Emotionally Chuck was fine, that was the problem. Chuck thought he should feel bad for killing that mage, even if the man was a bandit and likely had murdered many people in his lifetime. Yet Chuck felt no remorse for killing him. It took him an hour or so to come to this realization, his mind having had time to process the chain of events.

It felt odd to him that he should at least feel a little guilty about the man's demise. Perhaps it was his altered stats that kept these feelings in check. He wouldn't make much of a hero if he let one unavoidable death spiral him into depression.

Erwin slowed down to walk alongside Chuck, the kid was lost in thought. "How ya holding up?"

Chuck looked up, "Huh? Oh...I'm fine. That isn't weird is it?"

Erwin shrugged, "Each person handles it differently," the man paused, seeming unsure whether or not to say something, eventually, he let out a sigh. "The first time I killed a man was when I was nine. I call him a man but he wasn't much older than you. He was trying to take some food from me and I stabbed him in the gut. He panicked and turned, causing my knife to slice across his abdomen. I can still remember his shocked face as he tried to hold in his intestines. I just ran."

"If you ran, how do you know he died?"

"That's not the kind of wound you live through, not without a good healer nearby."

Chuck nodded at the man's candid response.

"I never wanted to harm a person," Chuck mumbled.

"Not many people do, but the world is a harsh place. To be honest we thought you good as dead. We only stuck around to take care of the remains. You surprised us all, especially that mage." he said with a dark chuckle.

"Why was that man allowed to just call me out like that?"

"In Nur, there is the circle of mages, they call it the Tower. Aspiring people of magical talent usually join. It is mostly made up of scholars, and less of war mages or those dedicating their training time to spells of destruction. This isn't always the case. The kingdom employs all Tower mages, and they are required to serve in the army if a war notice occurs. Because of this mandatory service, they are afforded certain luxuries."

"Like being able to accuse someone of theft," Chuck replied acridly.

"Within reason. We noticed they found his ring on you, he obviously paid someone to plant it on you for the sole purpose of killing you in front of everyone."

"He said it was because we cost him."

Erwin nodded, "I figured as much, it's no matter anymore. After that display you put on, people are going to assume you are a mage. That should keep you safe from retribution by his allies."

Chuck looked at Erwin in confusion, "why is that?"

"Well, other than the fact that mages defend the country, it's considered a really bad idea. First off, the Tower would send a judicator to find out what happened. Those mages are bad news, with a capital B. They are mages skilled in tracking, questioning, and offensive magic. The other reason is that you would need to fight the mage. You experienced that first hand, how do you think that fight would go for someone who only had one or two spells at their disposal?"

Chuck shivered at that thought. He had gotten lucky, his flame thrower spell or part of it bypassed the mage's shield. He doubted he would have won otherwise. The man had years more experience fighting than Chuck did.

"So why can't everyone be a mage? Skills are cheap and available."

Erwin laughed, "They only seemed cheap because you had a bunch of gold. Mellas told me about your spending spree. A family would be lucky to see that much coin in their lifetime. Sure the nobility can afford the cost but even then most don't join the Tower."

"Let me guess, they don't want to be pressed into military service."

"Precisely," Erwin replied. "The other way to make good money is to become a mercenary like us. A good job could net us a few gold."

"I hope my fight didn't cost us a job," Chuck said in concern.

"No, we picked up a merchant guard job. They are stationed outside of town at a lumber site, so we are heading there now to meet them."

"Seems like a simple enough job," Chuck added.

"It will be a dangerous job, lumber is worth a hefty sum in Brightwater. The lands around there are grasslands for hundreds of kilometers. That reminds me, no fire spells. We can't afford to damage the merchant's goods if we want to get paid."

I nodded, it would suck losing my most powerful attack spell but I had to agree.

"What are we likely to run into?"

"Goblins, hobgoblin's, maybe some dire wolves, and of course bandits."

"Joy," Chuck replied slumping over.

"Don't think too hard on it kid, they will either attack or leave us alone."

Chuck let out a breath, "Fine, how long of a journey are we talking?"

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Erwin scratched his stubble, "Bout a month, give or take a week."

Chuck groaned inwardly, this world needed faster modes of transport. Then again he wasn't sure quite how large this world was. He remembered something about the Oregon trail taking five to six months to cross the United States. At first, he figured the distance was about that of California from top to bottom, until he remembered he needed to calculate in the longer days. Luckily the months were thirty days, he learned that in his children's book. Now he was looking at a trip roughly twenty-one hundred kilometers long.

Erin chuckled, "yes, it's quite the daunting journey. There will be several stops along the way and we will have a few days of rest when we stop. Plus we get to ride on the wagons most of the way since they need us in top fighting condition."

Chuck decided to change the subject, "do you think I should join the Tower?"

"That is up to you, you are talented enough to become a mage. You will need to decide if the benefits outweigh the risks."

The man left Chuck a lot to think about as they arrived at the logging site.

Massive wagons were piled high with logs. Chuck thought these wagons could easily rival a semi for capacity. He didn't know how they held up against the weight or what beast was strong enough to pull something that heavy. There were dozens of these wagons, you could tell they had been sitting for a considerable amount of time as some of the wheels had sunk into the hard dirt.

A woman with short grey hair walked up to Erwin, "Are you the new guards?"

"We are. I'm Erwin, this is Mellas, Bargo, and Chuck."

"Good to meet you," she said shaking Erwin's hand. The grip looked anything but delicate as his hand came away with a white imprint.

"The canteen tent is over to the far end of camp. You can introduce yourselves to the other guards. Any special skills to note? It may earn your crew some extra coin."

I thought for sure Erwin would talk up my magic, "No mam, just your typical weapon skills. I can use firebolt, and the kid has ice arrow but that's it."

"A pity, although I shouldn't have to remind you, no fire around the wagons."

"I will only use the spell if it is a dire emergency," Erwin replied with a smile.

The woman snorted, "Fair enough, come on, let's go meet the others, my name's Nadine by the way."

It didn't take a genius to figure out that Erwin wanted Chuck to keep his spells hidden unless he was in danger. 'Consider it noted.'

The group walked into a large tent that reminded Chuck of circus tents. Large canvas like sheets was laid over a wooden frame in a large circle. A taller pole in the middle poking up twelve meters or more. The entrance was large enough for three people to walk abreast. Tables filled out half the space, the other was dominated by cots.

"Welcome to your home away from home for the next two months," Nadine said.

"So a few more weeks of logging before we set off?" Erwin asked.

"Another week, then we have to pack the camp which might take another day or so. Have you ever done a logging run?"

"Can't say as we have."

"Well, the Kolath is slow to get moving, especially with this weight. Once going they can plod on all day though. Not a fast animal by any means."

Chuck didn't recognize the word Kolath, but he assumed it was the name of whatever draft animal they used.

The group nodded and Nadine introduced them to the four other Guild members that had accepted the job. "This here is Kalina our resident archer, Shoovo is the one holding the spear, the twins in the back are Ruhas, and Dua."

Everyone introduced themselves when it got time for Chuck to introduce himself to Kalina she smiled.

"Well if it isn't the training maniac, finally leaving to do some actual work?"

Chuck smiled, "someone has to do it."

Kalina chuckled at that response, the kid could take as well as he could give. "I see your speech has improved, you must have a high intuition to improve that fast."

Chuck shrugged, "I had most of the words, reading a few books helped me with sentence structure."

"Good, I would hate for there to be a misunderstanding," she said with a coy smile.

Wait...was she hitting on him? Sure sounded that way. The perks of being handsome, fit, and young Chuck mused.

"I'm sure we could remedy any misunderstandings in private," he replied quietly.

She gave him a wink, "I'll come to see you later for that discussion."

Chuck smiled, turning around. Erwin and the others were just looking at him. "What?"

They just started laughing.

Chuck woke the next day after a very long, very vigorous discussion. Kalina was about four years older than him but she had grown up in a well-off family. Not a noble or merchant family but well enough to own a few businesses. She had left to pursue a life of adventure before she settled down in a few years.

This world didn't suffer from most people dying in their thirties or forties like Earth's history until modern medicine came about. With stats and magic, it was rare for anyone with significant funds to die before they were sixty or seventy. So she had plenty of time to raise a family after she returned from her journey.

According to Kalina, this was common in her family, it's how her father had made his start. They did actually have a conversation during the evening. Chuck got to learn quite a bit about Kalina and her family. Her father was a very prodigious lover apparently, siring twelve children. Chuck couldn't comprehend having to raise one child let alone twelve. When Chuck joked about the fact that her mother must be sick of being pregnant all the time, she laughed. Her mother was one of four wives. Something that wasn't all that uncommon in the country of Nur.

It got to the point that Kalina asked him about himself. He stuck with the story of losing his memory and waking up in a field in the wilds, not knowing where he was or how he got there. He had told this same story to Erwin and the others one night. Although, he wasn't sure how much they remembered everyone was rather drunk at the time.

Kalina told him she enjoyed the night but didn't want anything permanent, at least at this time in her life. Chuck was fine with that. He didn't want to have to lie to someone he might love or put them in more danger with his quest. She didn't entirely discount the notion that there might be other discussions during the journey. Another thing he was more than fine with.

He worried about a child but she waved his concern away. She had a magical item that prevented that sort of thing. 'Slutty college girls would have sold their kidneys for an item like that,' he thought with a grim chuckle.

Since he was up he decided to do his morning routine of checking his skills. He filtered the list in his mind to only see the ones that leveled or were training.

Short Sword: 65/150TP to level 2

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Multitasking: 31960/80000SP to level 4

Mana Manipulation: 7480/15000SP to level 5

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Wind Barrier: 590/1600SP to level 4

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Water Blade: 4-5

Earth Blade: 3-5

Mud Blade: 3-5

Flame Thrower: 3-3

All in all some nice gains. He checked to see if the max level of flame thrower unlocked anything. It didn't, neither did any of his other finished skills unlock anything extra. He tried opening the unreadable skill book he found, still finding it impossible to open. He sighed, wondering if he would ever be able to find out what the skill was.

Chuck tried reading the journal but with his basic grasp of common, he had no hope of even trying to understand the dead language that the journal was written in. He did think he might eventually understand the formulas in the book though. He also needed to immerse himself back into the necklace to see if he could pick up the language. All things for another day, right now he needed to train.