Now back in the house where our group is staying, I sat down in a chair, closed my eyes, and thought back to everything that's happened in the year since we got here.

~~

The first day we got here, Guts had to leave the area where his mercenary party was staying so we wouldn't suddenly appear in front of everyone. Before we even thought up of a plan to join Gambino's mercenary party, we had to buy some clothes to fit in. Luckily, the clothes for this time period weren't that expensive and we each only wasted 10 points on a set of 7. After a quick outfit change, we all sat down to think up of a plan.

The plan that we came up with was the most straightforward one. Ask to join the mercenary party. After all, what is a mercenary party if not a bunch of random men who joined together to make some money? If it came down to it, we could ask for a fight to prove our worth. I was sure Gambino would want the girls to prove themselves, after all, the men in this time period still believe that women should be homemakers, not warriors. But he'd be in for a rude awakening if it came to that.

With our planning done, we told Guts to go back first before we followed in half an hour. During the half-hour of waiting, Amelia asked me if we should be worried about the God Hand since they can see causality. I reassured her that even though the God Hand are aware of causality's flow and are aware of most possibilities that may occur, they are not omniscient. That is why Guts was able to live so long in the future because he was unforeseen. So we'll be fine on that end.

After the half-hour was up we started heading in the direction Guts told us the mercenary party was. We had also decided on a story for why we were together and wanted to join Gambino's mercenary party. The story was relatively simple, we were all part of another mercenary party, a medium-sized one, that got wiped out during a night ambush when we were doing a job. We were some of the few that were able to escape because we were doing some night patrol. As we traveled we heard of Gambino's party and its success, so we decided to try our luck joining it. Like I said, simple but believable.

As we approached the camping grounds of the mercenary party, some men started riding out towards us. The men on the horses stopped around us to encircle us and asked us what we were doing. I told them we were looking for the Hand of Steel mercenary party because we wanted to join and were looking for work. After staring at our group, especially the girls, they said to follow them to meet the leader.

After a short escort, we were now inside the camping grounds standing in front of what I could only assume is Gambino's tent seeing as it's the biggest one. The flaps opened only for us to see Gambino walk out and ask what the hell is going on. A short explanation after, Gambino started to size us up while his stare lingered on the girls before moving on. Then he asked why we wanted to join to which I told him the story I had ready.

With some wariness in his eyes, he said we could join if we could prove ourselves. So after asking for an axe since I didn't want to use mine, we thoroughly beat the opponents he set up for us. The one that surprised me the most was Amelia because she could apparently use a short sword quite proficiently. When I asked her about it later, she said that she was trying to get good with any weapon seeing as she could become any of them.

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

Anyway, after joining Gambino's mercenary party, everyone was wary of us for a while but after being in battle with each other time after time, they warmed up to us. Of course, there was still a dumbass almost every day that wanted to get with the girls in our group but that mostly got shut down after Ciri castrated someone.

On the training front, I decided to turn off the passive enhancement from my nanites while I trained so I could get the most out of my training. I also started to train the breathing technique so if I ever wasn't able to use my nanites or tk for whatever reason, I wouldn't be completely helpless. With the help of Uzui and Guts' gravity weights, as well as my enhanced regeneration from the nanites, my physical prowess soared. Afraid I would lose all my gains once I returned to my world, the DGC said any progress done would stay, but physically I would look the same as the moment I left.

As for my telekinesis, I was also training it but it was harder to do so because I needed a secluded area away from any prying eyes. Since I wasn't able to always be alone without raising suspicion, I decided to train in creating new techniques. I was able to figure out how to use my telekinesis as a radar, almost like echolocation. I would send out a very weak, imperceptible, wave of telekinesis that would bounce back to me the information about my surroundings. I was only able to use it for 100 feet around me in all directions, but still, it's pretty good.

I was also using my telekinesis in tandem with my physical training. By applying pressure to myself when I'm not able to use Guts' gravity weights, I've been able to make my training harder. In the beginning, I didn't put much pressure on myself, but at the moment I use about 50% of my power output on myself. Not to mention, I can also use this technique on my surroundings and my enemies. Like in Chinese novels or Bleach, just my spiritual pressure brings them to their knees.

I also wanted to focus on more lethal means of combat, so I also trained in cutting things through my telekinesis. When I killed the alien before the world merge, I had to crush the rocks into the shape I wanted, but if I could've cut the material away, it would've been much easier. This was a little harder for me to make headway in because it required a lot of precision and power at the same time. Precise enough to cut only what I wanted to be cut, but with enough strength to actually cut the material.

In the present, I was able to cut smaller boulders in half with just a thought. I was aiming to cut a boulder into equally sized cubes with minimal effort, but I was still a ways away. It's also because my growth has slowed down when it comes to my telekinesis. It seems, like a muscle, the stronger you get the harder it is to grow. It's slowed down after a year so I fear that by the third year there will be minimal growth. If it comes to that, I'll have to hope I get an upgrade from a mission in the future for it. The potential is too much for me to leave it behind.

But besides training and fighting, our group has become a lot closer as friends. The camaraderie that comes from fighting together has definitely helped our friendship. Of course, like normal friends, we also get frustrated with each other every now and then, but it always turns out all right.

Speaking of which, Ciri and I almost had a moment between us one drunken night, when I was able to finally get drunk due to Ciri's magic flask, but I stopped it. I had never thought about pursuing Ciri romantically, but that's not to say I don't find her attractive. It had just never crossed my mind, but if I ever did want something to happen, I didn't want it to start with a drunken mistake. The day after, we both agreed that stopping what almost happened the day before was for the better, and we continued to be friends.

Other than that, nothing of note has happened. We've all been training and fighting, drinking and laughing, day after day.

~~

"Matt, wake up." I heard Amelia say as my eyes opened to see her shaking me awake.

"I must've fallen asleep." I said rubbing my eyes, "What happened?"

"Gambino's calling us." she said before walking off.

"Let's see what that loser has to say."