It was the sound of running water that made Terry come up short. His eyes narrowed as he stared in the direction of that sound. A moment later, Kelima stopped next to him. She looked at him, looked in the direction he was glowering, and then back at him. When he just kept glowering and didn’t bother to explain, she finally asked him the question.

“What are you glaring at?”

“The future,” he said with a shake of his head.

“What does that mean?”

“It means we’re going to get attacked soon. So, you should get ready for that.”

“What do you mean we’re going to get attacked? And why am I getting ready instead of us getting ready?”

“Easy. Nothing has attacked me in days. That pretty much makes an attack of some kind happening in the very near future inevitable. Plus, we’re about to come up on a river. It’s a change of terrain, which also seems to be a trigger for attacks. I don’t know why, it’s just one of those things that is.”

“And why aren’t we getting ready to fight?”

“Oh, that’s easy. We’re still pretty close to civilization. That means that whatever is about to attack us, probably a water monster of some kind, will be fairly weak. We both know that I can kill it, but killing it won’t mean much for me. You, on the other hand, really need a boost to your power level. Otherwise, I’m not sure you’ll make it through this trip. I mean, seriously, do you honestly think you can survive a wyvern the way you are now?”

“I don’t know. Maybe,” said Kelima with a scowl. “Probably not. Still, you’re just going to leave me to fight anything that attacks us?”

Terry thought it over and said, “I’ll step in if you get attacked by more than six monsters.”

“Six?!” shouted Kelima.

“Hey, before all of this, I killed a pack of like thirty-five dire wolves. Six monsters is getting off easy, as far as I’m concerned.”

“Wait. Just wait,” said Kelima. “I’m trying to decide what I should ask first.”

“Take your time,” said Terry.

He snagged Dusk from Kelima’s shoulder and picked out a tree to lean against. He entertained himself by petting the happily purring kitten while the noble girl got her thoughts sorted out.

“You fought a pack of dire wolves?” she asked.

“No. Fought implies entirely the wrong idea. I killed a pack of dire wolves. Killed. It might not seem important, but there is a difference there.”

“Fine,” said Kelima. “You killed a pack of dire wolves. Where could you possibly have found a pack of dire wolves?”

“They were skulking around my new house.”

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“You bought a house?”

“I got some land, too.”

“And there was a pack of near-mythical beasts that no one has seen in generations just hanging around there? Being monsters?”

“Yep,” said Terry with a nod. “Did I not tell you about this before? Actually, never mind. I probably didn’t.”

“Their presence didn’t strike you as at all odd?” asked Kelima with a raised eyebrow.

“Odd relative to what? I died in my old world and woke up here. My bar for odd is both way higher and way lower than you might imagine. On the one hand, every damn thing here seems low-level strange to me. On the other hand, after you’ve died, been transported to another world, and woke up in a body you don’t recognize, it takes a hell of a lot to really move anything up from low-level strange to high-level strange. I won’t lie. Monsters being real is odd. Still, I won’t get that excited because I ran across a new breed of horrifying nightmare fuel some random afternoon. Besides, it’s not like I knew they were rare until you said something about it.”

“Wait. A body you don’t—” Kelima trailed off and shook her head. “I swear that every time you open your mouth I just end up with more questions. I also keep forgetting that you don’t know anything about this world.”

“Yeah. That keeps tripping me up, too,” said Terry sympathetically.

“Before I completely lose track of the important point, you’re okay with just leaving me to fend for myself against half a dozen monsters?”

“I really don’t see why you’re complaining. It’s for your benefit. Plus, you’re an adventurer. You must have come up against pack monsters before. And you keep talking like it’s inevitable that it’ll be more than one monster this time.”

“For my benefit? You think that would be for my benefit?”

“Well, it will be as long as you don’t die.”

“As long as I don’t die,” said Kelima in disbelieving tones. “How does that seem okay to you?”

“Do you have any idea how many monsters I had to kill, all by myself, after I got to this,” Terry had to force himself not to say horrible, “world?”

“Not really,” admitted Kelima.

“A lot. I didn’t have any support. No one to jump in and save me. I just had to do it because there was only me. It’s a very effective way to learn and gain some power,” said Terry before adding, “if you don’t die. It’s also good for learning self-reliance.”

Kelima just stood there, mouth hanging open, before she twitched and said, “You do realize that almost no one adventures alone, right? We almost always work in teams. Precisely because it’s dangerous and usually lethal to try to solo those contracts.”

Terry blinked a few times and asked, “How would I possibly know that?”

“Didn’t you ever talk to anyone at the Adventurer’s Guild halls you stopped at? Anyone at all?”

“Not really. People tried to talk to me once or twice, but it didn’t end well. It seemed like inviting trouble, so I didn’t bother with it.”

Terry watched with some amusement as Kelima pressed fingers into her temples and began rubbing. It would have been funnier if her expression didn’t suggest that she’d just gotten a blinding migraine. He was willing to enjoy her mild discomfort, but he was a little surprised to discover that he didn’t have much capacity for enjoying what looked like someone else’s genuine physical pain.

“Alright,” conceded Terry. “If you’re going to make such a big deal out of the whole teamwork thing, I’ll step in if I think you might actually die.”

Kelima fixed him with a flat look and said, “Someone can get terrible injuries without dying.”

“That’s very true. I suggest not doing that. Although, some people say that pain is the best teacher. So, maybe it’s worth trying a time or twenty before you give up on it.”

“What happened to my mother being terrifying?”

“Oh, she’s still terrifying. I’d definitely rather not have a conversation with her about why you’re dead. That doesn’t change the fact that I can’t carry you this entire trip. What if we get separated? I’m not planning on it, but if this world has taught me anything it’s that my plans don’t mean shit. If you don’t do anything to improve yourself along the way and that happens, you will be screwed. Not because I wasn’t willing to help, but because you won’t have the resources to survive. You should be grasping at any and every opportunity to fight monsters as a matter of basic self-interest.”

“I guess you might be right about that,” said Kelima slowly.

“I’m glad we agree. Also,” said Terry, pointing behind her and almost hiding his grin, “you’ve got a monster incoming.”