That same afternoon we go to talk to the goblins.

First, I enter my room alone to make sure Judith isn't there. I previously told her not to touch any teleportation stones she might find on the floor, explaining that they're for training with Professor Catrina. Honestly, Judith is the perfect roommate: quiet, spends most of her time studying in the library, and never questions me about anything. She simply nodded, agreed, and mentioned the professor had already cautioned her about the stones.

(If she moved them by accident, it's not like I couldn't return. I'd simply have to go talk to the guard captain.)

Once I confirm the room is empty, I call Ronan. For a moment, I'm puzzled to see him acting stranger than usual, as if he were uncomfortable or self-conscious. Then I realize that, supposedly, I'm a young woman who has just entered the age of majority and has invited a boy to her room. Oh. Who knows what they might think of my behavior in this society. Very embarrassed, I grab the bag of stones and say to him:

"Don't you dare think anything weird. This is where I make the circle so that someone doesn't break it if they find it, for example, if I place it in a corner of the gardens."

And he should be thankful that my closet is narrow, otherwise the portal would be in there.

When I speak to him, my voice sounds drier than I intend, and he, strangely, doesn't even answer me. Moreover, I'd swear those still pale cheeks are turning red.

I audibly snort and place the stones on the floor. I stay in the center and extend my hand to him, as the professor did with me. Once we're both inside, I activate the spell with the magic words. Upon appearing in the square, the furrier is walking by and greets me. I return the greeting. When we reach the gate in the palisade, the guards ask me about my companion. I tell them he's a friend. They let me pass without questioning anything. Advantages of this being a village of civilians, where passage isn't restricted. And if at some point the issue comes up with one of their superiors and reaches Catrina's ears, well, I'll explain to her what I want Ronan for.

I guide him to the cave. The boy keeps looking everywhere, as if he'd never been in a forest. Okay, he told me his parents have kept him locked up, so I better not ask. Once we reach our destination, I introduce him to the totem. Ronan is interested in knowing if he can enhance the goblin warriors with his magic and how many warriors they have. The answers are yes and thirteen operational warriors plus two injured. Ronan remains thoughtful for a few minutes, as if refining his plan. Afterwards, he asks the totem to gather all the goblins and shares his plan with them. The goblins are going to spend days digging. I myself have as a priority to bring them shovels tomorrow. The fight for the territory against the most dangerous beasts of the forest will take place on Saturday morning. As I listen to the details of Ronan's plan, I'm glad to have him. In the clearing we fought against the smaller bears—which were already a head taller than me when standing on their hind legs—and here the small ones will be our least concern. We only have thirteen goblin warriors, and last time, those of lower level couldn't handle one even between four of them. The only thing that seems strange to me is that Ronan doesn't count more on the shadow wolf, which alone is capable of taking out all the bears if we manage to gather them so it can do it within the time limit. I imagine it's because he doesn't want to risk any bear escaping and causing casualties.

"There is still time before dinner, my lady. I saw some wild boars earlier. Would you like us to look for them to train?" Ronan says to me on our way back.

Wild boars? Yes, now that I think about it, I saw them too, scurrying in the distance between the trees just like I spotted rabbits and some deer. And the wild boar, unlike the other two animals, if I attack it will have the decency to try to bite me, it won't flee as if its life depended on it.

"The truth is I haven't faced any. They'll be more resistant than wolves and less than bears. One wouldn't be a bad idea but, don't they go in herds?"

"That could be a problem. I can use my exhaust, which is an area spell. I would like to fight against a real enemy instead of against a summoned skeleton."

I stop dead in my tracks. He does the same so as not to leave me behind.

"You want to go melee against a wild boar when what I saw of your battle with your skeleton is that it was beating you by far?" With my arms akimbo, I sound more annoyed and aggressive than I intend.

"Yes, my lady. I really want the sword mastery to increase my strength. If I fight against creatures that are mine, it is harder to achieve. The probabilities are higher in a real fight."

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Yes, Catrina has told me the same thing in the only Wednesday class I've attended so far. That's why I wanted to go hunting. I've spent quite a few hours training sword movements, although something tells me not as many as Ronan.

"Okay. If things get ugly, we always have the pup."

Ronan guides me to where he remembers seeing the wild boars. We wander around a bit. Either they've moved or it's noticeable that the boy doesn't orient himself very well. In the end, we see a couple that are poking their snouts into the leaf litter.

Ronan gives me an affirmative nod and begins to cast his exhaust. Once the dark magic reaches them, we go for them. I hear more grunts and one more appears. It must have been nearby and within the spell's area, as it's also weakened. It's probably the exhaust that caused its aggro. All three go for Ronan, charging to attack at reduced speed. I activate the fire channeling in my sword, imagining that, although their skin won't be as thick as the bears', it's very possible that without the channeling I don't have enough strength to penetrate it. I position myself a little to the right and a couple of meters in front of my companion. That way, I can deal blows to two of the wild boars going for the wizard. The sword sinks in and slashes the flesh. By how much the life bar of one of them drops, twice as much as the other, I've managed a critical hit. Both animals abruptly change their trajectory and come for me. I activate another channeling, of stone this time, on my arms, chest, and belly. With my basic mastery of the spell, it's not enough for more. It will suffice. I don't look at Ronan because I can't, I have to focus on not losing sight of my two enemies. Honestly, I'm afraid of hearing him scream in pain at any moment. The wild boars pounce on me trying to bite me. Thanks to the brutal reduction in speed from the exhaust, as well as that agility that I raised obligatorily, I dodge them without problems and counterattack with a slash at the one that is more wounded. I repeat this pattern a couple of times until one of them, the one I'm not hitting, manages to bite my arm. I brace myself expecting to receive a sharp pain but I don't feel anything. Between the earth channeling and the damage reduction from the exhaust, it hasn't hurt me. I hit it on the head with the pommel of my sword, to make it release my left arm. It does. I throw a slash at it that it easily dodges since it was already jumping back before I started the movement. I turn to its companion, fallen on the ground almost without HP, and finish it off. I have one wild boar left, which is practically at full health; but it's only one. I focus on ending it quickly, before the channeling time ends. I glance at Ronan. Not only is he unharmed but he's doing great: it's the wild boar that's bleeding. Hmm... I don't know if he hasn't used some other magic... He finishes his off a little before I do mine. Smiling, he approaches me. A pop-up window has opened, for now I ignore it.

"I think I got it; I have the mastery. I feel stronger and wielding the sword feels more natural."

It's curious to see this boy smile. He doesn't seem so ugly. I extend my hand to bump fists, before realizing that perhaps they don't know that gesture in this world. That's not the case. His palm hits mine.

"And you?"

I read the system notification to see if I've been lucky.

Congratulations. Your level of channeling with the fire element has leveled up. The channeling with the fire element goes from minor to low.

I touch it to see if I can get more information. Minor is for basic spells, medium for intermediate ones. The next range is major, for advanced spells.

The channeling with the fire element costs two mana points and lasts 3 minutes.

Well, no, I still don't have the sword mastery; however, what they've given me is not bad at all, really not bad at all.

"I don't have it yet, but I must be close."

"What do we do with the wild boars?"

I smile.

"Do you have enough mana to call your skeleton?"

It's better than I thought, he can summon more than one. He calls three and each one loads a wild boar. The guards at the gate are amazed when they see us, but well, I'm sure they'll buy the three wild boars whole here. The problem, with how much attention Ronan's necromancy draws, is that this will definitely reach the professor's ears.

The furrier is delighted to pay me 3 silver coins and 20 coppers for each wild boar, saying that she herself will take care of selling the meat. She even offers us an herbal tea to relax tired muscles, she's so happy to do business with us. We accept and I snoop around a bit, to find out why she's so enthusiastic. It turns out that, as in this world there are no adventurers as such (there are mercenaries, but not adventurers), it's not so easy to obtain meat and skins from bears or wild boars. Normal villagers don't have much level, few of them are hunters and they usually work with traps for rabbits and other herbivores. They usually buy the animals that the soldiers from the barracks hunt when they go hunting and get extra, but it's not something that happens very often. They have their pig, chicken, and other domestic animal farms, of course. Because of all this, the furrier knows that she won't have problems selling the meat, tusks, and tanned hides of the wild boars. I take a look at her level and see that it's three. Very low for her age. But since experience is given by combat and especially with creatures that originate in dungeons... perhaps the correct question is what is this woman's past to have managed to level up twice. Either she's hunted many animals for many years, or she's come to face creatures like goblins. It could be. After all, this is a remote village. Here people have to be tougher than in the cities.

When we return, Judith isn't there but I see a handwritten note on my study table.

"Mary came by and asked for you. I told her you weren't here."

It's not signed but it's clear it's from Judith. I say goodbye to Ronan and go straight to the shower. If I don't hurry, I'll be late for dinner.