The two of them headed to the port early in the morning. Since the kingdom of Pavone was located on an island, they would need to take a ship back to the mainland continent before they could start their journey. It would be the first time that Lisa would ever be taking a boat or leaving her country. She seemed more excited than nervous though, the moment they arrived at the port, she showed a side of herself that Charles never knew she had. She wandered the busy streets of the port, scanning each and every one of the goods that were being traded or sold. She seemed to have this unquenchable curiosity that made her excited to see new things.

"Well, I guess that'll help a lot since we'll be going to a ton of new places."

Opening the small map he had in his hands, Charles examined the route that Marcus had planned for them before arriving at the magic academy in Vulcan city. The city was located all the way across Pavone and travelling there would take quite some time. The shortest route would be to simply cross over and head straight for the island the city was on. Although, since the academy wasn't accepting any new students for a year, Marcus had planned a longer journey through multiple areas.

"So, the first destination is the Orc nation of Varanga."

Charles's mind was filled with distant memories of the orc people. They had been around even 300 years ago, yet they were a much smaller kingdom back then. In an era of human dominance over the continent. Other races were forced to fight for the scraps.

(It seems those orcs have crafted quite a splendid kingdom for themselves.)

"Charles, is our ship here?"

Surprising Charles from behind, Lisa called out to him while he was deep in thought, taking Charles by surprise and causing him to flinch a little.

"Woah, you scared me there. I couldn't sense your mana presence."

"Yeah, it's because of this."

Pointing at the robe that she was currently wearing, Lisa explained how it worked.

"This coat is crafted using a special magic spell to conceal my presence and hide my face. I usually use it to sneak out of the palace and roam the streets of the capital."

Taking a closer look, Charles noticed the complex magic that had been woven into the robe. It took quite the craftsmanship to be able to conceal a person's mana and even more to hide their appearance. Although Charles wasn't surprised since this was the royal family of Pavone after all, they had connections and the wealth to afford such things. Charles was more concerned about what Lisa used the robe for.

"So you've been sneaking out using this?"

"Yeah..."

She seemed a little guilty for revealing her truant behaviours, yet Lisa mentioned it was something she enjoyed and looked forward to every week.

"Roaming around the streets, not having anyone notice me...seeing the common folk go about their daily lives... it felt oddly refreshing, being away from the prying and judgemental eyes of those nobles."

She spoke with a gentle and warm voice, it was clear that her weekly activity of roaming the streets alone meant a lot to her.

"Don't worry, you'll be roaming plenty of streets where we're headed."

Charles gave her a solid thumbs up as an assurance, even if she could no longer do what brought her comfort, he tried to do his best to cheer her up.

"Really? I'm looking forward to it then."

Her voice was full of anxiety yet had a hint of anticipation.

Just as they said that the ship they were to board had arrived. The two of them boarded the ship and after placing their bags in the cabin they were assigned to, Lisa headed to the deck as the ship sailed off.

"Wow...so this is what sailing on the sea feels like. First I got to do flying and now sailing. I wonder how many more cool things I get to do."

"I wouldn't be so excited yet Lisa."

Charles joined her a little later after settling a few things. The two stared at the island they had both been staying in grew further and further away in distance, before it eventually disappeared from sight.

"You see, sailing has some perks, but it also has some things that people really dread."

Lisa stared at him with a curious and confused expression, it was her first time sailing and she hadn't heard anything about there being downsides to riding a ship.

"What is it exactly?"

"I think you should experience it for yourself. Telling you about it would just ruin the adventuring experience."

After saying that, Charles departed back to his cabin, leaving Lisa on the deck by herself.

"What in the world is he talking about? There's no way this could have any downsides."

She brushed off any warnings Charles had given her as she continued to explore the ship.

A few hours passed. Sure enough, Lisa was experiencing the full effects of those downsides.

"I... get what you mean...now..."

She struggled to even speak as Charles watched over her in her cabin.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm pretty sure I'm not...it's as if my insides are spilling out."

(That is a gruesome description...one that I agree with.)

"I'm pretty sure you've never been seasick before."

"Did you say something?"

"Nope, don't worry about me."

Lisa was still barely hanging onto the bed in her cabin as she was on the ground, she had a bucket next to her that needed to be used every now and then.

"So how come you're not seasick at all Charles?"

Lisa stared at him with envy, it was clear she wasn't having the best of times.

"I've taken too many boats in my life. I've gotten used to it and so I don't get seasick anymore. It'll be the same for you next time so don't worry too much about it."

"How can I not..."

Before she could even finish her sentence, Lisa knew something bad was about to happen before she reached for the bucket. This hellish feeling continued for a few more hours before the ship finally reached its destination. The port city of Valhul. After taking some time to rest and recover from what just happened, Lisa and Charles got off the ship and headed out.

"I never want to go through that ever again."

Lisa was still complaining about the experience she had gone through as Charles attempted to calm her down.

"Well, from here on out we'll be travelling on land most of the time so we'll be fine."

"I'll hold you to that. If it turns out to be false, I'll fire you."

"Anything but that please."

Charles felt a cold shiver run down his spine at the thought of losing his job and having to go back to doing odd jobs for ten years.

"So where are we going now?"

Lisa questioned as Charles explained to her the route they would take in the Orc nation of Varanga.

"Well, for starters, we'll be leaving the city areas and heading out to the more rural areas. Varanga is a nation still full of monsters and all sorts of creatures. Of course, we won't be taking the usual road merchants take, since that won't be much of an adventure to help your training. Currently, we're to head to the Kaspian plains and continue on to the city of Lagonica for resupply and back out to the plains."

Varanga was quite a large nation, but most of the country was filled with plains and rural areas. Including the capital, there are only around 4 major cities with the rest being towns and villages. The orcs were, contrary to popular belief, quite a peaceful race. Even back in the day, they were one of the biggest supporters of peace across the continent, even as other races continued fighting. That stigma simply came from events dating back thousands of years that have been etched into people's minds.

"Sounds like a plan. So are we heading there now?"

"Yeah. We have to start your training after all. But before that..."

Charles led Lisa to a building that she had seen before.

"Isn't this..."

"Yeah, the adventurers guild. We have to get you registered before we start."

"Why though? Can't we just travel normally?"

"Well, adventurers have quite a few perks when it comes to travelling. Entering cities usually require lengthy checks and other related things, but being an adventurer gives you a free pass to enter the city with minimal checks. The adventurers guild is an extremely powerful organisation that has buildings all over the continent. Being a part of it certainly helps."

The adventurers guild had existed even during Charles's era, they were an organisation whose origins still remained a mystery filled with speculation.

Entering the building, the two noticed numerous adventures dressed in all sorts of attire. Some wore heavy armour while some wore basic combat attire. Others were dressed more according to the customs of their own nation. Adventurers came from all corners of the world and the guild was one of the places where discrimination wasn't allowed. Yet the two of them received quite a few surprised stares from everyone as they entered.

"Go ahead and register yourself as an adventurer at the reception over there."

Pointing towards the reception desk that was managed by a human lady, a rare sight in an orc nation but the adventurers guild usually employed different races and stationed them all over the continent. It was as much a sign of good faith as it was a way to keep each branch in check. It wouldn't be too good if each branch began keeping secrets from the upper management. Therefore, a nation dominated by a certain race would usually have its branch headed by another race.

"What about you? Are you not going to register?"

"Well, you see I'm already registered so you can go on."

"Oh ok then."

As Lisa headed over to the reception to register herself, Pandora chimed in and reminded Charles of the situation he was going to be in.

(Have you forgotten what rank you are with the guild?)

It was only then that it dawned upon Charles what a mistake he had overlooked.

"Oh shit! You're right. What am I going to do about that?"

(Should have asked yourself that before you told Lisa you were already registered. Mr S rank adventurer.)

"I messed up alright. Although I still think that it could work. There isn't much of a difference between the S and A-rank adventurer tags. Only those working for the guild will be able to spot the difference. I'm only using it to enter cities so we should be fine."

(I hope so.)

Charles silently prayed that no one would notice anything. Meanwhile, Lisa stood in line waiting for her turn to register. She looked around at the various races and people around her. It was the first time she had seen this many different groups all hanging out together. The place gave off a vibrant yet rowdy atmosphere.

"Next!"

Heading up to the reception, Lisa requested to register as an adventurer. The receptionist then pulled out a stone table that required her to register her fingerprint. She was then asked some basic details like her adventurer name which she just registered as Lisa. Eventually, once all the details had been sorted out, she was given her tag as an E-rank adventurer.

"I'm finished."

Heading back to Charles, Lisa waved her adventurer tag as the two prepared to head out.

"Should we take on any quests."

Lisa asked as she stared at the huge board filled with quests ranging from E to B rank.

"Not for now, we have to start your training before we can take on any quest. For now, we still have some money given by Marcus so we'll only need to start doing quests later on."

"I see."

Just as the two were about to head out, Charles felt a presence show up right behind them and just before the person could place a hand on Lisa, Charles intercepted and grabbed his hand.

"Woah there. What do you think you are doing?"

The man in question had dark brown hair and wore spectacles that made him look very intelligent. His figure was quite slender and he appeared to be of noble birth given the expensive clothing he wore.

"My apologies. I should've spoken before attempting to lay hands on you."

Placing his fist on his heart he took a short bow. His pointed ears clearly indicated he was of elven descent.

"My name is Kasper Advean. I'm the branch head for the guild here. I was surprised to see new faces around here. Varanga usually doesn't have many new adventurers. It's not exactly the nicest place to start out after all."

"So that explains all the stares we got."

After the two introduced themselves and the basic formalities were settled, they quickly headed out to avoid being stared at any further.

"Sir... those two..."

"Yeah, something's different about them. The young lady doesn't really give off any vibe but that young man... I can't seem to wrap my head around why I feel so nervous speaking with him. When he grabbed my arm, I felt intense fear for a moment."

He looked at his hand still shaking even after knowing Charles was no threat.

"Charles...keep an eye out for that man and hand me all the records you can find on him."

"Yes sir."

As the two ventured out of the city and towards the route leading to the Kaspian plains. They noticed merchants and wandering travellers of all sorts heading in and out of the city. It was quite an intriguing sight for Lisa who had spent most of her life in the human-dominated kingdom of Pavone. The distance from the city and the Kaspian plains wasn't that far. The plains stretched far and wide though, almost all the way to the next major city of Dajor.

After heading into the plains a little more, Charles found a nice quiet spot away from the other adventurers out in the plains training.

"Well, I guess this spot will do. Let's start your training. First off, mana manipulation."

"Isn't that basically magic?"

"Somewhat. Mana manipulation is kind of like the first step to using magic. While magic involves elements, mana manipulation is simply giving mana physical form and using it. In order to use magic, you have to be able to manipulate mana. A little like this."

Charles stretched his hand out and a small glowing ball of white light appeared. It caused him a little stinging pain but it wasn't anything he couldn't handle. He was doing the most basic form of mana manipulation anyway.

"Woah...how in the world are you doing that?"

Lisa seemed mesmerised by the glowing ball of light, instantly wanting to learn how to do it.

"Mana manipulation is quite simple, there's a trick for it too. Just close your eyes for a moment."

Following what Charles said, Lisa quickly closed her eyes and anticipated the next instruction. Charles then walked behind her before placing his hand on her shoulder, it startled her a little and made her a little embarrassed. It was nothing she couldn't hide though so Charles continued.

"Now I'm going to jumpstart your mana lines, you might feel a little shock but don't panic."

Immediately, Charles released some of his own mana into Lisa that helped jumpstart her own mana lines. Every person, no matter the race possesses a certain number of mana lines. Those lines, however, will remain dormant until they are jumpstarted. The easiest way to do so is to simply inject another person's mana to do it. It usually took a few tries before the mana circuits would start to fully activate, but since Lisa's were already used during the incident at the villa. Therefore it only took one try to get them active.

"Alright...and we're done. You can open your eyes now."

Opening her eyes, Lisa felt something different with her entire body. It was almost as if she could feel the mana flowing through her body.

"I can feel it...so this is what active mana lines feel like huh?"

"Yeah, you cleared the first step. Now it's time to move on to how to properly manipulate mana. This has a lot to do with how well you can imagine it. Think of the glowing ball of mana and focus on recreating it in your hand."

"I'll try..."

Lisa seemed nervous, yet Charles reassured her that it would be fine. Closing her eyes once again, Lisa focused with all her energy to recreate the image she had seen Charles make just now. It took a while but soon, the same glowing ball of light was now in her hands.

"I did it! I did it!"

She seemed over the moon as she excitedly ran around with the glowing ball of mana in her hands.

"Yeah...that was much faster than I thought. Nice job."

"Thanks."

Just as she said that though, the ball of mana soon began to fade away.

"Eh? What happened?"

Lisa seemed a little dejected as Charles stepped in to explain.

"That's where the practice comes in. Before we can move on to the next step, I want you to practice maintaining that ball of mana in your hands for at least 20 minutes."

"Is that even possible?"

"Of course it is. Although you'll have to practice of course. During that time we'll focus on your combat training so we're not wasting precious time."

"Alright then. Thanks, Charles...it seems having you around is quite reassuring. You seem to know everything."

Lisa smiled as she stared at the empty plains before them, Charles was caught off guard by that sudden statement, leading him to lose his composure for a moment."

"Of course not, I only know what I know..."

It seemed that such a life didn't seem so bad. At least, he would be helping someone this way. Helping Lisa achieve her goal.

"Alright, let's get back to practice. Try and maintain the mana ball as we walk."

"Got it!"

Her voice seemed full of enthusiasm and a little bit of hesitation as they continued on.