The Hero’s Ascension

Experiments and Our First Quest

After the excitement that took place at dinner, we rested for the night. Liza showed me to a spare bedroom and gave me a tour of the rest of the house.

They had a bath. Liza’s mom used some kind of water magic to fill it, and her father set the kindling underneath on fire. Before I knew it, the bathroom was filled with steam.

Once they left the room, I stripped down to nothing and called for my system’s panel once I was in the water.

“Holy cow, dude… what did you do? The last time you had the panels disappear, my voice did as well,” my personal emoji assistant said. “Do it again, and I’ll make you regret it!”

The face had changed from the standard human emoji to the angry, crying one. The sight made me want to laugh and also hide any future kin from that gaze.

“Sorry… I wasn’t sure if Liza could see you, or even if she could possibly hear you.”

“Well, she CAN’T! Only you can see or hear me, jerk. :P”

The box flashed, revealing a list of skills.

[ Status ]

[ Name: Clint Harper ]

[ Level: 2 ]

[ Race: Human ]

[ Class: Unassigned ]

[ Affinity: Fire (High) ]

[ Skill: Fireball Lv.1 ]

[ Title: Outworlder ]

“So… System-kun, how does magic work exactly in this world? I remember saying the name of the first fireball. Do I just say it and it happens?” I asked, genuinely curious. “Do I need a callout at all?”

“Magic works in several ways, from speaking the basic spell all the way to deconstructing the magic and reconstructing it your way. Furthermore, the magic runs on not only ambient mana but your own internal mana source.”

I lowered my head into my hand to think. “Inside… and outside…” I whispered under my breath.

Then my thoughts drifted toward my physics classes. The class that made the bullies really dig in and make fun of me. Apparently, to them, being smart was stupid or something. Idiots. Look at me now.

I raised my head to continue looking at the panels in front of me.

“What about you… if you’re my personal assistant, what’s the best way to use you?”

“First off, don’t use that tone when talking to me. And secondly, I’m here to make the transition into this world a bit smoother. For the most part, I’m here to help. At least that’s what I was created for.”

“Created… who created you?”

System-kun’s head disappeared, replaced by a giant glowing X with the word CLASSIFIED below it, followed by a waterfall of ERROR. I closed the panels out of panic.

“If magic is based on feeling and understanding of the element, then… If I do this.”

Focusing on my index finger, I tried to make a fire, though nothing happened. I tried once more, thinking about the individual elements of fire and flames. Once the image came to life, so did a small flame at the tip of my finger.

“Yes!!!” I quietly celebrated, trying not to draw attention to myself. “I can feel it draining my mana from deep down. Ambient… ambient… Damn it, he didn’t explain that part.”

Closing my eyes, I blocked out every source of distraction, slowing my breathing down to bring my heart rate down. I focused on what was around me, not the objects but the air. Slowly, waves of glistening energy materialized, and I began to understand. The more I concentrated, the brighter the ambient mana became.

It looked like each element had its own color, all weaving in and out of each other with practiced ease. Picturing myself breathing in produced additional results. Some of the ambient mana began flowing toward and into me.

The flame at my finger grew. I pulled at the mana again. This time the flame grew exponentially, warming the air near me.

“Whoa! Maybe not inside,” I said as I lowered the flame into the bath water, heating it back up to a warm, soothing temperature. “Oh ho yeah, that’s the stuff.”

Sleep had come almost too easily that night. Whatever I’d done while experimenting with magic had left me exhausted. I vaguely remembered drying off, making my way back to the guest room, and collapsing onto the bed.

The smell of breakfast woke me the next morning. After getting dressed, I followed the scent into the kitchen where Liza and her parents were already gathered around the table.

“Morning, Clint,” Celia greeted.

“Morning.”

Somehow it felt natural taking the empty seat beside Liza. Less than twenty-four hours ago, I’d been a stranger from another world. Now I was sitting down to breakfast with them like I’d been here for weeks.

“I can’t believe this. You all just… are too kind. I’m a stranger, right?”

“Liza likes you,” Thomas interjected. “We trust her, so if she trusts you, so do we.” He explained while stirring a large iron pot. “You’re kind. That much I can tell. Honestly, it’s nice having another man around. These women outnumber me every day. Help me fight them back.”

The glint in his eye made me question whether that last proclamation was real or not. Honestly, I was afraid to agree or disagree.

“Thank you, Thomas, Celia. I will forever be grateful.”

“So… we have an early morning quest helping out Farmer John. I know it’s not exciting, but it’s work.” She moved her hands to let her father place a bowl in front of her. “Thanks. I hope you’re ready for some labor, though. We’re fixing his fence. Wild boars keep eating all of his vegetables.”

“Wild boars?” I asked between bites.

“The larger breed,” Thomas replied. “Stubborn creatures. If they catch the scent of something worth eating, a wooden fence becomes more of a suggestion than an obstacle.”

Liza rolled her eyes. “You’re making them sound worse than they are.”

“That’s because you’ve never been the one rebuilding a fence at sunrise,” Thomas shot back. “Farmer John has. Repeatedly.”

“They aren’t dangerous,” Liza said after a moment’s thought. “Well… not intentionally.”

“That doesn’t inspire confidence,” I admitted.

Celia hid a smile behind her cup while Thomas suddenly became very interested in his breakfast.

That reaction told me everything I needed to know.

By the time the meal was finished, I found myself helping clear the table without being asked. It felt strangely natural. Comfortable, even.

I couldn’t remember the last time I’d sat down with a family like this. The conversation had been easy. Nobody expected anything from me. Nobody was trying to prove something. They’d simply made room for me at their table and carried on as if I’d always belonged there.

“Come along,” Liza said as she pulled on her coat. “Farmer John possesses many admirable qualities. Patience, unfortunately, is not among them.”

“Translation?” I asked.

“We’re already late.”

I laughed and followed her out the door.