I gasp as I wake abruptly, coughing and turning over onto my side as I lift my helmet and spit blood onto the forest floor. My vision is still a bit blurry and I groan as my abdomen dully aches at the coughing. I look around myself to see the sun is low in the sky and the shadows of the leaves dance on the still-warm bodies of the 4 spiked boars.

With effort I groan and roll over onto my back, pulling the health talisman out of the pouch I had clumsily tried opening before I passed out. I tap the center of the symbol on it and clutch it in my hand as a light blue light emanates from the talisman and the pain of my injuries lessens. The talisman isn't of super high complexity or quality so minor healing and pain management are all it can do.

The pain and blurriness have definitely lessened though, and I slowly stand up, still feeling the soreness in my abdomen protest at the movement. I slowly pick up my halberd from where I dropped it and retract it, putting it in its sheath as I look back towards the boars, grimacing at the thought of needing to carry them back. It would not only be a waste to leave them here, but I don't want to attract any other animals that might eat the farmer's crops and returning without the corpses might reduce my reward. I quickly bury the severed head deep enough to be safe from animals and grab the back leg of two boars in each hand. A quick tug verifies that I am in no way strong enough to bring them back without the assistance of that strength magic I used yesterday. So I need to figure out how to bring it out again.

From what I understand about the magic I had before, most spells require and understanding of their effects and some kind of hand signal. However, I didn't use a hand signal when picking up the boar, which might be a part of the Hero's powers or so I hope. There's not a whole lot that can usually go wrong with spells or buffs or debuffs, but lack of control can be dangerous with things like projectiles. Fortunately this was just a buff, and I don't think I'll accidentally exhaust myself by using all of my magic. Guess I'll just have to try and hope.

I visualize in my mind my mana covering my body, watching mentally as a thin sheet extends out from my core and covers my limbs like a blanket. I then remember the green light from before and direct the mana into my muscles, infusing it with my will to make me stronger. I am staring at my arms as I do this and to my delight they begin to glow a light gold color like before. I don't want to be a literal waking electric lamp so I visualize a barrier just beneath my skin to contain the diffusion of the mana to just my muscles and my body. The glow diffuses until my skin stops glowing.

Buffs usually last in correlation to how much mana you have as well as how much you infuse at once and how long you supply the mana. I can't be sure but I hope I have infused a sufficient amount to carry the boars without exhausting my mana too quickly, if my mana pool even has an end that is.

I attempt to pull the boars again and to my surprise I accidentally yank them forwards like they weigh as much as deerlings. Adjusting the level of mana after the buff has been applied can be a bit difficult, especially when it comes to reducing the level and considering my lack of control, so I just lift the boars 2 a-piece on my shoulders and begin walking back towards the farm.

I need to make it back to the gates before nightfall as Aluli is waiting there, so I also cast a speed buff on my legs and I quickly arrive at the farm house. I drop the spiked boars neatly in a row near the stables and walk up to the door, cancelling my buffs as I knock on the oken door. I hear a rustling behind me and I turn around to see a young man with red hair, a brown workshirt, and snowfelt slacks emerge from the field with a bundle of broken snowfelt stalks. He pauses for a moment as he looks between the spiked boars by the stables and then back at me a couple times. His eyes notice the blood staining my collar and the dented abdomen plates along with the dirt and scratches covering my body, finally landing on my Hero's token.

I laugh nervously at the awkward silence and say, "Hello, I uh, I came at the guild's request. I mean I am here to fulfill your service thing... your service request. So there are the spiked boars. The rest ran and won't be back. So... Yep."

I am heavily cringing inside, regretting every single word I just said as he stands there a bit longer. I'm trying to discern if his expression is one of judgement, humor, or concern, when he finally says, "Wow. You did this today?"

I nervously answer, "Yeah, this afternoon, figured with my lost memories that I might make sure my skills are still sharp."

I stand there nodding for a second and he seems to snap out of his daze, "Wow, that is really impressive, thanks Hero. I can't believe you not only defeated, but carried, all of these guys here by yourself in one afternoon. Taking on a whole herd at once is no small feat. I normally have a hard time with even two because they can get you from both sides... Man." He says, running his hands through his hair as he stares at the spiked boars for a moment more and walks back towards the farmhouse, "Well I can't let you leave empty handed after such a good job..." he says as he walks inside.

I stand there, unsure for a second, before he pokes his head out the open door and says, "Whatcha doing? Come on in!" and disappears back inside.

I stand there for a moment more, looking back at the setting sun. I still have about an hour, whatever he wants to do shouldn't take too long I guess. I look back and duck down as I enter through the doorway which is a bit short for me with my armor on. The inside is surprisingly cozy, a large living room with real Malladuck down couches with snowfelt covers dyed blue and a small kitchen adjacent with a large oken table that was obviously handcrafted along with the chairs. There is a real chiller in here too, my first time seeing one. The bottom cools food while the top freezes food so it lasts longer. He has an impressive collection of dried grunions of all kinds too hanging on the wall.

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He is rummaging around in a cupboard as I enter and turns around to reveal a roundcake, quickly cutting a slice on the table and handing me a piece. "It is a specialty of my family, they live in Town and visit every so often, made with the snowfelt we grow right here on my farm! It's the least I can do for someone who did such a good job filling my request. Most would only take out one or two and call it done." He says as he prepares his own slice and grabs a pitcher from the fridge. I stare at it as he gestures for me to sit down, to which I oblige. He pours me some water and stares at me at me expectantly as he digs into his own slice.

I think about how I can do this with my helmet on and pick up the fork, strangely positioning it under my helmet to take a bite. He pauses his own chewing as he stares at me with the most confused expression. I barely notice though as, to my delight, the most wonderful taste floods my mouth. This must be what allsugar tastes like, what an extraordinary treat! It is a bit expensive to transport to my village and we couldn't afford it even if someone made the trip to a local town.

He is still staring at me with a bit of an expression between confusion and amusement and says, "You can use your hands if that is easier. I assume you must have a reason for keeping your helmet on right?"

I nod as I swallow the next bite, "I suffered some... injuries... in the battle that cost me my companions." I say solemnly.

He nods understandingly and grabs me a straw so I can take a drink too. "All good, everyone has their own reasons for particular things. Between you and me, I can't stand the feeling of the snowfelt flour on my hands which is why my family does the baking instead of me haha." He says humorously. I laugh a little, "Yeah I guess that's true, your family does an amazing job baking I must say." I respond, taking another bite and savoring the fluffy but moist and slightly snowapple flavored cake.

"Oh yeah," he continues between bites, "I never introduced myself, I'm Zyfer, just a humble farmer here with a bit of affinity for elemental magic." He says, flicking a finger to make a small flame appear. "It's pretty harmless like this but I specialized in flame needles." He changes the shape to a thin cone that seems to vibrate with concentrated flame.

"That's incredible." I say, "You might already have guessed but I'm the Hero, Rua-..Levi Halestorm" I say, correcting myself quickly. He doesn't seem to have noticed.

"Well," He says after I finish my last bite, "I assume you must need to head back to town, but just know you are always welcome here. . The guild will give you your reward there but I'm glad I could share this with you, especially seeing how ravenously you ate it haha." He says with a laugh. I smile and nod, "No problem at all, glad to help. You don't need any more help with moving the spiked boars do you?" I ask as I stand and hand him my plate and cup.

He shakes his head, "No, my neighbors should be here soon to help me butcher them, I called them over the relayer. One spiked boar would feed me and my family all winter so I don't mind them taking the rest in return for their help," there is a knock on the door and he wipes his wet hands on a cloth, "and that sounds like them right now! Here, I'll show you out." He says, leading me back to the door.

He opens it and steps out. I can hear a group of people laughing and talking as I duck back through the door outside, at which time the talking kind of trails off. I look up to see a group of 5-6 men of varying ages staring at me, their Ruesteeds(strong, tall, maned animals that are used to race or traverse rough terrain or pull small carts). An older man speaks up, "Well I'll be, that's the Great Hero isn't it!"

The rest of them begin to crowd around me and talk excitedly as they look at my battle scars from the spiked boars before Zyfer steps in, pushing them away "Alright, alright, give the Hero some space." He turns to me, "Sorry about that, you can go now, we-" he turns back to the group, "have a lot of work to do." He gestures to the boars at that last point. They seem a bit sheepish as they walk over and pull their tools from their bags before getting to work.

Zyfer smiles and waves to me as I walk back towards town. I smile even though he can't see it and wave back, nodding in thanks.

The sun is nearly set as I run back towards the gates. Aluli is standing there, arms crossed, and I can tell she is unhappy even from a distance. I dispel the speed magic as I approach and sheepishly say, "Hey Aluli," while rubbing the back of my helmet. She opens her mouth to scold me but pauses as the last bits of light reflect on the dried blood on my collar and highlight the scratches and dirt on my armor. Her expression quickly switches to one of concern as she flaps her wings to hop closer to me and inspect the damage. "Great Hero, my goodness what happened?" She says frantically, lifting my arms to make sure nothing is broken or still bleeding.

I laugh a little and say, "Oh I just did a spiked boar extermination request, its nothing-ack" I'm cut off as she presses on my side where my armor doesn't cover that was hit by the boar.

Her avian eyes narrow and she says curtly, "You are Not fine."

I nod dejectedly, "But it'll have to heal on its own, I can't buy any strong enough health talismans with the reward."

She looks up at me with a disapproving expression, "Don't be silly Great Hero, the Overseer would never make you pay for healing from our local Mender. Now lets head there quickly, he doesn't like late visits." She says, dragging me through the gate. The guards are doing a terrible job hiding their amusement and I look away embarrassingly as they struggle to keep straight faces.

I refuse to go to the Mender before picking up my reward and Aluli begrudgingly obliges, waiting by the door as I hurry inside. I don't think what I did was particularly impressive, but the blatantly hostile glares from before seemed mixed with a bit of shock and curiosity now, which I guess could be expected from the state I was in.

Aluli took me to the mender who did a phenomenal job and then walked with me back to my room, ensuring I was brought a proper meal and had access to the bathhouse by myself to clean my armor and myself.

I finally lay back on the soft bed, a bit overwhelmed by all that went on today. At least now I have a little experience fighting with my new weapon, even if rudimentary. Tomorrow I need to see what magic I can use next and maybe find an appraiser. I wonder what the Magistrate will do once he hears of the death of my party and the Spectral Dragon Emperor as well? It did suck getting hit by the spiked boar, but despite Levi's reputation, Zyfer treated me pretty well, and that roundcake was the best thing I've ever had. Maybe this Hero thing isn't quite so bad...

I found myself drifting off sooner than I expected as the exhaustion of the day caught up to me and I turned off the light. I'll deal with tomorrow's problems, tomorrow.