It was a moment of sudden decision-making, not because of any danger, but because of my own confidence. It hadn't been that long since I 'learned' something new, but I wanted to try and find my limitations, so I continued.
The people talking behind me seemed quiet to me, as I was breathing calmly to ready myself for an attack.
I remembered my time as a porter when I was at the very back, seeing what others did that I couldn't... but my heart was pounding as if it was shouting about my readiness.
[ Skill "Swift Slash" Activated ]
As soon as the first goblin reached my blade's reach, I activated my skill and sliced the head of the goblin. I quickly utilized the sudden turn of events and jumped towards the second panicked goblin.
Without much thought, I brought my blade towards the second goblin, and it instinctively jumped back and used its stone hatchet to deliver a blow, which got blocked by my blade.
In the heat of the moment, I noticed the slowly falling body of the first goblin, so I reached out with my empty left hand and grabbed the wooden spear it was holding... and with a pressured push, I shoved it into the second's neck.
"Gasp, gasp." I was there, doing something I hadn't before. My heart was still pounding with excitement, and for some reason, that newfound confidence began to grow on me.
I looked back at the team, as they were watching with their mouths wide open. I was a little worried, thinking that they might consider me a liar for presenting myself as a novice, but what I heard next dissipated my thoughts.
"Wow, that was a sword technique?!I've never seen anything like that up close before," Lisa said.
There it was, a new word that I didn't know the meaning of. This frustrated me a little, which made me ask, "You guys don't use any techniques?"
"Are you kidding? Techniques are very hard to learn, as hard as magic. I heard it took someone three months to learn a technique without any mentor."
As soon as he said that, I noticed something very small. At first, I thought of this world as a fantasy world, which assured me that something magic-related was involved... but what kind of magic?
[Magicians] in my world could use magic through skills and use it in instance. All I knew about mage classes was that they were rare, covering only nine present of overall awakeners.
"Is there any magician inside the guild?" I asked, hoping to get a good answer.
"You wish. Most mages are neater then doing something like adventuring. Of course, those who do are strong to do so,'" Dan said sarcastically.
It wasn't skills that they were mentioning at all. After all, skills, even magical ones, could be learned after the previous skill getting leveled up.
It was a good thing that I could learn about the other world, since the more I knew, accepting and understanding this new world would become easier.
My string of thought snapped as soon as Myer said, "Alright, we need to get going. We don't want to stay here for the night, do we?"
Everyone nodded at the leader's command and proceeded. As the team was getting ready for another long walking session, I collected the new mana stones and started walking.
The walking continued, and we met with a lot of goblins inside the forest. After I got used to fighting, I also started moving ahead and attacking the goblins, which also increased my confidence, more than it should.
We also stopped from time to time to rest and eat for better performance.
All in all, the mission went smoothly, and as the light of the sun was getting dimmer, we started going back to the town.
As we entered the town, I faced to Myer and said, "Myer, before we go into the guild, I want to ask you something."
"Sure, what do you want?" he said quietly, after noticing my stealthy demeanor.
"Can I take my share of money as mana stones?"
"Why is that? I thought you were doing this for money."
"I joined the adventurer guild for money, but right now, I want the mana stones more," I said, technically without lying.
Alright, I'll give you your share in mana stones... but only after we celebrate a bit at the guild," Myer replied with a friendly grin.
"Thank you."
We entered the guild and then began having a small party for our small success. The team was laughing and talking with others, telling them about how we cleared our mission with a little added spice. In those moments, we drank, and even though I wasn't a drinker, I still enjoyed the night.
After that, Myer gave the stones to me as promised, and others cashed theirs. In the meantime, I also learned about the other world's currency, Reed, which seemed to be something close to my world's currency.
The party ended as we reached the night, and as I was looking at the sky, I started noticing the its beautiful scenery, straight out of an artist's canvas… which also accompanied me through my ideas.
With that, I started walking towards the church since it was the only place that I could sleep in, and thanks to my good memory, taking the correct path wasn't hard at all/
Thud, Eerr-! I pushed open the church's door and entered the building. I looked at the lit candles that were saving the church's beauty even in the night, though they weren't required.
The kid who was cleaning the church floor was now cleaning the pillars with a piece of cloth. As soon as he noticed me, he came to me and said, "Oh, it's you again. Sister Atna hasn't returned yet."
"I'm not here for Sister Atna. I came to sleep for another night, if that's okay," I said politely.
"Of course, you're always welcome here. Our church doors are open to anyone in need," he said with a warm smile.
"...what's your name?" I asked, knowing that I might need it like Atna.
"I'm Rewill, from the church's orphanage. I often come and help with cleaning the church," he said calmly.
"Rewill... I will remember that."
After the small conversation between me and Rewill, I went to my room to sleep for the night. I was carrying happy thoughts since I was doing a good job as an adventurer, and I hoped this would continue... and with that, I slept soundly through the night.
The next day was as calm as other days inside the church. Not many were passing around, and besides Rewill, I saw nobody doing anything in the church.
Since I didn't have any money from this world, I used the emergency food stash that I brought with me and ate it as breakfast. After that, I went towards the adventurers guild, knowing that I wouldn't gain anything by being in the church.
As planned, I met with Myer, Lisa, and Dan, and soon after, we started talking about the missions that we were going to take for the day. As a "newbie," I stayed back and let others decide while listening closely to not miss anything important.
After deciding which missions to take, we departed from the town and went to the same forest as we did the other day.
Everything went perfectly in the forest. I started relying on my newfound confidence and decided to hunt in closer distance with the monsters, which also had its hardships.
This small routine continued for a week without any delay. I woke up, went to the adventurers guild, hunted, then went back to church to sleep...
Chling- the sound of the bag that was filled with mana stones was pleasant, especially since it was me who collected most of them. If I knew I could get this strong by getting dropped into a crevasse, I would have done it sooner... jokes aside, it was joyous.
"I guess it's time for me to leave this place," I muttered to myself, as I was packing my stuff.
After I finished packing up, I placed the bag aside since there was a single thing I needed to do.
I opened my room's door and went to the main hall of the church, and between the seats, I saw the person I was going to talk to, Atna. I saw her in the church from time to time, but I started and ended each conversation with a normal greeting. This was because of my busy hunting schedule... or should I say that I was thinking about what I was going to tell her.
"Hello, Sister Atna. I hope I'm not disturbing you," I greeted politely.
As soon as I said that, she stopped her praying and said, "Hello. Don't worry, I was going to end either way."
...well, the conversation started awkwardly, as expected. I had a rough idea about what to tell, but I didn't know how I could start a conversation, so I tried.
"My name is Ethan, by the way. I learned your name through Rewill."
"Rewill, he is a good kid. It seems that you have regained your memories."
"No, I did not. My name is the only thing that I remember," I said, even though it was hurtful in a way.
"But why have you been leaving the church? It's safer to stay here until your memories return," she said with concern.
"In our first conversation, you mentioned that I looked like an adventurer in the adventurers guild, so I went there to find someone that knew me before... but I didn't find anyone. I found out that I'm a good fighter after going on some missions; that was why I was going out of the church."
"If that's the case, I'm glad for you. But please, be cautious. It's risky to venture out given your situation."
"Yes, I will. Thanks for understanding."
"Don't worry, and may God be with you."
After clearing problematic things, I went back to my room and grabbed my backpack, stood in front of the room... and did what I found myself very good at.
[ Skill "Dimensional Shift ⌜Max⌟" Activated ]
[ Teleporting the User to the Designated Location ]