Illya covered her mouth with her palm, her brow furrowing slightly as she searched for the right answer to Fyar’s question. After thinking for a few seconds, she replied in a gentle tone, "Mmm, I don’t think so. I didn’t really enjoy my life at the academy."
Fyar’s eyebrows rose. "Is that so? Why?"
Illya sighed, her hand unconsciously stroking her magic staff gently. "Nothing good happened in those four years, Fyar." She paused for a moment, the smile fading from her face. "You know? I was even very tempted to skip class because I disliked the academy so much. If it weren’t for my status, I probably would have left that cursed place."
Seeing the change in Illya’s expression to one of gloom, Fyar held back his intention to ask further about her academy life. He could sense there was a wound behind her words. It seems she went through something terrible there.
Fyar quickly changed his question. "Then, what has been the happiest moment for you, Illya?"
Illya turned toward Fyar, and a sincere smile returned to her face. "Perhaps right now."
"Right now?" Fyar did not expect that answer.
Illya nodded gracefully. "Yes, right now. When I can adventure with my party, joke around, and enjoy every exploration. And training like this, too." Her expression softened. "Especially since we have a great new member, which is you, Fyar."
Fyar didn’t know how to respond. He felt a little awkward, then shifted his gaze toward Rasie and Zaefal who were still fighting. "I-is that so."
Fyar decided to enjoy the rest of the afternoon. He breathed in the fresh mountain air, waiting for Rasie and Zaefal to finish their training. A wave of drowsiness began to wash over him. Fyar leaned his back against the tree, adjusted his position until he was comfortable, placed both hands behind his head, then closed his eyes and fell asleep.
Several hours later.
"Aaaagh!" Fyar’s eyes shot open in shock. His hair and face were soaked with cold water.
"Wake up, idiot! How long are you going to sleep?!" Rasie scolded in a high-pitched voice, holding an empty glass with an annoyed look on her face.
Fyar looked around. The sky was already dark. He sat up and slicked his wet hair back with his hand. "Is it night already?"
Damn woman. Why did you have to douse me with water? Couldn’t you have woken me up normally? Fyar cursed in his heart.
"I’m sorry, Fyar. I tried to wake you up gently earlier, but I failed," Illya said in an apologetic tone.
"Uhhh," Fyar didn’t know what to say. He then looked over at Zaefal who was standing next to Rasie, trying his best to hold back laughter.
"So, is your training finished? Can I go home now?" Fyar asked.
Zaefal composed his expression and sat down next to Fyar, followed by Rasie who sat down again next to Illya.
"There are a few things I want to discuss," Zaefal said. He looked at all his party members, then added, "I am currently level twenty-nine."
"Twenty-nine?!" Rasie shot to her feet, utterly shocked. How is that possible? On Monday he was still level twenty. In less than three days, he jumped nine levels? It took me two weeks just to get from level twenty to twenty-nine!
"How did you do it, Zaefal?" Illya was just as surprised, but there was a hint of sadness in her voice. The gap between her and her two companions felt like it was growing even wider.
Meanwhile, Fyar was not surprised at all. Leveling up fast is normal in RPGs. The weird ones are the people who level up slowly. That’s called a skill issue.
Zaefal’s expression turned serious. He answered in a heavy tone, "I killed a level thirty demon."
Illya’s and Rasie’s faces immediately paled. This was in contrast to Fyar, who felt it was normal since he often killed demons in games.
"How did you do it?! That’s clearly ten levels higher than you!" Rasie said, her curiosity overpowering her shock.
Zaefal recounted the chronology of the events, starting with his suspicion a week ago when many strange things began to happen in the city, such as an increase in murders and disputes among the nobility. All of it coincided with the arrival of a mysterious nobleman named Duke Fals.
"On Tuesday morning, I saw Duke Fals looking pale and panicked. I followed him all day. In the afternoon, he went out of the city and sent a letter via a raven. When I approached him, he immediately attacked me ferociously. Luckily, I brought a ’Slepes’ artifact. Its effect makes the target drowsy and unfocused for fifteen seconds. Maybe because he was sick or I was just lucky, he was affected by the artifact. I used that opportunity to kill him. After he died, he reverted to his demon form. His card showed he was a level thirty demon from the Kingdom of Randiru."
Fyar just listened in silence, choosing to listen to the serious discussion among the three.
"The Kingdom of Randiru? Are you serious?" Rasie couldn’t believe what she was hearing. "They made peace with us and promised they wouldn’t let their citizens set foot in the human kingdoms. This is strange. Plus, that demon sent a letter. What letter and to whom?"
"You know yourselves that demons level twenty-eight and above have the ability to incite and amplify the negative emotions of people below their level. I conclude that all the strange things that happened this past week were caused by him," Zaefal explained.
I just got to this world, and there’s already a conspiracy this big? What the hell is this? Fyar complained internally.
"Th-this could trigger a war if the kingdom finds out," Rasie said softly. She looked at Zaefal seriously. "Did you report this?"
Zaefal shook his head. "No. I don’t want a war to break out. It’s possible this is the work of an organization we don’t know about. So, it’s better that I investigate it myself."
"Should we help you with the investigation?" Illya offered gently, worried about Zaefal doing it alone.
"No. For now, you all just focus on training." Zaefal paused for a moment, then added, "I also want to move our dungeon exploration day up to Saturday."
"Eh, why?" Fyar asked, feeling uneasy.
Zaefal looked at Fyar. "After seeing your abilities, I don’t think I can teach you anything more when it comes to fighting. I also can’t teach you about Hunter powers since you’re at level zero." Fyar was slightly offended by that last sentence.
Zaefal then turned to Rasie. "Rasie, starting tomorrow until Friday, help Illya get her level up to twenty, or at least twenty-five. Hunt monsters that are a higher level than Illya. Bring her to the brink of death, then have Illya finish them off."
Rasie’s brow furrowed. "You’re asking the two of us to hunt level eighteen to twenty monsters alone? What are you thinking?"
"You can do it, Rasie. If you two cooperate well, I’m sure you can. I believe in you," Zaefal assured her. "In the meantime, I will look for a way to awaken the power within Fyar’s body."
Damn it. I don’t have any power. What do I do? Should I just be honest that I’m from another world and really don’t have magic? Fyar panicked. However, he remembered something. The green-haired man he met in the cosmic realm had told him to go to a dungeon and eat a fruit. The man had also said that ’something’ was put into his soul. Does that mean I was given power too? Plots like this are common in anime and manga. Hidden powers and all that. Even though I’m not an anime or manga character, this is worth a try.
"Zaefal, why are you in such a hurry? What’s wrong?" Illya asked, sensing the anxiety in Zaefal.
Zaefal fell silent, remembering the horrifying future memories he had experienced. He looked at his companions with a heavy gaze. "Something bad is going to happen in the future. I want you all to level up as fast as possible." Zaefal paused for a moment, before uttering the sentence that sent a chill down all their spines.
"You all need to be at level fifty by the end of this year."