Azrael travelled homewards in record time, his physical speed coupled with wind spells carrying him at an amazing pace.

Of course, his mana pool wasn’t large enough to support his continuous use of mana, but [Meditation] proved invaluable, in restoring lost mana and stamina as he travelled. He even tried using [Search] when he had time, his newest skill proving to be a handy addition to his skillset.

[Search] allowed him to feel the magical signatures of creatures, from birds to boars. Although, he still had trouble reading the incoming signals. He could differentiate between larger and smaller bodies, but still had trouble with calculating the exact distance or animal species. It helped in hunts and in avoiding unnecessary fights.

Coming to the end of the journey Azrael began to hear the familiar rumble of the waterfall around afternoon. He smiled. It was like coming home after a long trip. [Lord’s Domain] also welcomed him back, having cut out after several days when he originally travelled away with Sophie. It seemed that it didn’t recognise him as owning all of the forest, just the valley and surrounds.

A snapping twig alerted him to a presence, and he barely made managed to avoid a person soaring through the air for a flying hug. Alena landed on the ground with an audible umpf. He looked at her, first perplexed, then amused.

“Miss me?” he asked.

Alena just rubbed her head sullenly.

“No” she signed.

He smiled.

“It’s good to see you too” he said ruffling her hair.

It seemed Alena had noticed him coming back, probably due to their soul-link. As he’d gotten closer their soul-link had strengthened again. He’d noticed it too.

When he’d originally set out with Sophie and travelled away, their soul link became strained with over the increasing distance. He could still feel general things, like that she was well, but emotions had become muted.

Alena got up and begun tugging his sleeve, dragging him towards the village. There was a silent sort of urgency in her actions and he followed her unquestioningly. As it turned out, he was a lot closer than he’d thought.

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Cairn greeted him, rushing up to him and giving him a big hug.

“My Lord!” he sniffled.

Azrael froze. What was wrong? Had somebody died. He did a head count. No, everyone was alive.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, extricating himself from Cairn’s embrace.

“You’re alive” Cairn said with relief.

Azrael looked at Hugh for an explanation. Hugh bowed.

“Forgive him. The fox lady, Sophie, returned nearly two weeks ago without you. She claimed that you had both encountered danger and that she wasn’t sure that you had survived. Cairn has been worrying ever since. Everyone has. I believe Alena was the only one who did not doubt that you would return.” Hugh explained.

Azrael let out a sigh of relief, thinking that it had been something serious. It seemed that Sophie had respawned in the players’ village and come visiting the village. The fact that she thought he was dead was probably a blessing in disguise. She would be unlikely to pursue him for letting her fall to her death.

“No, I’m back” he said with a smile.

Hugh bowed again.

“Welcome back Lord Azrael”

The rest of the villagers also expressed their joy at his return, ladening him with gifts. Gifts that he didn’t actually need. There was only one that really caught his attention. It was a crudely carved wooden board with a light rune etched into it. It was almost correct, with only one line being slightly off. He looked at the giver. It was the young boy, one of the two children, he’d gifted a magic spinning top to.

As it turned out the young boy, Kalen, had been so fascinated with the runes that he’d borrowed Alena’s hand torch to look at the rune. Although he had yet to find a way to activate it without mana he’d almost perfectly copied the rune. Azrael decide to return the gift, by granting him several stone plates with lesser runes and their names. Kalen and his family had been beyond words.

The fact that it hadn’t even taken him two minutes to make what they might now consider a family heirloom made him feel kind of bad, but he figured the boy deserved something for his effort.

Leaving the village, he left most of the gifts for Alena to carry. He wanted to get home as soon as he could. Despite the early hour he couldn’t wait to fall into bed. He’d missed his bed.

It was nothing compared to a spring mattress in the real world, but it was better than sleeping on the forest floor for over a month.

Pushing open the door he took in the interior of his house. He’d missed the feel of smooth polished floors on bare feet, the feeling of using proper equipment to cook and sitting at a proper table to eat.

A young man dressed in motley clothing sat at his table. The person’s lips curled into a smile, revealing pearly teeth. Azrael blinked and the figure vanished, leaving him alone in his house. Alena came up from behind him, ladened down with all the gifts and Azrael moved into the house, making way for her. He must be more tired than he’d originally thought.

Cutting a slice of bread he smeared it with butter, before placing on a slice of cheese. Munching on it he bid Alena good night. If he was so tired that he was now imagining people, he probably really needed that sleep.

Kicking off his shoes Azrael untied his daggers from his waist, before dropping onto his bed. He was out before his head hit the pillow.