in increasingly remote areas to grow stronger, get used to dangerous battles, and rid himself of the fear of monsters that were too powerful.
He first searched for the steel boars he had already fought twice before. He found two along the way and eliminated them—one with a sharp flint and the other with a broken stone he had fashioned into a blade. Both were pierced directly through the heart. He was getting used to it.
He then ventured several kilometers farther into the forest before stumbling upon a vast, almost barren plain.
The heat was intense, the ground covered in grass—yet it was a dazzling yellow. The sky was clearer than ever, the sun blazing at full force over the seemingly endless land, stretching across hundreds, perhaps thousands of hectares.
Upon seeing this terrain—clearly much more hostile and therefore potentially more dangerous—Aaron decided to turn back and bring the two Vixes to the inn. Dragging them along slowed him down only slightly, and by evening, he was back once again, having spent his entire day hunting.
As he stepped through the door—just wide enough to fit both beasts at the same time—he placed them down before the utterly shocked old man.
"I brought you something to thank you," he exclaimed with a big smile.
"But this is way too much, my boy!" cried Endras—or at least, as much as one could call it a cry.
"Well, that makes me even happier!"
"I see," the innkeeper replied, smiling. "In return for this generous gift, I'll give you some information you won't want to refuse. Magic in this world is so easy to use, it's almost laughable. We can even heal the most dreadful cancers. And I can teach you some basics. Meanwhile, my wife here can teach you the fundamentals of swordsmanship—"
"Don't speak for me, you senile little mage," she interrupted. "But it's true, I'd gladly do it."
"But…" Aaron hesitated. "You're just innkeepers, aren't you?"
"You don't know us because you're not from this world, but you have before you two of the most powerful elders in the Kingdom of Astrasie, the innkeeper explained. The Mage of Worlds and the Goddess of Blades. At least, before we were deemed no longer fit for battle. But despite our age, we surpass you in ways you can't even imagine—experience, strength, tactics, strategy, cooperation. However, a young man as kind as you deserves to be rewarded. So we've decided to offer you personal training."
"And… will I at least survive it? asked the concerned party."
The only answer he received was a knowing smile. The reasoning was obvious—his stats, recorded on his card, and the proof of the monsters he had slain.
In that case, he accepted. But starting tomorrow.
For now, it was time to rest.