Adventure Begins!

Toma completed Elira’s language classes in the first three weeks. Elira was also surprised by his exponential growth and potential.

Now in the adventure guild,

As Toma and Elira entered the adventurer guild, everyone’s eyes were on Toma. He became a hero after the recent bank robbery incident. Everyone present in the guild was praising him. He even received several invitations to join their party.

Toma also started getting with the flow, taking their praise and having a good time. He even announced free drinks for everyone, and that decision cost him half a Gilden.

He also made up his mind to become an adventurer, thinking, “After becoming an adventurer, he could easily get a lot of money by joining an elite party. Then even if I can’t return to my home world, I could spend my life lavishly.” with a greedy grin on his face.

Two girls came to Toma and handed him a letter each, stamped with a red heart, and then ran away with completely red faces, looking embarrassed.

“Even the harem route is unlocked….” he thought.

Elira was just eating her favorite cake, unbothered by all the things happening in the background.

Toma came to her, “Help me with registration.”, “Let me finish my cake first,” she replied.

After finishing the cake, Toma and Elira went to the registration counter.

There was one bald, seasoned man in a white and green guild staff uniform, greeted them.

“I am -” he interrupted Toma, “You are Toma, right? Haha, the one who stopped bank robbery and saved the life of one mage, with your forgotten magic,” that bald man said.

“ I am Theo. How can I help you?”

“The rumors are getting twisted with time… ” Elira thought.

Instead of clearing the facts, Toma just went with it. “Yes, I am that Toma. And I want to register to become an adventurer,” he said proudly.

“Okay, Toma, I have filled all the required Details. Now, tell me what adventure name you want to go with? It is like for privacy purposes, some adventurers use a different name,” Theo asked.

“Umm..” Toma thinks for a moment, “How about - ”

“WarpRunner!” He exclaimed, with a grin.

Sometime later,

Everyone present in the guild building gathered. Toma was about to check his Mana pool.

Everyone cheered for him,

“Behold, My great, near infinite power, everyone.” Toma boasted, forgetting about reality in that moment; he went too far this time. Elira tried to stop him, but he completely ignored her.

Toma stepped on the platform, and a crystal suspended between two metal bars travelled to height around his heart, then a number was displayed on the screen of the device.

It was “500,” a bit lower than the rookie number.

The cheers died down, and a low chattered started in the crowd. “Is he real?” “he must be a pretender”, “Maybe, he just looks similar to him,” and many more. The crowd dispersed nice, warm tone of crowd turned into pity and doubt.

The girls who had handed him letters earlier came to him and asked for their letters back.

Toma just exited the guild building with slumped shoulders, his dreams shattered. Elira followed him.

“What was that! Our honourable hero!” Elira was teasing him, holding back her laughter, her cheeks puffed, her eyes filled with tears because of the pressure of holding back.

“My perfect world, my lavish life, my harem, it’s all gone in a moment,” Toma mumbled, under his breath. He was so shattered that he didn’t even reply to Elira’s teasing.

“What is he mumbling?” Elira thought.

Toma heard a whisper, “Don’t be so sad. Because - ” Toma stopped in his tracks. Then Elira playfully stepped in front of him and leaned a little towards Toma. Both her hands were holding a staff behind her back. “I am with you!” she said with an adorable smile on her face, her ears were bright red.

That was the first time Toma saw this sweet side of her. Elira’s radiating positive bright aura washed away his sadness, and tears filled his eyes. “Thank you!” he said.

After that, seven months passed. Elira taught him everything she could.

Toma takes a sword as his weapon of choice

(because he played VR games, and did not even bother to take some real-world training, how dumb!)

and also, as his mana pool is limited, he can’t effectively cast most of the spells.

Toma learned everything about the magic system of this world; one can say, in theory, he learned everything that Elira knows. And even read different grimoires and research papers, also published by various researchers.

Toma’s Mana pool also grew, but he did not go back to the guild even once, cause of the events of the first day, he was too embarrassed to show his face there.

Finally, that day arrived when Elira took the first quest for them.

Mission: Collect Whispermint from the forest.

Both Elira and Toma are walking on a path surrounded by deep forest, and they have walked pretty far from the city.

“From here, we have to go to the foot of this hill, where the whispermint grows more commonly. ” Elira says, pointing Toma towards the hill.

“This hill, it is the same hill where I warped into this world.” he recognizes the hill; he feels safe that in this region, he didn’t see any monsters back then.

“So, how does the whispermint look?” Toma asked, “You will hear it.” Elira said.

“What do you mean by that?” Toma asked in an annoying tone. “The flowers will generate sound like whispers when the wind blows through them, and it has flowers shaped like a whistle,” she replied.

Toma recollects his memories, “Follow me, I exactly know where to find them!” and runs off alone ahead in the jungle, with a sword in his hands.

“Wait!” She follows.

They find some whispermint growing where Toma takes her. They collect some of it and keep the tiny saplings for later. “We need some more. ” Elira says, “No issue, I know where to find it, just keep up with me! ” he exclaims as he runs off to the next spot.

“Idiot! Stop! Not that way!” She runs behind him, catches up with him at some distance, then pulls him behind a rock. “Idiot! Don’t just run off, like that! ” she yells in a low voice.

“Don’t worry, I have photographic memory, I know where this whispermint grows,” he says proudly.

“Do you have a death wish? See there!” she points him towards a tree.

Two orcs were resting below the tree in the shade.

“That is a good thing! It’s bonus points!” Toma exclaims to her.

Elira denies and suggests that they should head back. “Fighting with two orcs, just two of us, is madness!” she argued.

“So, the great mage Elira Redmarsh is going to run away, then.” Toma taunted her, and she fell for it.

“Alright then, if you wish, then we will fight -” she said, still half of her mind wanted to run away, but her ego was in the way. “But, we need a plan!”

“Yes! I have a plan. So, from what you taught me, the spells take a percentage of your Mana, and then you can give additional effects by sacrificing certain items, right? Here’s the plan.”

“We will do a surprise strike. I will go first and take their aggression, then you cast a big stunbolt to stun them. Do you have any items that can be sacrificed to improve it?” Toma asked, “No, ” she said.

“No issues, once they are stunned, I will finish them with my sword.” Toma felt completely confident in his plan, and if everything goes well, they will succeed.

If everything goes according to the plan that is -,

Toma started yelling (he could have cast Aggravate, but he is an idiot!) He leaped forward and charged towards the orcs. They saw him and stood up; they were armed with huge wooden clubs. “Elira Now!” he shouted.

“Stunbolt!” she casts, and a bright, crackling lightning converges at her staff’s end. “Release!” she releases it, and it grows even brighter than before.

The bolt of lightning zaps through the air, barely missing the Toma, but then hits no one.

“Idiot! Where are you aiming? ” Toma yells at her, “Sorry, I will cast again!” she exclaims.

“Stunbolt!”

“Release!”

This time, the bolt hits the ground, missing Toma’s feet by an inch.

Toma stops his charge, looks back towards Elira, just an expressionless stare ~ ~ ~ both Elira and Toma stare at each other blankly for a few seconds.

“Who am I?” he asks in a voice as flat as water.

“What is this all of a sudden?” Elira says.

“No. Answer me first.”

“Toma,” she says.

“Who are they?” Toma points towards the orcs behind him, keeping his expressionless eye contact with Elira.

“Orcs,” she says.

“So, you do know the difference between an orc and a human, and you can even see that without a doubt. Right?”

“...” she doesn’t answer, her eyes dart to the side, to hide something, her lips tighten and shake a little.

Toma narrows his eyes. “Answer me.”

Toma hears a faint “Yes.”

“Then, WHY ARE YOU TRYING TO HIT ME INSTEAD ???!!!” Toma shouts very loudly, waking up the orcs from their sleep.

“Stunbolt is too bright! I closed my eyes instinctively! ” she yelled back. “And, and you moron! Look behind you! Orcs are awake because of you!” she continued.

Toma looks behind, two orcs standing under the tree with clubs in hand, their bulky muscles visible under their bleached green skin, looking back at Toma and Elira.

Toma’s plan was completely in shambles.

Without a moment of hesitation, Toma ran in the opposite direction towards Elira. “Do Something!”

Elira was so panicked seeing two orcs charging at her, she felt her legs heavy, she thought to run, but her legs did not move an inch, as if they were glued to the ground. She tried to think of some spell, but was unable to do so.

In a moment, Toma held her hand and picked her up in his hands, “At least use your feet to run.”

Elira looks at him with a surprised look. There was something more than surprise in her eyes; she felt safe in Toma’s hands. lost in a moment, looking at Toma, trying his best to run away from the orcs.

“Shit!”

Her moment shatters,

They hit a dead end at the base of a cliff. Now pinched between the cliff and the orcs.

Toma puts Elira down, and then does something he has never thought he could.

Toma stands between Elira and the orcs, drawing his sword, his face full of determination, his hands and feet shaking. “Someone, anyone, please come and save us!” he is shouting in his mind, praying.

One orc charges at Toma and swings his wooden club. Toma tries to block it with his sword, but the force is too much, and Toma lands several feet away on the ground.

Orc charges for second strike,

Toma embraces himself for an impact.

But,

One giant shadow jumps off the cliff, lands in time, takes a direct hit, and doesn’t even budge an inch.

Toma opens his eyes, through the dust clouds, and sees a giant figure as big as those orcs, standing between him and the orc.