It felt incredibly good to see the favorability increase when it hadn’t before. The touching conversation had come to an end, and it was about time to get up. But she had no intention of letting him go.
“Uh, Tia. I’m gonna go to bed. Can you let me go?”
“Hmm. Nope.”
Tia shook her head slowly and pulled Yuda into a hug. She stretched her legs behind his waist, crossed them, and locked him in tight. She grinned.
“Let’s sleep together like this just for today. Good night.”
Sleep without a blanket? She kissed his forehead, closed her eyes. Smelling her scent, he had no choice but to close his eyes too. He thought he wouldn’t sleep at all, but weirdly, listening to her steady breathing and the faint heartbeat from her cheek, sleep slowly crept in.
…
Yuda, deep in sleep, regained consciousness. With his eyes still closed, he frowned slightly and moved his hand. Something soft brushed his fingertips. He squeezed it reflexively. It felt so good, almost addictive. Wondering what it was, he opened his eyes and pressed harder, then heard an unexpected sound.
“Aah.”
“?”
His slowly opening eyes widened in an instant. Tia was lying right in front of him.
Could it be…?
Checking where his hand was resting, he saw it was firmly placed on her chest.
She smirked, amused by his panicked face. Yuda never imagined this’d actually happen. He jolted, trying to get up, but the support under him vanished, and he dropped fast…
“See, it’s dangerous.”
Before he almost fell, a hand swiftly reached out, catching him and pulling him back up onto the sofa. Back on the sofa, Breathing a sigh of relief, Yuda slowly sat up. This time, Tia didn’t hold him back. She just chuckled softly.
As the memories of the previous night returned, Yuda recalled their conversation about dreams, how she refused to let him go, and how they ended up sleeping on the narrow sofa, tangled together. He had worried about spending the whole night sleepless, but in the end, her gentle stroking had lulled him to sleep.
That wasn’t the point, though. He lowered his gaze to the hand that’d freely kneaded her chest. Opening and closing it, he vividly recalled that feeling.
‘…It was really soft.’
How long since he had last touched a woman’s boobs? His heart pounded hard.
“I’m sorry, Tia.”
"It's fine. It’s not like touching them will wear them out, and your reaction was adorable."
As he bowed his head in apology, she giggled.
As if nothing had happened, she got up and headed to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. Yuda quickly followed to help. Unlike in Korea, where side dishes were a hassle to prepare, breakfast here was simple. He took out cabbage, mayonnaise, and fruit to make a salad, then cut bread into bite-sized pieces and stacked them on a plate. Since both of them ate a fair amount, they ended up with nearly eight slices of bread.
Once breakfast was ready, he retrieved a bottle of milk from the fridge and placed it on the table.
"If you want to travel the world, you won’t get far with your current skills."
"Huh?"
Yuda, who had been spreading jam on the bread, paused.
Tia rested her chin on one hand, lazily twirling her fork through the salad.
"Don’t you remember? You told me yesterday that you wanted to travel the continent."
Ah, that’s right.
He nodded as he resumed spreading the jam.
"Even seasoned mercenaries and adventurers end up getting caught in unexpected situations and dying during their travels. If you’re traveling alone, it’s even worse. There are countless cases of people disappearing without a trace. That’s why nobles bring skilled knights with them when they journey—it’s for protection."
Yuda knew this world wasn’t like his original one, where law enforcement kept things in order and embassies could provide aid. Here, if something unfair happened, you had to deal with it yourself. If he wanted to travel while maintaining some level of safety, joining a merchant caravan as a mercenary or a low-ranking member would be an option.
But that would make it impossible to search for the fragments.
His journey's true purpose was retrieving the fragments. That meant he had to go, no matter what.
And he wasn’t afraid of dying.
If he died, he would simply start over. As long as he obtained a fragment, he could rewind to the moment he acquired it.
This ability to revive from death erased his fear.
"I know. But I still have to go."
Tia let out a soft chuckle.
"That’s why, before you leave, you need more experience. Like I said yesterday, we’ll head through the eastern forest today and hunt the black wolves in the southern forest."
The city of Serenia was a great place for adventurers and mercenaries to train. The western forest was filled with dangerous monsters, but the southern forest was less treacherous. However, people avoided it because of the sheer number of black and white wolves. The biggest danger was exhaustion from prolonged combat.
The good news? They wouldn’t be interrupted by others.
The bad news? No one would be there to help them either.
After breakfast, Yuda and Tia prepared for the journey. Watching her pack for days of camping, Yuda clicked his tongue. Adventure was far from romantic—it was all about preparation.
Seeing her struggling with a heavy backpack, Yuda hesitated.
Should he tell her about his 〈Inventory〉?
Her favorability was at 60, and her trust level was close to 80. That should be high enough for her not to betray him.
So, he showed it.
In front of her, he removed his backpack and placed it into the 〈Inventory〉.
Tia was startled. She questioned him, her expression filled with rare astonishment. She even asked if he was a dragon.
Yuda hesitated on how to explain. Eventually, he settled on telling her that a certain man had granted him this ability.
Though skeptical, she eventually accepted his words with a nod.
She then warned him not to show this ability carelessly in front of others.
After that, she eagerly brought over all the supplies she hadn’t packed due to weight limitations and told him to store them.
From cooking utensils to water bottles and emergency rations, they loaded up.
By late morning, they finally passed through the eastern gate.
+++
Unlike the east forest, Serenia’s south forest felt like a dark jungle even at midday. Yesterday, near the entrance, he hadn’t noticed, but checking 〈Map〉 after crossing the boundary made it clear. No wonder they called it the black forest. Walking, every rustle from small animals spiked his nerves. Still, compared to being alone, it wasn’t as bad.
“No need to tense up so much.”
Tia tapped his shoulder from the side.
“Oh, yeah.”
Unlike Yuda who was stiffened up, her steps stayed soft as usual. Well, she was a mercenary with a silver badge—given to the experienced and skilled. Just below gold, her level and stats could easily take down wolves here. If she beastified, maybe even the black wolf boss, 〈Requiem〉.
…Probably.
Yuda glanced at her walking beside him.
“So, Tia.”
“Yeah.”
Hooo—
“Won’t smoking bring more of them?”
She puffed a long cigarette, letting gray smoke spill out slowly. It drifted and faded in the air. She always said it was herbs, not tobacco, but the scent was strong. Not the musty stink of cigarettes from the old world, but a subtle, almost pleasant fragrance if you kept smelling it. Problem was, what felt good to humans was a dead giveaway to sharp-nosed wolves. After a couple drags, she smirked at Yuda, lips curling. Totally different from yesterday’s warm, gentle smile.
“Yeah. They’ll come.”
“Huh?”
“That’s why I’m smoking. Can’t hunt them one by one, right? If we can’t find them, make them come.”
“What if too many show up?”
“No worries. I’ll hide. You handle them.”
Hide? But what about the smoke smell on her?
In the past two years together, he’d never seen her stealth, so he couldn’t gauge her C-rank hiding skill.
“Oh, you think I can’t hide? Just watch.”
Her body blurred, then vanished from sight. When she moved, the air rippled like waves with a faint trace. If she stayed still, he would have no clue where she was. Scent, shape, presence, it was all gone. He had always underestimated C-rank, but this was no joke.
Shhhk, she dropped the stealth.
“See? I’ll escape with this, so don’t worry. Heh, I’ll save you before you die, of course.”
Yuda wondered if he should reveal his Shadow Sorcery too. He’d hidden it from Kaseun, worried he’d tell Kain about the shadow sword stuff, so he kept it a secret from her too.
“So, when wolves come, try handling them yourself.”
“Heh heh heh”, she laughed, clueless what he was thinking. It didn’t matter. This was a chance. With her backing him, he could test taking wolves without sorcery. He was ready for some injuries. He couldn’t stay in Serenia forever. Growth slowed without risks. Yuda took a deep breath and nodded.
“Then let’s go. To catch a tiger, you gotta enter its den.”
Like Hansel and Gretel dropping crumbs, he followed her, who left cigarette smoke trails. The trees of this “black forest” swayed in the wind, welcoming him big.
* * *
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Tip 14. Magical beasts are beings that crossed from the demon realm and settled in the middle realm. Think of them as kind of invasive species. They have a special substance called magic stones in their bodies, and they use it to strengthen their bodies, emit flames and radiate cold air
Tip 15. When magical beasts settled in the middle realm, the world was thrown into chaos, but it wasn't all bad. We used the magic stones embedded in their bodies to usher in a new era of civilization, enriching our lives. Though we are destined to be in constant conflict with these creatures, they are essential to the prosperity we now enjoy
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***Author’s Note***
(The first part disappeared for some reason, so I had to rewrite it. Yikes. Where did it go…?)
Bleh.
You thought this was just two chapters, didn’t you?
…I burned myself out writing (flops down).
So, hurry up and hit that recommendation button!
Let’s get this onto the rankings. If not, well, I’ll have to stockpile more chapters for a while...
Yeah… That’s probably the best I can do.
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