With the man in front of him, Erin realized that he had no other choice but to address the language barrier.

"I'm sorry, I can't understand you."

He said, hoping that the man would lose interest and move on. However, his attempt proved unsuccessful as the man wore a pensive expression and opened a box on the back of the wagon. From within the box, he retrieved a flat stone and approached Erin.

Erin couldn't deny feeling a sense of nervousness, but strangely enough, he didn't perceive any threat from the man. The middle-aged man offered a reassuring smile and slowly closed in on Erin, possibly sensing his apprehension. When he was approximately two meters away, he came to a stop.

With a gentle gesture, the man showed Erin a flat, dark gray stone about the size of a cell phone. He then closed his eyes and touched the stone, causing it to emit a brilliant white light that formed a connection between the man and Erin.

For Erin, this was a truly marvelous experience. It was his first encounter with such a phenomenon. The connection felt similar to a phone call, and instinctively, Erin understood that he had the choice to either accept or reject the connection.

"Communication, is it?" he thought to himself before deciding to accept it, as it didn't evoke any sense of danger.

“Can you understand me now?” the middle-aged man asked.

“Woah... Yes, I can.”

“Good, then, allow me to introduce myself. I’m Sylvar Vanagladis, a small merchant.”

“I’m… Erin. What can I help you with?” Erin was sure the man wouldn’t just go out of his way to talk to a stranger boy for no reason.

“Well, I just found it weird that a boy your age was walking by himself to Tokh City.”

This ambiguous answer put Erin on edge.

“No, no… Don’t get me wrong. It’s just that your hair is too unique to not notice.”

“My hair…? Wait, do you have a mirror perhaps?”

“Yes, here.” The man fumbled in his pocket and retrieved an old, fancy-looking mirror made of silver or metal that reflected well.

Upon taking a look at his reflection, Erin saw his short white hair. 'Wait, white?'

His face somewhat resembled his when he was a kid, from what he could remember. But both his hair and eyes were white… Unfortunately, Erin's facial expression and actions didn't go unnoticed.

“So, you didn’t know? Let me ask you a question then. Do you feel stronger and faster than normal?” Erin's pupils constricted as he looked at the smiling middle-aged man.

“Kid, relax. If your hair isn’t natural, then it’s most likely a mutation from an awakening… Also, I am a merchant and mean you no harm. But I still have to ask, where do you come from?”

His mind worked towards answers that wouldn’t seem too suspicious.

“I came from a village. Some bad people killed everyone in my village and captured all the kids. We have been with them for several days. Then the villains were attacked by monsters, and I managed to escape into the woods. After surviving there for ten days, I ended up here. To be honest, I don’t even know where I am right now.”

'Yup, let’s go with slavery and human trafficking.' Erin decided on a story that would evoke sympathy and lessen any suspicion.

The merchant turned towards Erin with a scrutinizing face. He had heard of such things happening, even more considering the current state of the kingdom.

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“Such a pity… You must be from far away since you can’t speak the Menduntisan Language. Well, this is the road from the western ridge to the city of Tokh.”

Erin was elated. Well, it isn’t difficult to fool someone when they have their guard down because you are a child.

“I see, thank you, Mr. Sylvar. What is this that allowed us to speak the same language?”

“Hoho, this is a language stone. Something that connects our intention to communicate with each other. Although it is quite expensive, almost all merchants have it if they want to trade with other races and empires.”

Erin realized that the language stone was an expensive item, far beyond his current means. Even if he wanted one, being penniless made it an impossible dream.

“Hm… Little Erin, how about this? Since we’re going the same way, how about you travel with me until Tokh?”

Erin still seemed a bit suspicious, but he couldn't help but notice Sylvar's keen interest in him, possibly due to his awakening.

“Okay, Mr. Sylvar.”

With the communication issue somewhat resolved, for the time being, the real problem remained - living expenses.

“Here, I’ll let you hold the language stone. That way you can talk to most people, as long as it isn’t any magical language. Ah, don’t try to use it near mages when they’re evoking mana. Their chants are derived from draconian language. It might even backlash on you. Come with me.”

Sylvar handed Erin the language stone and guided him toward the carriage. The two lizard riders were on guard but didn't seem to be bothered by Erin's presence.

‘Maybe I’m too weak for them to care.’

While Erin was indeed much weaker than the two-stage three warriors, he didn't realize that the lizard riders were merely escorts and henchmen. The true combat power was concealed inside the carriage.

As Erin approached the carriage, he noticed two other people inside. A middle-aged woman was elegantly dressed in light blue and royal blue colors, adorned with a cloak. Sitting beside her was a boy about two years older than Erin, wearing a similar outfit with black pants, hanfu shoes, and a light blue tunic.

The boy's appearance caught Erin's attention immediately, as he had never seen someone with blue hair before. His handsome features and black eyes made him stand out. In contrast, the woman had silver hair and a very ordinary face. Erin observed that they didn't carry any visible weapons, except for the boy who had a short staff.

As was his habit, Erin attempted to gather information about the people in the carriage. However, as soon as he met eyes with the middle-aged woman, an instinctive reaction took over him. He jumped back, feeling sweat trickling down his temples and nape.

The boy and Sylvar looked puzzled as they observed Erin's reaction to the woman.

Nonchalantly waving her hand, the woman seemed unconcerned by Erin's response, which left him rooted to the spot.

‘What the hell was that…?’ Erin's mind was in disarray, and his heart was beating fast. That brief moment of exchanging glances with the woman felt like a brush with death.

Ignoring Erin's discomfort, the woman nodded, seemingly intrigued. “Hm… A stage 1 warrior who just awakened,” she commented, expressing her interest. However, her words had no impact on Erin since he was outside the range of the language stone and couldn't understand her.

The boy beside her also looked at Erin with evident fascination, impressed by the attention he received from the woman.

“Is he strong, master?” the boy asked.

“No, not in that sense. But his mind is very stable and alert…” the woman replied thoughtfully.

At this point, Sylvar approached Erin once again, apologetic for the situation, and activated the language stone.

"I apologize, little Erin. Those are my guests, and the lady over there is an Elder in the Maarak Family. She was testing you with a mental attack just now… Come, she has no ill intention."

Being deliberately tested and inspected didn't sit well with Erin, but he was just a kid—a powerless one—in what appeared to be a medieval fantasy setting. His life seemed to be in danger no matter where he went. It wasn't the time to be willful, sulk, or throw weird glances.

‘It’s time to suck it up.’

“It’s fine, Mr. Sylvar. I was just surprised. She must be really strong, I thought I was gonna die…” Erin said, trying to sound composed, as he relaxed his tense muscles and took deep breaths while getting inside the wagon.

As soon as they entered the wagon, Erin felt two more presences entering the conversation space. It was like being hit by airwaves, but mentally.

“Hello, I’m Erin, it’s an honor to meet both of you,” he greeted politely.

“Uhm,” The lady only glanced at him, nodded, and closed her eyes once again.

“Hi, I’m Basten Koreti. This is my master, Elder Suli Maarak,” the boy in blue introduced themselves. After a while, they seemed to lose interest in conversing and fell quiet.

“Hm, Little Erin, the language stone needs a mage’s maintenance. I’ll turn it off for now and turn it on during our next stop,” Sylvar explained.

“It’s alright, Mr. Sylvar. I can’t thank you enough,” Erin replied gratefully.

“No need.”

With that, the connection was lost, and Erin once again couldn’t understand anything. The journey was uneventful, and he observed occasional talks between the others. At some point, Basten poked him and offered a beef jerky.

Erin's face lit up with gratitude as he accepted the jerky. Perhaps they had heard his stomach growling throughout the journey. The jerky tasted surprisingly good with its mix of salt and spice, a welcome change from the dry food he had been eating.