Chapter 5. Fish

Chapter 5. Fish

Pov: Rem

“Oh, there’s another one,” Sherial said, loosing an arrow across the river into the brush on the opposite bank.

Ever since we saved that guy, run-ins with the rabbit-monsters have gotten more frequent. Looks like we’re closing in on a new dungeon. Sherial is taking out most of these low-rank pests. You’d think shooting arrows at such weaklings would be a waste of resources—but these arrows cost next to nothing. They don’t even have metal heads, just well-shaved, straight wooden shafts. For fifty copper coins you can buy a bundle of a hundred. By themselves they aren’t very dangerous… but in a bowyer like Sherial’s hands they’re lethal, even against little monsters like these rabbits. And yes, each arrow is basically useless after a single shot—the fragile “head” splinters almost immediately. After that, what’s left is only good as kindling. There’s no point wasting time picking them back up.

Same story with the magic stones dropped by rank-zero monsters—their price is so low that collecting them one by one takes more time than it’s worth. Sure, they’re still valuable for beginners… we used to pick up every last crystal ourselves. But at our level it’s more important to finish the job quickly and get back to the guild than to fuss with small change.

My thoughts drifted back to the guy we’d just saved.

“Do you think he was telling the truth?” I asked Sherial.

“About what?” she turned as we walked.

“About being from some isolated village and not knowing anything about the outside world… beyond his own village.”

“Only a fool would believe that,” Sherial snorted.

Yeah, she feels the same as I do. He lied so badly… It was obvious the “isolated village” story was a fabrication. And yet… something about him didn’t add up. He really did look like someone who knew nothing about the world—as if he’d spent his whole life shut in. But he didn’t give off the impression of a rich man raised in luxury and seclusion, either.

Judging a person at first meeting is never simple.

“Out of arrows—hand me more?” Sherial asked without breaking stride.

I took another hundred disposable shafts out of storage. I had over a thousand, but she’d gone through quite a few in the last hours. Looks like we’ll need to restock soon.

“About his alchemy skill,” Sherial went on, drawing the bow again and sending another precise shot. “Do you think he can survive and turn into a decent adventurer while hiding a skill like that?”

“If he’s smart enough not to get greedy, if he doesn’t start selling potions in bulk and drawing attention—then yes, he can,” I said.

“He didn’t strike me as smart,” Sherial noted.

“First impressions are often deceiving,” I said.

“Believe me, the guy’s only level ten. But for his age that’s above average—most villagers are level five or six. So he must have at least some experience fighting monsters,” I added. “He’s got some kind of minimal combat background for sure.”

“Well, I still think he’s… a kindhearted idiot,” Sherial said with a faint smile.

“Hm.” I looked at her, curious. “And why are you saying that with… that smile?”

“Because he seemed a little cute to me,” she replied.

“And why’s that?” I asked, a bit surprised.

“Remember how we met him? He was running from the rabbits,” Sherial said.

“Right.”

“When he stopped after seeing us and turned around, I noticed his lips move. He was trying to tell us ‘run.’ His voice barely came out, but from the lip movement I caught it,” Sherial said.

“You really do have hawk eyes. I didn’t even notice,” I said. “And that’s cute to you because…?”

“Well,” Sherial smiled, “he saw two cute girls and apparently wanted to save us—even at the cost of his life.”

“That was a stupid move,” I said.

“Sure, stupid. But still, you have to admit there’s something to it,” Sherial answered with a light smile. “He was the source of the danger himself, and yet he still tried to protect us.”

“Ugh, stop calling us ‘cute girls,’” I said, a little irritated.

“Hey, we are cute,” she said, teasing on purpose.

“Oh—something ahead,” I stopped. Usually Sherial notices danger first, but she must have been lost in thought this time.

“Yeah, I see it,” she smiled. “Looks like we’re here.”

She did notice before me; she just chose not to say. Fine.

As we drew nearer, a wide, dark opening yawned in the canyon wall, like a cave. It was impressive in size—about four meters tall and just as wide.

At first glance it really looked like an ordinary cave, but three meters in it became clear the walls weren’t earthen at all. A perfectly even stone corridor stretched into the darkness. Nature doesn’t make lines that straight.

As we approached the entrance, a small group of rabbit-monsters burst from the gloom. Still rank zero—small, weak, annoying. We dealt with them without any trouble: a few quick shots from Sherial and a couple of sword cuts, and it was over.

“Looks like we’ve found a new dungeon,” I said, studying the entrance.

“Yeah, most likely,” Sherial replied. “But we should make sure.”

She stepped closer, peering into the dark corridor.

The fact that a few monsters ran out isn’t proof on its own. It could be some old structure from long ago. Rank-zero rabbit-monsters are scattered all over the canyon; they might have just wandered inside.

We made careful preparations—as if we were about to enter an unknown, dangerous high-level dungeon, not a newly formed low-rank one.

Sherial slung her bow and drew her sword. Yes, she’s primarily an archer, but she can handle a blade just as well. In tight corridors like this, a bow isn’t much use.

I activated my skill and summoned five rank-two stone golems. They stood a bit taller than us—around two meters—solid and reliable.

“Forward,” I ordered.

The golems stepped into the dungeon corridor, their heavy footfalls echoing off the stone. They went ahead to clear the way and check for traps. If there was a surprise waiting, better they trigger it than us.

“Ready?” I asked.

“Yes,” Sherial answered tersely, tightening her grip on the hilt.

“Good… this is where the real work begins.”

We shared a look and moved forward, descending into the dungeon’s dimness.

Though the entrance looked dark and grim from outside, after a few meters down the stone hallway it was clear it wasn’t pitch black. A soft, diffuse glow seeped from cracks in the walls and ceiling. The light sources were faint, but enough to see the space ahead clearly.

“Yes,” I whispered, “it’s definitely a dungeon.”

That kind of lighting is one of the telltale signs. All that’s left is to learn how big it is… and how dangerous.

---

Pov: Alisar

I activated the Training Room skill, and a little needle of fear pricked my chest.

What if the upgrade to rank two takes too long? A week… a month… years?

The system never explained how it works.

But my worries were groundless—the skill triggered without delay. The world lurched, and I was back in the familiar place—the stone room. Almost everything looked the same as last time… except for one thing.

Size.

If before the room had been roughly ten by ten meters, now it was twice as long and twice as wide—twenty by twenty. Four times the space.

“Whoa…” I breathed.

It wasn’t just a room anymore—it was a real training hall.

Yeah, if I had the resources, I could turn this into a proper home: table, chairs, equipment. Actually… why not live here most of the time in the future? Safe, quiet, and I can train as much as I want.

But that’s for later. Right now—I need to work.

[Quest No. 1:

– 100 squats
– 100 push-ups
– 100 jumps in place
– 1-minute plank]

The plan had gotten serious. Tougher. But I’d gotten stronger too. I’d put all my free attribute points into Strength, so this shouldn’t be a problem.

There’s no “Endurance” stat in the system, but I hoped a higher Strength would help there anyway.

“All right… let’s start with squats,” I told myself.

After the first few reps, I felt something odd.

Like my body had gotten heavier, as if some invisible weight was pressing down on me.

“Is it just me… or did this place get heavier?” I muttered.

Maybe it’s nothing. Yeah, probably just tired from the day.

Enough thinking.

Too much happened today already. Better to focus on clearing the quest.

---

[Quest No. 1 completed.
Gained: +15,000 experience points.]

---

[Quest No. 2 completed.
Gained: +20,000 experience points.]

---

[Quest No. 3 completed.
Gained: +30,000 experience points.]

---

[Quest No. 4 completed.
Gained: +40,000 experience points.]

---

[Quest No. 5 completed.
Gained: +50,000 experience points.]

Yes, I cleared another quest and finally hit level 14.

Here’s what my status screen looks like now:

[Status]

[Name: Alisar]
[Level: 14
EXP: 31,610 / 55,000
Rank: 1

HP: 1730 (+340)
MP: 1540 (+240)

Strength: 69 (+18)
Defense: 55 (+8)
Speed: 49 (+8)
Intelligence: 58 (+8)
Magic Power: 53 (+8)
Magic Defense: 43 (+8)

Free Attribute Points: 8 (−10) (+8)

Skills: —

Special Skills:
• Training Room (Rank 2)
• Alchemy (Rank 1)]

Everything looks great. I’m getting twice as many stats per level as before. And the quests reward way more experience—and those numbers keep climbing. On the other hand, each level now requires a lot more EXP, and the quests are clearly getting tougher.

Originally I thought that as my level rose things would get easier, that I could breeze through quests even if the rep counts turned absurd. But one recent observation shattered that plan.

When I do the quests, my body gets heavier. That sensation I dismissed as an illusion turned out to be real. Every time I start a new quest, it feels like increased gravity kicks in. Looks like the system is deliberately compensating for my Strength growth so training never becomes trivial.

For example, right now I feel great—full of energy, only a little tired. But the moment I start a quest, that feeling vanishes. It’s like someone flips a switch and the gravity around me suddenly doubles.

Yeah, new plan. I won’t dump every point into Strength anymore. From now on, my priority is MP pool.

Recent experience made it crystal clear. I noticed that for every point I put into Strength, Defense, or Speed, the system adds +10 to max HP. Likewise, investing in Intelligence, Magic Power, or Magic Defense gives +10 to max MP per point.

Which means the bigger my MP, the more Health Potions I can create.

And, as I already figured out, if you drink a Health Potion while healthy, none of that energy goes to waste—it floods into your body like a super-charged energy drink. Fatigue disappears, and I can immediately keep going.

The more potions I can make, the more quests I can clear, and the faster I’ll level up.

So funneling points into raw physical stats right now is pointless—the real key to progress is mana and alchemy.

Decision made. From now on, all free points go into increasing my MP.

---

[Quest No. 6 completed.
Gained: +60,000 experience points.]

---

[Quest No. 7 completed.
Gained: +70,000 experience points.]

---

[Quest No. 8 completed.
Gained: +80,000 experience points.]

---

[Quest No. 9 completed.
Gained: +90,000 experience points.]

---

[Quest No. 10 completed.
Gained: +100,000 experience points.]

---

[Quest No. 11 completed.
Gained: +150,000 experience points.]

---

[Quest No. 12 completed.
Gained: +200,000 experience points.]

---

[Quest No. 13 completed.
Gained: +300,000 experience points.]

---

[Quest No. 14 completed.
Gained: +400,000 experience points.]

---

[Quest No. 15 completed.
Gained: +500,000 experience points.]

---

[Quest No. 16 completed.
Gained: +600,000 experience points.]

[Status]

[Name: Alisar]
[Level: 27
EXP: 110 610/460 000
Rank: 2

HP: 2 930 (+1 200)
MP: 2 740 (+1 200)

Strength: 109 (+40)
Defense: 95 (+40)
Speed: 89 (+40)
Intelligence: 98 (+40)
Magic Power: 93 (+40)
Magic Defense: 83 (+40)

Free Attribute Points: 76 (+68)

Skills: —

Special Skills:
• Training Room (Rank 2)
• Alchemy (Rank 1)]

I looked at my status screen. Yeah, everything checks out—level 27. I think this is the fourth day by now. Why “I think” and not “I know”? Because I’ve spent four nights in the training room—slept four times—and there’s no clock here. Four days for me, but out in the real world probably not even one has passed—at most a couple of hours.

During that time I stepped outside several times a day to drink straight from the river and gather a few fruits and berries, then went right back in. I even ate mostly inside the Training Room, staying focused.

When the fatigue became unbearable, I created a Health Potion and drank it. Just like I planned—it's the best energy drink imaginable. And I haven’t noticed any side effects at all so far. Things are going even better than I hoped.

Even so, I think it’s time to wrap up training and head for the village as soon as possible. Spending four days doing the same exercises over and over wasn’t the hardest part. I worked as a manual loader for the last few years—twelve hours a day, almost no days off, doing the same physical tasks. So the quests themselves weren’t anything special to me.

Yeah, I could keep pushing, but there’s one thing I can’t stand anymore—the food. For all four days I’ve eaten only two things: red berries and peaches. At first they tasted good, but now I’m dying for something else: vegetables, fried potatoes, meat… anything that isn’t fruit.

If I can’t find something else to eat, I’ll have to go to the village.

I was standing by the river, wondering what to do next, when my eyes fell on a few fish darting in the clear water. Right! When Rem and Sherial grilled fish over the campfire, it was amazing. Perfect—today’s lunch is going to be fire-roasted fish.