As the first light of morning stretched across the sky, Nur stood outside by the well, his hands supporting body on the stone rim as he leaned forward, staring at his reflection. Shadows clung beneath his eyes—he hadn’t slept well.

The water supply had been fixed, yet he found himself outside, seeking fresh air. Sweat clung to his skin despite the cool morning breeze. His body burned with an uncomfortable feverish.

He stood there in nothing but his pants, his frame lean yet broad-shouldered. Though he had never trained a day in his life, his body carried a natural sturdiness. No sculpted abs, no defined muscles—just a wiry build.

After splashing water over his face and hair, Nur tried to steady his breathing. His mind was still restless, refusing to calm down.

He sat down near the well, leaning against the low stone wall that surrounded the house. It wasn’t much of a wall—just a lazy stack of large, uneven stones, always seeming on the verge of collapse.

In front of him stood the house, with the second-floor balcony directly above. Inside, Kayle was still fast asleep.

Nur exhaled slowly. With nothing else to do, he decided to try meditating. Crossing his legs, he closed his eyes.

The sound of birds singing.

The distant hum of the morning breeze.

Golden rays of sunlight breaking through the mist, warming his skin.

He sat there, losing himself in nature.

Time flowed without warning.

Step. Step.

He felt two presences approaching from the house entrance. The sound of footsteps pressing into the grass grew closer to his left.

Nur opened his eyes.

“Brother Nur!”

A familiar voice called out.

“So this is where you are, young man!”

“…?”

“What are you doing out here naked?” Smith said with a laugh. “Are you into this kind of thing?”

“Brother, are you feeling okay?” Kayle asked, his tone more concerned.

“…Yes, I was just meditating. And no, Mr. Smith, I don’t have such fetishes.”

“Hahaha! I was just joking!” Smith said, grinning as he extended a hand to help him up.

Nur glanced at it but got up on his own.

Kayle frowned. “Brother Nur, are you sure you’re okay? Yesterday, you looked like you were struggling to walk. Did you hurt your leg?”

Meanwhile, Smith was still staring at his hand, visibly disappointed that Nur hadn’t taken it.

“Ah, that… well, something happened,” Nur muttered, rubbing the back of his head.

Smith raised an eyebrow. “Now that I think about it… how did you get inside the house? When we arrived, it was locked. And there’s no way that bastard doctor would be dumb enough to just let you inside for a fight, would he?” his was confused an curiouse also he decided to be suspicious

Nur simply raised his hand and pointed upwards.

Smith and Kayle followed his hands movement.

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“Huh?”

“You’re joking, right?” Smith said, baffled. “How the hell did you climb that?”

Both of them stood there, completely confused.

…

Yesterday.

Nur stood outside the house, lost in thought, outside the house near the window where Kayle’s grandma was lying unconscious. He needed to know what was going on inside.

An idea struck him.

He moved to the opposite side of the house, directly beneath the balcony of the room where he and Kayle had slept. It was too high—about the height of two grown men stacked together. There was no way he could reach it alone.

As he stepped back, trying to calculate a way to jump, his back hit the low stone wall behind him. A loose rock tumbled from the top.

A reckless thought formed in his mind.

The only way up… was to risk everything.

His hands trembled at the thought. His instincts screamed at him to reconsider—the consequences of failure were brutal.

But he shut those thoughts down.

Taking a deep breath, he climbed onto the unstable stone wall. It was barely shoulder height, and balancing on top of it felt like standing on a pile of loose rubble. If he fell, he and the wall would likely collapse together.

He steadied himself.

The jump he had to make was beyond anything he’d done before. If he failed, he’d end up with broken bones—or worse.

His heartbeat pounded in his ears.

Then, without hesitation, he leaped with everything he had.

Thud!

“Ugh!”

His body slammed against the edge of the roof. His leg banged painfully against the side, leaving him hanging by his arms.

Gritting his teeth, he summoned every ounce of strength in his upper body, pulling himself up, inch by inch.

His muscles screamed in protest.

But somehow, he made it.

Panting heavily, he dragged himself onto the balcony.

“I need to work out more…” he muttered between breaths.

He was sure the noise might have alerted everyone, he moved forward as the adrenaline hit him,

…

“Heeeh!”

Both Smith and Kayle stared in shock.

“So you really did all that?” Kayle asked, his face filled with astonishment.

Smith crossed his arms. “No wonder you were all wobbly yesterday, barely able to stand.”

Nur scratched the back of his head. “Well… I guess.”

Smith sighed. “But you could’ve asked for my help, you know? You didn’t have to go through all that alone.”

Nur turned away the moment he heard that.

“Ah… I had my reasons,” he muttered.

They shifted their gaze toward the stone wall. It was already half-collapsed from Nur’s reckless jump before, with scattered rocks lying on the other sides.

“Well… can’t be helped, I guess,” Smith said. “We came as soon as we heard the noise. At first, we didn’t think much of it, but when we heard that loud rumbling from inside, we rushed over. We were wondering how the wall fell in the first place.”

“…But that guy—he was certainly no small-time thief. He even got past the village chief with a doctor’s ID we can’t confirm as real or fake.

And think about it—why was a doctor called in from outside? Not just any doctor, either. He seemed to come from some high-off place, way beyond what common folk like us can even imagine.

Then there was that scroll—something that’s nowhere easy to get. And that strange liquid he drank… Was that an alchemicay product? Was he one of those people?”

As Mr. Smith pondered over these matters, Nur and Kayle had already walked away.

“…You guys!”

Nur glanced at Kayle as they reached the entrance door outside. “By the way, why is Mr. Smith here this early in the morning?”

“Ah, Uncle Smith came to check up on us,” Kayle replied.

“Not just that,” As he turned towards them with a proud and energetic look, Smith added. “I also needed to check the water supply. And the door—I need to change it before it breaks again.”

Nur eyed him for a moment before saying, “You’re quite competent at times, aren’t you, Mr. Smith?” His face remained unreadable, making it unclear whether it was a compliment or not.

“Hehehe!” Mr. Smith rubbed his nose, taking it as praise anyway, and grinned.

“…”

Later Mr. Smith had gone off to tend to other work, promising to return later.

“So he really just came to check on us because he was worried,” Kayle chuckled.

…

It was afternoon. Nur sat on the wooden floor, lost in thought.

“Near the city, huh… Sigh.”

After hearing that the local doctor had gone there, the idea of heading to the city lingered in his mind.

He remained there in silence until a voice called out from below.

“Brother Nur, come outside quickly!” Kayle’s voice rang clearly through the window he was leaning against.

They had hesitated to leave at first, worried about Kayle’s grandmother, but she had insisted they go, assuring them she’d be fine. Before they left, she had also given Kayle a task—to inform the village chief about Nur.

Nur exhaled and stood up, grabbing the robe the grandmother had left for him. His usual coat and clothes hadn’t been cleaned yet, so she had given him this as a replacement.

It was old but well-kept, once belonging to someone else in the household. The deep green fabric was loose and comfortable, the robe draping over his shoulders as he secured it at the front. It matched the pants he had thrown on earlier—simple yet sturdy, fitting snugly around his waist.

He tightened his belt, adjusting his robe with a final tug before stepping outside.

The afternoon sun hung high, its warmth pressing down as Nur stepped beyond the threshold.

For the first time since arriving, he was venturing out— him wondering about the village and its people.

Ahead of him, Kayle practically bounced with excitement, eager to guide Nur through the sights.