After all he’d been through, having exactly zero mana didn’t entirely come as a complete shock to him, but it was the exact opposite to the others around him. That was probably the biggest eye-opener to them ever. However, despite their good nature, he will later learn that he will need to make and earn an income of his own to stay alive. Luckily, he had some people he could turn to for questions and ideas. Unfortunately, Ephyr and Quinn had left with Aerys, but the two people he’d entered the town with, Markus Braunfeld and Sofya Pyrrins, were now by his side as he was reading through two sheets he’d been given.

In terms of quality, the edges weren’t as sharp, nor was it as pristine as the mass-produced paper on his old world, but it was definitely of a satisfactory quality. Due to the soft and slightly frilly edges, sharper in some areas than others, it was obvious to him that paper in this world varied a lot in terms of quality. He had yet to see if books were just as old-fashioned, or if they were of better quality. The language on the sheets was elegant, but a little poorly written.

On one of the sheets were directions to the nearest chemist, a very popular bookery and a clothing store; coincidentally adjacent to a Smithing store. Alongside those were directions to the local academy. The other sheet was not to be read by Reiki, so the contents were unknown to him or his current group members. He had to wait until he heard from the headmaster of the academy before he could learn the contents of it.

‘Oh! Heeyyyy! Reikiii!’ A female voice chimed out, causing Reiki to snap his head towards the origin. ‘I’m so glad to see you again! Mind if I join you?’ It turns out that, along the way and in his own thoughts, he’d bumped into the wolf-girl Beastal, Sapphire Simona the Third.

She was the wolf-girl he saved back in the sister-capital, Hibel, alongside all the other children and teenagers. Reiki was somewhat glad that he was able to meet up with her again. But a nagging thought silently stowed away in his mind before he could act on it.

Upon arriving at the Chemist’s place mentioned on his sheet, he was reminded of the one manga he’d read of a pharmacy in another world when he saw how big the place was. Luckily for Reiki, the place was called Xe’ana Khem’ka. Upon entering, a brown-skinned girl with a single horn on the right side of her head walked into view.

‘Oh, hello there! Welcome to my store!’ The woman exclaimed cheerfully. ‘I’m Xe’ana. How can I help you four today?’ She added, looking directly at the faces of each of them, lingering on Reiki’s for a few seconds longer than the rest.

‘Hello, uh, I’m Reiki and I was told to come here?’ He replied, surprised he didn’t stutter his words. ‘I’m.. I’m new in town.’

‘I figured as much, as I’ve not seen you around here before. Welcome to Xe’ana’s Chemist!’ She replied, grabbing a board with a poorly designed wooden clamp on it to hold the paper on it. ‘What brings you to the store today?’ In a flick of her head, a pair of rounded glasses dropped down onto her nose as if from nowhere.

‘Um, I was told to show you this note if I didn’t understand it.’ He replied, holding the sheet out to her. The other he kept in his new trouser pocket, folded as neatly as possible.

‘Okay, we have this and this, but you’ll want to get a request from the guild or hire an adventurer to collect some of the ingredients for these, as the place is currently out. Then there’s these…’ She waffled on, showing Reiki and Sapphire around the store whilst pointing between the items listed.

Whilst the three were inside, with Sapphire unknowingly staying close to Reiki’s side, Markus and Sofya had opted to wait outside. Whilst they waited, idle conversation caught up with them.

‘So… it’s still hard to believe, isn’t it?’ Merkus said, keeping his voice low.

‘What’s so hard to believe?’ Sofya replied.

‘The boy, Reiki. Orphaned, kidnapped, yet didn’t need rescuing and somehow saved countless kids.’ He pointed out.

The two shared a silent gaze, both understanding roughly what the other was thinking. Just as Sofya was about to strike up the conversation, the two young adults were escorted out of the store.

‘This kid’s bright, he noticed a discrepancy in one of my formulas on the back wall.’ She said, patting the erubescent Reiki’s shoulder. ‘Being an ex-professor at the academy, I might’ve gotten a little rusty when it comes to the formula I used.’

Sapphire couldn’t help but smile happily, with a slight sparkle in her eyes, whilst holding back and stroking a small amount of her silver-tipped hair. Reiki was lightly thinking that the formula was something similar to a chemistry class he’d seen back when he was younger, but didn’t make anything of it and assured himself that chemistry was a new thing in this world’s history. Sofya gave Markus a discrete look that said “We’ll talk about this later” before they were on their way to the next location on his list; the local bookery, the Bookery of Wrights.

Upon stepping into the entrance, the strong smell of tanned leather and that oddly satisfying smell of old and new book pages together were a memorable sensation, but that wasn’t what made Reiki’s eye widen slightly. Before he could take a step further, two women who’d noticed them entering approached them. One woman had long, curvier yet pointed ears while the other was an adult Beastal.

To be exact, the Beastal woman was a cheetah-woman, whose tail swished around wildly like a snake slithering quickly across the ground. The other looked much like a human, except two black dots above her left eye and her ears distinctly screaming to Reiki as Elvish ears.

‘Hello! Welcome to the Bookery of Wrights.’ The one closest to them said, who wore a white sleeveless top with a thin, knee-length skirt in a soft yet vibrant sky blue, with a silver pattern along the bottom hem. ‘My name’s Etothia. How can we be of assistance today?’ She added, as she reached out her hand, towards no-one in particular as her eyes danced like the gentle waves on a beach, yet burned like fire.

‘Hi Etothia! It’s me, Saph!’ Sapphire exclaimed, rushing in for a hug which Etothia hesitantly accepted, after a look of pure surprise covered her face. ‘We’re helping Reiki out with a few things before he does this thing he’s keeping quiet about.’ She added with a brief pout before releasing the hug and returning to his side.

‘I see.’ Etothia replied, a gentle tug on her lips as a warm smile appeared on her face.

‘Forgive me for not introducing myself first,’ Said the other woman, as she strode to Etothia’s side. ‘I’m Lady Venelle Wrights. Most people prefer to call me Lady Wrights or Lady Ven, but I prefer just Ven or Venelle.’

‘... It’s nice to meet you.’ Reiki finally spoke up, after stopping himself from staring at her ears and tail. ‘I’m Reiki, and I’m supposedly here for these.’ He added, handing Venelle his sheet, pointing at the section with her bookery.

Sapphire just giggled quietly, until she realised her cheeks were glowing. She lightly slapped her cheeks a little to calm the red glow easing it’s way onto her cheeks. Etothia noticed this and started to silently tease her the moment they locked eyes. Without Reiki noticing, even if he had his Telepathy on, the two had come to a surprising stalemate in just a few seconds.

‘I see. Eto, I know you're off duty for the rest of the day, but could you guide them to Aisle Five for me? I need to grab something.’ Venelle asked Etothia, as she scurried off towards the lobby’s main desk.

‘Sure thing, Ven!’ She replied, her grin widened slightly. ‘If you don’t mind, please follow me.’ She curtsied, then walked off, with Reiki and his first friend in tow.

He didn’t realise he’d registered Sapphire as a friend, but he was glad that he now has people he can call friends. Markus and Sofya exchanged a smile behind him, as they waited outside once again.

Whilst Reiki was being schooled and advised with books and speeches about being an adventurer, with Sapphire by his side and Etothia replaced by another staff member, Markus and Sofya continued their conversation from earlier. Luck was on their side this time, as there were a few empty outdoor seating areas for them to sit in mostly out of earshot from the passersby but still close to the entrance.

‘So, what were you going on about earlier, Markus?’ She asked him, as she sat down opposite him, her eyes lingering slightly on a family of three walking past chatting animatedly with smiles on their faces.

‘Huh? Oh, right. That Reiki-kid…’ He replied, sobering his nonchalant attitude just a little.

‘So? I don’t think it was just the kid in there who took it down.’ Sofya replied, a skeptical look plastered on her face. ‘There must have been someone else on the inside who’d done it.’ She added, as she tried to assure herself that a young guy like Reiki couldn’t have been the only one to take down such a nefarious and illegal activity.

‘You sure?’ He replied, an eyebrow raised as he crossed his arms. ‘The strange flash of green light that guided us towards them looked the same colour as the weird lightning-like aura the kid had before he fell unconscious.’ He added, raising a finger to emphasise his point.

‘So you think we can trust the kid?’ She questioned him warily.

‘Don’t see why not.’ He replied with a soft grin. ‘Plus I don’t know if you noticed, but I sure noticed how his eyes are exploring everything like it’s truly his first time in a city like this.’ He added, taking note of the subtle reactions Reiki was giving out.

‘...I guess you’re right.’ She admitted. ‘We’ve also got no other leads on where two of them managed to high-tail it to, so we should be good for now.’ her eyes skymed as she avoided the knowing look from her partner.

Their conversation changed to a calmer, more casual one before they could let Reiki find out what they were talking about. After a short while, Reiki and Sapphire left the building, Reiki with a happy buzz to his earlier anxious state. He was holding three books in his arms, whilst Sapphire was carrying none. Yet, whenever she got the chance, she always attempted to ask if she could carry some of them for him.

As the first person recorded to ever have zero mana in this world, Reiki did have one or two initial mobs swarming him with care and support. Before the waves of people had quickly subsided after the Guildmaster sent out a request that Reiki be given pace to think about it. After all, he now knows he’d be unable to produce any magic like everyone else can. However, he wasn’t as distraught as he thought he would be.

Back to the present though, they realised walking around town with all the books might make him a target. They all unanimously decided to take a detour to a place where Reiki could get himself a bag to carry his items. After all, there was the academy to get ready for. Upon arriving at the small item store, he couldn’t help but notice a thick, fluffy tail swishing behind the counter. A mumbling could be heard as Markus, Reiki and Sapphire approached, with Sofya waiting outside silently mulling over what Markus had been talking about with a forlorn look on her face, her chin gently clasped by her index finger and thumb out of habit.

‘...oh where is that material?’ A gentle yet sparky voice trilled, as the tail swished and shifted further down the countertop. ‘I could’ve sworn I put it somewhere around here! …Did I leave it somewhere els– GYAA~?!!’ She added, when her tail swished downward as she stood up and saw the trio.

Her surprise made the trio, especially REiki, two other patrons and a staff member close by jump in shock, but they all quickly recovered. At least someone would hope they did. The woman’s shoulder-length hair matched the fur of her fox ears and her tail well. Even her flowery headband with muted colours made her vibrant and energetic eyes stand out. However, Reiki was still in shock at her yelp, so he froze almost as rigid as a frozen lake.

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‘I’m so sorry!’ The woman apologised. ‘I’m working part-time today and I was asked to hunt for one of the materials for a unique order.’ A bead of sweat appeared on her cheek as she bowed slightly. ‘But besides that, how can I help you?’ She finally added after she caught her breath, smiling with a feeling akin to the dreamy warmth of the sun when you’d sunbathe.

‘Hi Miss,’ Saph spoke up, stepping between Reiki and Markus before either could begin talking. ‘We were hoping to get a bag for my friend here. He doesn’t have that Null Storage skill, so we were hoping to get him a small carry bag or maybe an easy to use enchanted item bag.’ She explained easily, catching both males off guard.

As Reiki finally processed what was being said, he bowed his head similarly to the young woman a few seconds after Sapphire finished talking.

‘Ah, I see…’ The woman replied. ‘Oh, right, customer policy! I’m Saelina Coleto. I mainly work in Venelle’s bookstore, but I’ve been working here as I’m in a bit of debt lately… Wait, please forget I said that last bit, eheh…’ She added, nervously trying to take back what she’d just revealed with a furrowed and twitchy pair of eyebrows.

‘Don’t worry, we won’t say anything.’ Sapphire comforted her, allowing Saelina to release a strong breath of air as they followed her to the area for enchanted items. ‘Just show us where we need to look and we’ll be out of your hair.’ At the mention of Saelina’s hair, she reached up in surprise and quickly attempted to smoothen it back to normal.

Saph had calmed down a lot from earlier, when she’d been around Etothia, so she simply left a gentle hand on Reiki’s shoulder. He shook slightly at the sudden touch, but connected his gaze with hers briefly as her touch lingered for a few seconds before she pulled away. A well hidden rosy hue arrived on her soft cheeks.

‘Here we have some everyday items, from our leather pouches for hunting knives to enchanted item bags.’ Saelina stated, as she started listing off some of the basic requirements from the paper Sapphire had just handed over to her. ‘So, how much mana does… Rye-key have?’ She added, her voice raising a few tones as she tried to pronounce his name.

‘His name is Reiki.’ Saph replied quickly, her rosy cheeks fading quickly. ‘I’m surprised word hasn’t reach out this far yet.’ She said, a slight and playful raise of the edge of her lips appearing.

‘Oh? What’s wrong with his Mana?’ Saelina replied, curiosity now plastered on her face. ‘Is it too big for the normal item bags to handle?’ She placed a finger to her lips in thought, staring between all the items.

Sapphire could barely hold in her laughter, but managed to keep most of a straight face. Even Markus was amused at Sapphire’s subtle change in behaviour since they left the Bookery. Instead of asking her to be quiet, he let the scene carry on to see how far she could go.

‘Actually, it’s quite the opposite.’ Sapphire continued.

‘Oh my,’ Saelina gasped. ‘I hope he can at least perform the bare basics of Elemental Magic!’ She added, her eyes widening as her brows raised, whilst a hand raced to the centre of her chest.

‘So we all know how everyone is gifted with at least some mana to perform everyday tasks?’ Sapphire said, as she held the sheet the part-timer was holding up and pointed at a few lines near the top. ‘Read this!’ She giggled loudly, as she began to lose hold on her emotions.

Saelina looked closer, and read it again.

‘He…’ Her eyes bugged out.

The Beastal woman was left speechless by the opening lines on the paper. She’d stupidly misread the information earlier when Sapphire had handed her the sheet. The number she assumed Reiki had was a symbol meant for a high concentration of mana. But in her haste, she didn’t perform a double check. It was the symbol for zero. Nothing.

‘That makes absolutely no sense…’ She muttered, grasping her head after handing Saph the paper.

The paper was then mostly folded neatly and passed back to Reiki. Saelina almost collapsed to the floor, if Reiki himself hadn’t snapped from his initial position to suddenly appear by her side to hold her up.

‘Wha?!’ She gasped at his sudden appearance beside her. ‘I just… You were… But I…’ She stuttered, confused about how he managed to get to her so quickly from behind the adventurer and the wolf-girl.

To Reiki, he hadn’t even noticed he’d used his powers when he went to stop her from doing such an embarrassing act. He’d quickly started moving, turned sideways and made his way forwards and snaked between the two within mere milimetres of touching them. He hadn’t even noticed their clothing slowly moving away from him as he’d moved, yet the resulting wind was almost nonexistent.

Almost like moving at superspeed for him was second nature.

‘I… Just… Uhm…’ He stammered, looking at Saph and Markus for help.

‘It’s alright, you can tell her.’ Markus said, his mouth upturned at one side.

After consoling Saelina, the shop owner came out to see the three of them around the young woman and almost berated them for reducing her temporary staff member to such a state. Luckily, Saelina’s mental strength quickly aroused her from her stupor and she asked her manager, the woman who’d come out, what type of item would suit his condition.

After quarter of an hour, Reiki was kitted out with a slightly old but almost brand new, body-conformed shoulder-bag. He was glad he got one that was enchanted with five different sectors for ease of use. It had taken a little dent out of Markus’ money-bag though; it had cost one hundred and fifty seven Reuke. The currency system was an interesting one to Reiki, but little did he know he’d be learning about it sooner than he thought. He mentally chuckled when he noticed its name sounded like a chess piece.

The bag itself, in terms of storage space, was measured in bowls of water. The large kind, not used for the morning gruel most adventurers ate. Each bowl being roughly a litre in volume. Each of the first four sectors was said to hold up to ten litres, with the final one holding up to thirty. The next and final place on the list was a clothing store.

‘I know I’m in need of clothing, but it looks like these might burn up at high velocity.’ He brought up verbally, once they were inside and browsing within the clothing store [STORE NAME]. ‘Do you have anything that could withstand extreme speeds?’ He eventually, albeit nervously managed to ask the staff member behind the counter without relying on Saph to ask his questions.

The store owner furrowed their brows, not in anger to the initial statement but out of curiosity to his question. She appeared to be working out something in her mind, leaving Reiki to wonder what was gonig on in her mind. He opted to activate his telepathy again, but out of courtesy to those around him, he didn’t want to unintentionally pry into a person’s mental privacy. He waited patiently, whilst Saph roamed through a part of the store he wouldn’t dare to enter.

Luckily, he didn’t have to wait for so long that the woman’s eyes glinted and shot open slightly as if something jogged her memory in that exact instant.

‘I think... Just let me ask my husband, as I think he might know which material might be useful for you.’ She said, before raising a small wooden sign to the counter that was engraved with “Staff are Occupied” into the fine, oak-like wood. ‘Jaehan?! We have a custom order!’ She could be heard yelling after she walked through a wooden door in the corner opposite the entrance.

After a few minutes or so, Saph returned to Reiki’s side with a beautifully woven birch-yellow basket with a small variety of clothing right as the woman returned, a man with short, musty hair and a slight bristle on his chin. His slumped posture suggested that he’d just been sleeping on something hard.

‘Orella, I know you said that it was a custom order, but you didn’t have to drag me ou–’ He stated, before she hummed questioningly and clasped her hands together. ‘Not… that I don’t mind being woken up.’ He added whilst his hands raised, before he turned to look at the young lad before him.

As his eyes roamed up and down Reiki’s body, his eyes glinted with an intensity that only a Feraphin Rabbit could match. The man stepped out from behind the counter after reaching for a small ball of white string with equidistant markings.

‘Hmm… This is… Move to here…’ He muttered as he walked around Reiki, placing the string across different areas of his body whilst Reiki was guided into different arm and leg positions. ‘Orella, can you take note of a foot six, waist thirty-two, down thirty-three, chest thirty-five and a short-8?’ He stated more than asked Orella, before he finished up a few more measurements of the young man.

‘Yes, Jaehan, got it all.’ Orella replied, using a feathery quill to write onto the parchment that neither Reiki or Saph noticed her pull out.

‘Okay, so before we ask for payment, I must say that we have a lack of ash black, pearl white, egg white, deep blue and cobalt blue for the cloth.’ Jaehan said, bringing attention to the colours of the clothes in his store. ‘It’s very popular with the younger adventurers for some reason lately, I have no idea why, and I’ve been requesting for more but the closest open market is a week from now down in Wynsel.’ He added gruffly, crossing his arms before grabbing his short goatee as he pondered a new thought.

‘...Win-sell?’ Reiki whispered to Saph.

‘Oh, that’s our local Port-Town to the south. It’s a bit of a trip down their though.’ She replied quietly, bringing a finger up to her own chin out of habit. ‘I think it’s a few days travel from here, at least three or so by carriage or two if you’re fast enough like the B or C Rank Adventurers around here.’ She added as her gaze changed roughly to face a southerly direction.

‘So how much would it come to, uhm…’ Saph asked after quickly snapping back to the present. ‘Sorry, didn’t remember your name.’ She added a bit shyly, a rosy glow barely noticeable for her embarrassment in forgetting to ask for his name.

‘It’s Jaehan, little missy.’ He replied, as he was snapped from his highly visual imagination. ‘If you’re looking for something cheap, I would suggest a fur or cotton based material, but with the very convenient enchantment store next place over, they should be able to stop it from burning up as you run. How fast are you exactly, kid?’ He added, with curiosity towards Reiki’s actual speed.

‘It’s nothing too special, in my opinion. Buuut, it would be a bit of a surprise if you’ve heard any rumours going around.’ Saph grinned, earning herself a grin in response from her new friend for keeping it a secret with a white lie.

‘Why would I listen to rumours spreading around?’ He asked quizzically, as his brows pinched and raised in confusion. ‘If I’d have heard something, it would’ve come from my wife, Orella, over there.’

Behind Jaehan’s back, his wife Orella was grinning wildly. As if she knew that this was the first clothing store that Reiki’s little group would show up at.

‘Oh dear, my Deary…’ She chirped comically, making Saph giggle and Reiki very confused. ‘It seems I forgot to tell you, but it seems I lost a bet against Myllena about the boy who stopped a criminal activity in lass than a day of being captive within it.’

Reiki’s eyes widened. The rumour about him had spread rather quickly for such a large city. Saph bumped his shoulder with hers, to snap him out of the lull he’d put himself into. After quickly getting through the clothing, the two shop owners were both displayed his speed. They had no idea he’d actually moved until the little setup they were watching shifted before their eyes. All but Sofya and Markus couldn’t quite see him as he shifted the items around, but the longer he moved, the more that sparks of neon-green lightning arced through the air and into the ground.

After that surprisingly useful display of his abilities, they confirmed that this was a very big custom job. After all, nobody had seen such speeds for anyone of a similar level to Reiki himself, despite him still only being Level One in his personal stats window. When they’d calmed down from the exciting display, they eventually confirmed that the details for the clothing would be paid as a one-off expense through a “Commoners Tab”. Reiki was surprised that the payment for a custom set of clothing for an adventurer was made mid-way through the design process.

‘So…’ Saph, huffed comntemptly, as they sat down on a grassy verge on the edge of an open square near her home. ‘That’s pretty much done. Would you like to get enrolled at Lisciana Academy? After all, I’m starting my second year there soon, I hope.’ She added, as her mouth lifted slightly and her eyes glistened like a moonlit lake on a clear night.

‘Th-The what academ–?’ Reiki didn’t have a chance to finish, immediately sitting upright after he choked on a thick, discus-shaped bun.

Saph was immediately there to thump his back, eventually dislodging the larger than expected chunk of bread.

‘Thank you.’ He rasped, before he coughed a few more times to make sure he was safe from choking on it again. ‘Did you say that I should go to the school?’ He added a few seconds later.

‘Yeah, it would be nice if you came to campus.’ Saph replied… right before monologuing him. ‘Each year everyone normally goes through an entrance exam for their year to see if they can stay in the same academic classes, or if they need to return to a previous year. Most of the time people do make it into the next, more advanced classes. But it all gets sped through if you’re applying to be an adventurer, so that you don’t have to worry about the smaller details of the other subjects…’

‘...’

‘...Reiki?’ Saph worried, when she saw his zoned-out look for what was likely the fourth time that day.

Reiki hadn’t meant to, but he zoned out after she mentioned the entrance exam. However, after she convinced him it was okay, they both got up and she then did something unexpected.

‘Carry me to the academy. ’ She grasped his hands, rubbed them subconsciously with her fingers before pulling his arms out in front of him. ‘It’s a bit far from here. Teehee.’ She added, a nervous smile on her face as she attempted to hop into his arms.

Before Markus and Sofya could do anything about the sudden turn of events, Saph gave a hearty ‘RUN, REIKI, RUN!’ before he blasted off. In a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it style moment, one second he was there with a small electric aura, the next a cloud of dust whooshed up from the ground.

‘She’s gonna get him into trouble if we don’t get there soon,’ Markus stated, then grinned himself. ‘Want to race me, sweetheart?’ He looked at Sofya, who was already grinning back at him.

‘Thought you’d never ask.’ She replied, as they both shared the same thought after racing after him.

‘We’ll never be able to catch up in time though.’