“I’m pretty sure it wasn’t your brightest moment. Luckily, Loki was there to shed some light on your work. Get it? Shed some light?” Elincia giggled, satisfied with her joke.

I lay in bed, my head resting on Elincia’s lap while she prepared a concoction of Health Potion and water. Although Loki’s flash hadn’t been strong enough to completely blind me, seven hours had passed since the incident, and I still saw small black dots floating before me. That hadn’t stopped me from perfecting the magical flash grenade before going to bed.

“You're the opposite of funny,” I said.

“No, I’m not,” Elincia retorted as she poured the mixture into a glass dropper.

Directly looking at Loki as it turned into a flash grenade wasn’t my brightest moment, as Elincia had put it. But it was also a wake-up call. I needed to focus. I couldn’t allow myself to become sloppy, not when the safety of the orphanage was within easy reach.

Elincia applied a drop of medicine to my eyes. The diluted Health Potion burned, albeit only slightly. I tried to blink, but she kept my eye open; the potion needed to make direct contact with the wounded area to best take effect.

As there wasn’t much to do, I reached for her face and caressed her pointy ear. It didn’t escape my attention that she diluted the potion so it wouldn’t hurt. Elincia could’ve applied the potion raw and saved the time spent preparing the concoction, but she didn’t. It was those small things that made me like her even more.

Elincia thoughtlessly moved her ears to avoid the grasp of my fingers. “One of us has to take Ilya to the Farlands for her First Hunt, and I think it should be you,” she broke the silence.

“There’s only a week left until Firana’s birthday. Shouldn’t we wait for her to get her Class?” I replied.

A trip to the Farlands would require at least four days away from the orphanage, maybe three if prey stumbled upon us. I wasn’t sure we could spare the time, given the Marquis and the Prince were advertising me as the next hotshot of the kingdom. I foresaw invites to numerous fancy dinners to promote the ‘close’ relationship between the royalist faction and the Rosebud Fencing Academy.

Elincia put her hand over my mouth before I could speak again.

“The First Hunt is Ilya’s moment and no one else's. She has to prove herself that she’s not a kid anymore.”

“But she is still a kid. She’s only fifteen,” I said between her fingers.

“No, Rob. Ilya is not a kid; she’s a Hunter,” Elincia replied, and her tone let me know it was the last word of the argument.

I have always supported giving kids more responsibilities as they grew, but sending Ilya to the Farlands rubbed me the wrong way. It was too dangerous, maybe even reckless. However, we were not on Earth, and in any other circumstance, Ilya would’ve been in charge of hunting game to feed the orphanage, Lv.1 or not.

I wondered if my parents had the same argument when I left for college. Sure, I felt like an adult then, but as a teacher, even eighteen-year-olds seemed like kids to me. I hated to admit it, but Elincia was right. Without challenges, Ilya wouldn’t progress, and with the threat of Kellaren Odrac-Aias lingering over the orphanage, she couldn’t remain a child forever.

“You are right. I’ll take Ilya for her First Hunt,” I said. Ilya wasn’t a typical teenager; she was a fifteen-year-old gnome with access to magic powers, which was equally reassuring and concerning. Moreso, a little hunting trip was exactly what I needed to clear my mind.

Elincia beamed at me, and I remembered why I couldn’t say no to her. I made a mental note not to mock Ginz for being a pushover ever again. Out of nowhere, Elincia jumped up, almost sending me to the floor.

“Perfect, I already prepared a pouch of potions for you two,” She said.

Then she leaped towards the desk, fluttering around the shelves and grabbing a dozen flasks and ingredient containers. It was good to see her so cheerful after months of constant stress. If Elincia was doing well, the orphanage would be well too.

“So, what’s the plan?” I asked.

“Ask Ilya. She’s the huntress,” Elincia replied, looking over her shoulder with a sly smile. I bet she was looking forward to saying that line.

I looked at the ceiling and stretched my back, waiting for the eyedrops to take effect. The perspective of traveling to the Farlands awakened a certain hunger inside my chest I didn’t know was there. I was a Lv.1 Runeweaver, meaning my base stats were still basically the same as a regular human from Earth. So far, my mana pool has carried me through every fight, but I couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if I backed my magical prowess with superhuman capabilities.

I needed to grind my level.

“Next time let’s go on a hunting trip, just the two of us,” I said. “I bet we could put the Sentinels to shame.”

“Enough of that sweet talk. You are distracting me,” Elincia grinned as she siphoned my mana to brew a batch of potions. “I will remember your invitation, though.”

* * *

When the orphanage learned that Ilya was going on her First Hunt, the manor fell into a generalized state of panic. Zaon and Firana trailed Ilya as she attempted to prepare her backpack for the trip, asking how she felt every minute. Shu and the snakefolk kids ransacked the pantry and prepared enough rations for a month. The idea of how difficult it would be to carry a sack of potatoes up the mountain didn’t seem to cross the kid’s mind. They had prepared two sacks, one for me, one for Ilya.

To say the First Hunt was a big deal was an understatement. Before noon, the reception hall had enough luggage to fill a cart. Shu was sitting in a burlap sack by the corner of the room. Her logic? Loki, who was sitting inside a different burlap sack, would feel lonely if it traveled without her. Finally, Wolf convinced Shu it would be better for her to stay, arguing Ash would feel lonely without her at the orphanage.

Ash tried to deny it, but Wolf’s hand was big enough to seal the boy’s mouth and nose.

The announcement of the First Hunt hadn’t come as a surprise for Ilya.

“How are you feeling?” I asked.

Ilya rolled her eyes as the snakefolk twins tried to sneak a couple more emergency potatoes into her backpack. “I’ll be fine when we leave the manor.”

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The day was cold as usual, but the sky was clear, and the weak winter sun barely provided any warmth. Ilya stood beside the iron fence door with the stringless Cooldown Bow hanging from her shoulder inside a rough fabric cover. As a ‘side’ weapon, she brought a short spear that perfectly fit her height. Despite being more proficient with the longsword, a spear was better suited for hunting. From her waist hung a quiver with twenty arrows and a padded potion pouch with a wide assortment of vials: high-grade Health Potions, Warm Potions, Antidotes, and Stamina Potions.

Elincia, in her excitement, had failed to tell me something crucial about the First Hunt, or about leveling in general. The System appeared to withhold certain skills and passives from classless individuals, maybe as a safeguard against underage labor. Ilya needed to partake in the First Hunt so the System would start giving her more skills and passives from her class.

I closed my eyes and envisioned Ilya’s character sheet before and after getting her Class. She had gained [Tracking] despite not receiving any instruction on the matter. With [Longsword Mastery], it had been the other way around. It seemed the System had been forced to give her the passive just so her Character Sheet matched her current skills.

As curious as the phenomenon was, I didn’t have time to delve into it. Ilya was ready to go. I triple-checked my backpack, just in case.

“Remember, Rob, let Ilya do the heavy lifting,” Elincia kissed me. “I love you.”

I couldn’t help but smile. Despite knowing it, it was nice to hear it.

Behind Elincia, half of the orphans showed their disgust for our public show of affection. The other half was focused on the scene as if it were a Mexican telenovela. Although we no longer hid our relationship, the kids still found it amusing. Knowing they were okay with me being romantically involved with Elincia was reassuring.

Elincia then grabbed Ilya’s shoulders and wrapped her in a tight hug. “And you, Ilya, don’t try to show off. Aim for a double lung shot. Come as close to the prey as you need and shoot only when you feel comfortable. Got it?”

The scene would’ve been more endearing if it hadn’t been the tenth time Elincia had given the same instruction.

“I wonder if you followed Mr. Lowell’s lead during your First Hunt,” Ilya whispered mischievously. Only Elincia and I were in earshot.

Elincia pulled back from the hug and squeezed Ilya’s cheeks a bit too harshly. “During my First Hunt, I didn’t catch anything and almost got Risha killed,” she said.

I smiled. Under the guise of governess and orphan, Elincia and Ilya were actually sisters. I wondered if it was the same with Zaon. The elven kid and the gnome girl had been fellow orphans with Elincia when Mr. Lowell was alive. However, the boy seemed to look up to Elincia as a role model instead of an older sister.

“I’ll bring back Mister Clarke alive. You don’t have to worry,” Ilya jabbed one last time at Elincia before walking back to the iron fence.

“Good, replacing him would be a hassle,” Elincia grinned.

The orphans waved goodbye as we crossed the iron fence. Ash told Ilya to hunt down a Wendigo, prompting a laugh from the lot. I wished I had the instant camera to immortalize the moment. Luckily, [Awareness] served the same function.

We walked in silence until we reached the main street. Since the arrival of the royal army, the city had been packed. Mixed squads of royal soldiers and city guards patrolled the streets while carts of goods moved up and down the streets. With that amount of movement, I wouldn’t have guessed that Farcrest was a frontier town at the kingdom's far edge.

We had to navigate carefully until then.

Outside the city gate, a small town had grown like a tumor stuck to the black wall. Hundreds of tents were set in strict order on both sides of the road, adorned with the banners and flags of their respective Noble Houses. Most of the tents were decorated with the blue olive branches over a golden field of House Gairon. The black hammer of House Herran came in next, and the white tower of House Tagabiria were after that.

The sturdy fortifications used to defend the mills and barns during the Monster Surge now surrounded the camp. Dozens of soldiers dressed in plain shirts dug a wide pit around the barricades. Only then did I stop to think that skills also served to improve manual labor. A high-level soldier should have the stamina to work long hours without exhaustion. Poor bastards. Knowing the army’s mindset, the sergeants would squeeze them dry with or without extra stamina.

Ilya and I crossed the camp without being disturbed. The fields were empty save for a couple of shepherds guiding small groups of animals. The lack of dogs inside the city didn’t surprise me anymore. The shepherd probably had a skill to control the herd and to protect them from wild animals. Maybe they even had a little System Assistant to talk to during lonely days.

The idea was ridiculous.

“So, Elincia had a First Hunt?” I asked after leaving the camp behind.

The fact Ilya had mocked Elincia about her First Hunt hadn’t passed unnoticed. The last time I checked Elincia’s Character Sheet, however, she was an Alchemist with handy archery and tracking skills.

“It was Elincia’s first gathering trip. Mister Lowell called it a First Hunt because she was a bit bummed about her class,” Ilya explained. “She wanted to become a Hunter and join the Sentinels before Mister Lowell’s death.”

Elincia had the spirit of a Hunter despite selecting Alchemist as her Class. It had been a wise decision. Alchemist wasn’t only an Advanced Class but probably the most important crafting class. A well-placed Health Potion could save a life even if the sword and armor failed to protect.

“Accepting your Class can be hard, isn’t it?” I mindlessly said.

Ilya gave me a quizzical look, which I failed to understand initially. Having a hard time accepting your Class might be evident for an inhabitant of this world. For me, on the other hand, it was an anthropological question.

“I guess I haven’t told you,” I said as I scratched my incipient beard. “Where I come from, we don’t have the System. I became a Scholar the day I crossed the portal and killed my first monster in the Farlands.”

Ilya stumbled on a loose rock but recovered before she could fall.

“I’m sorry, your joke caught me by surprise,” Ilya brushed it off.

“Sure. I’ll tell the Marquis to fix the road next time I see him,” I jokingly said.

Ilya smiled with her eyes put on the mountain by the north. The road would lead us to the mountain path and into the Farlands. Despite the first valley being a buffer zone for monsters, I had to remind myself there could be strays who ventured south.

We left behind the farms, and the stone road turned into a dirt trail. At least there hadn’t been rain in a couple of weeks, so the terrain wasn’t as muddy as I expected. Movement wasn’t going to be a problem.

“So, what’s the plan?” I asked after a moment of silence.

“We should stay in the first valley to avoid monsters,” Ilya said. “Today, we travel and set up a camp as far north as possible. Tomorrow, I’ll scout the area and put out some feelers. I’m thinking of hunting an Iceshard Boar. This time of year, they should be down in the valley foraging for Crystal Lilies, and they are small enough for us to move them back home without losing too much meat.”

“Sounds like an excellent plan to me,” I said.

“Don’t tell this to anyone, but I have been preparing myself for this moment in case I miraculously become a Hunter,” Ilya admitted, her face suddenly flush.

My heart clenched.

“There’s no shame in preparing yourself for the best,” I replied. “If anything, people usually prepare themselves for the worst, but then they aren’t prepared to get the most out of a success.”

Ilya nodded but didn’t say anything else about the matter. The stone path became a dirt road, and the dirt road became an animal trail. We reached the first hills of the mountain range a couple of hours after we left the city walls. A biting cold wind blew from the frozen peaks into the valley. At least the hike kept me warm, and inside my backpack was a newly enchanted warming blanket.

“Well, this is it,” Ilya said. “After this pass, we’ll be in the Farlands.”

I put a hand on her shoulder.

“Lead the way, I’ll follow.”

The wind blew against our faces as if the mountain was trying to keep us away from the inner valleys. Ilya, however, put the hood of her gray cloak over her head and pushed forward. Despite her size, her footing was sure. I could tell she was a bit nervous, but nervous was good. In the Farlands, overconfidence was a death sentence.