“Phew”

Taking a close look at my new stats, I realize why it felt so natural to move my energy and control it compared to when I had just gotten here. The difference was nearly 3 folds.

The obvious changes were my energy level and its control but I also increased vitality which I guess relates to my health or so I think.

“Phoenix, does vitality improve my overall health or something else?” I asked just to get a better understanding of what Phoenix was trying to display as after having to learn foreign language for a week, I settled down and realized that this isn’t some RPG game.

“Somewhat. Vitality in its essence represents life force or life expectancy. The stronger the life force the stronger your physical bodies constitution is health problems like disease and decay.” Phoenix explained.

“Wait! Doesn’t that mean that I would live longer every time my vitality increased?” I was shocked by the revelation as I didn’t think I was actually gaining years from this stat.

“Yeah, the original value you had after we had become one was 4 which if represented in your original planets years would equate to 1 point per 25 years meaning you had a life expectancy of 100 years.Though that is only if you had lived an extraordinarily healthy life on your home planet, which by the way I happened to resolve through our mutual relationship. You should be expecting 112 or so Earth years now.” Phoenix said with some small derision.

“Haha… guess you knew about my bad lifestyle habits. Well, thanks Phoenix.” I held my head down as I continued walking with Rikurn back to his so called village. Phoenix had done quite a bit for me and I felt quite happy about the fact especially considering my life just got a longer lease.

My thoughts started wondering as I walked over the soft grass of the forest while Rikurn lead the way. I couldn’t help but smile again at the adventure I am on, I don’t know where this is all headed but it somehow makes me feel so alive that I keep secretly praying that I don’t wake up to find out all this is a dream. Magic, god slime, alien civilizations, space travel, beating the crap out of mutated animals; it was all surreal yet felt incredibly right.

I had to prepare a better plan as Phoenix and me didn’t discuss too much about the village since we hardly knew anything and Rikurn was as useless as a log, though the kid seem to have come around and didn’t treat me a look of utter contempt anymore which made me feel less like beating the snot out of his face so that was a good thing. He was probably happy at returning home, maybe he had a family waiting for him, kid didn’t talk much about his life aside from the few basic things he knew about the village. Regardless, first thing I needed to do was probably establish myself in his village. Find a way to earn some coin, get a place to stay and finally learn more about magic and the continent that I fell into. ‘Maybe they have a school?’ I thought.

“Rikurn, does the village have a place to teach people things like reading and writing?”

He looked at me like I was an idiot again which had my eyes twitch a little and I could have sworn a vein almost popped.

“Yes, there is a school near the north end of the village. Though usually only people below the age of 12 get to go as after you have to start helping out around the village.” He still explained it thoroughly and I learned the word for school which should make it easier to get into. The last part seemed a little unclear but I should be fine.

I followed up that question with a few more on where to find a place to stay, what kind of ways I could earn some coin and if there were any places I could buy books about things about the country or the continent. He eased up a little since he seemed to remember I don’t belong to this region and told me everything he knew. There was a couple ways to earn money, hunting was the most paying as meat was a good source of income, the next thing was mining and gathering as ores and herbs were a necessity for medicine and other products and finally doing chores for people around the village could gain you a little bit. He also told me a few places I could stay like the hunter’s quarters, where hunters could trade in some meat, furs or animal parts for coin and even get a room there, and also I could visit a shop in the village where this old man sells various herbal treatments to the villagers for books as he apparently travelled quite a bit before having settled down at the village for a peaceful life.

I was surprised at the organized structure and realized I should really stop looking down on Rikurns people as I kept thinking savages in a hut which led to a laugh from Phoenix when I accidentally shared the mental picture I was expecting.

The village ended up being about three hours or so from the caverns so I felt comfortable leaving the place and coming back from time to time to gather some more minerals to get a better defense during my outings as I decided hunting might be the fastest way to earn enough to prepare me to leave this place after I get enough knowledge of the surroundings and better control of my magic. I also learned a few cool things during our boring walk to the village about world casters as Rikurn said that there were a few in the village which interested me right away as maybe I could speak with them to try and see how they learned to use their magic.

With that we trudged on for a good two hours as the sun was in the sky and a faint outline of a large wall appeared in my view in the horizon. It was still quite far away but I noticed the walls were probably made out of some black stone like what I saw in the forest as even with the distance it reflected a dark color which kind of gave me the creeps. The village went from savages in huts, to a promising village to a dreadful necropolis looking structure.

‘Well, hopefully I’m not entirely fucked, and why is Phoenix so calm, does it think just because it’s in my head that it’s free to not worry about our potential resurrection into undead?’ I sighed at my paranoia acting up again. It really comes in handy but 99% of the time it just serves to make a normal situation turn into a dreadful encounter filled with suspicion and tense moments for no apparent reasons aside from that things like “that lady looks mighty suspicious with her stroller, I bet that’s not even a baby in there but a man with a bib and a beard holding a ak-47.” Totally what you think when you see a mother sitting on a bench at the park for no apparent reason and with a calmness that clearly indicates Russian KGB sleeper agent waiting to be activated. Totally.

Rikurn on the other hand seems to actually be a fellow paranoid-iac which I have dubbed my species as he seemed to start fidgeting the closer we got to the village and seem to even not want to go back. Seeing this did not help my personal paranoia as it elevated into Rikurn stole the village chief’s son and eloped with him but ended up getting him killed by accident and is now facing incarceration and I am his new accomplice. ‘Fuck’ I grew nervous at the thought.

I suddenly see Rikurn turn around and he asked me something which left me slightly stunned and wide eyed.

“uhm…World-caster”

“Jupiter, I told you a million times Rikurn, just call me Jupiter!” It literally was like the millionth time, kid was stubborn as shit to not learn my name.

“Okay… Jewputer, can I ask you something?” Wow, no wonder the kid never said my name. If this were an RPG, he should gain the title of “Butcher of names”’ or something. I still nodded at him to ask away.

“ If y-you want, s-since you don’t have a place to stay, you could always stay with m-me for a s-s-small fee of course.” He said with a slight stutter as I didn’t get why he suddenly got nervous, followed by requesting money from me. ‘I saved your life and took care of your sorry ass for a week you little shit.’ I thought a little pissed at how I’m being offered a place for a so called “fee”.

I didn’t really know the place and having somewhere to stay would be a good opportunity but my paranoia-meter was verging into the red zone with the nervousness that Rikurn was clearly including in his offer. I wasn’t going to end up in some fucked up situation where his house gets raided in the middle of the night and I turn into a “world-casting meat shield”.

“K, kid. I do need a place, but what’s with you being nervous about asking and what the hell is this about a fee when I saved your little childish ass from those damn foxhorns!?” I asked as threateningly as I could but I and Phoenix both knew that what came out during this perfect interrogation was more along the lines of “ Child! I need residence but why do you nervous and ask to hell to pay fee when I save your child butt from Nai’s!”

My tone got through at least which made me feel better but I really needed to work on the language. Rikurn also got the message somewhat I guess as he started looking down a little…hmm…shy? The kid can get shy? What’s with the odd complexion?

“Uhm, okay I will tell you but please do not laugh.” I simply nodded at his concerns as I didn’t really see what there was to laugh about considering he lives in a necropolis town over there with those ominous black fumes rising every few houses.

Seeing my nod, he didn’t try to maintain eye contact and just continued “ I…uhm, I was always alone in the village since I was born, I didn’t really have anybody here and Bor became my friend when I was growing up because we were in a similar situation a-and I don’t really want to stay alone again…”

I was honestly, slowly backing up. I understood most of what he said but that last part just didn’t sound like it was the kind of “ let’s be friends” but more the “ I need my bed warmed” vibe. He noticed me walking back slowly and I was honestly ready to bolt.

“Jupiter! He’s just a child! Why are you trying to run away?” Phoenix noticed my movements and seemed to sense I was having those stupid paranoid thoughts again which I totally wasn’t.

“Phoenix, the kid clearly had a “special” relationship with that Bor kid. I like women! WOMEN Phoenix, NOT blue skinned young boys!!” I yelled mentally to clarify my clear motives here.

“Jupiter! You idiot, Rikurn sounds like an orphan and you think he’s trying to get you in bed? Talk to the kid and stop thinking about your butthole getting violated!”

I was shocked! Truly shocked! “ Phoenix WHO taught you those things about a butthole!?” I always treated Phoenix like a very smart and dependable little androgynous sibling, even though I call it God slime, it was still a young slime especially considering its little high pitched voice when it gets excited over cool stuff.

“Oh please Jupiter! I knew quite a bit, hmpf! Your dreams tend to show some odd things to me without you controlling them properly.” This piece of news shattered my fragile wall that used to maintain my privacy.