The next morning, I woke up, but I didn't immediately get out of bed. I overheard Kero mentioning that it was a miracle that I wasn't more seriously injured from Aiden's high-level intermediate fire attack, given my sturdy build. "Hey, could you guys keep it down a bit?" I said, with a hint of humor and sarcasm. "I'm an injured guy here trying to sleep."

Sarah snapped at me, telling me that I was lucky just to be in a little pain because otherwise, she'd slap some sense into me.

We all laughed a little.

"I want to thank you guys for standing up for me last night." I said.

"That's what friends are for." Replied Sarah.

"Yea, come on. Who's going to protect the weakling in the group." Jeered John.

"That means you should have been in my position then weakling." I teased.

"Wow, like you hit your held a bit too hard there, sounding all delusional." Said John.

We all laughed. To be honest, I'm im glad I'm fine. Those potions really had a kick the more you used them.

I then asked them to bring me breakfast, I feeling real hungry.

A few moments later, Celestia and Analu brought me breakfast. The dish looked colorful and appetizing - fried dumplings and ackee, accompanied by a drink I'd never tasted before. As a matter of fact, the flour used to make the dumplings was made from corn, something I had never tried before, but it wasn't too bad.

The aroma from the meal made me think of a fancy restaurant I went to a few years ago. One of the things I missed a lot.

The drink was made from a strange plant they called green fruit. It had a sour taste, but it was delicious, and apparently, it relieves headaches and pain in general.

Later on, I headed outside, as the village chiefs had requested an audience with my team and I. We arrived, and in our midst were the village chiefs. Mr. Raymond was seated next to Mr. Swayden and Bobbo, while on the other side, Mr. Allen was seated next to a lady with an unfriendly expression who didn't smile at all. There was also a man who looked cheerful but had a sinister look on his face, and finally, an unpleasant but familiar face, Aiden. I could tell that the room was filled with powerful individuals.

The meeting started with an apology from Aiden and his dad. I shook my head in acceptance to the apology. "So you guys came from the east of us," said Mr. Allen. "We have wanted to travel there for some months now but there is a swarm of mosVamps blocking us. Instead we went North and that's how we met Mr. Raymond here and his people." He continued.

"We had sent four of our powerful adventurers, both from each of our villages, but only one returned and he had very disturbing news" I already knew what they were going to ask. "To get to the point, we need all your help to get past there because we are exploring or country to see what it's like now.

We even started drawing and naming monsters we see from time to time." Said Mr. Raymond.

We told them we killed maybe over 300 of them. They all looked at me as I said that, Mr. Swayden then looked at Aiden with an I told you he was strong face. "They seem to be afraid of fire but we got our very strong fire user here," said John.

The guy beside Mr. Allen said something was wrong, based on Intel it should be thousands of them.

"Jack! Please come in." Said Mr. Allen.

"This is Jack an adventurer from my community. He's the only survivor from the group we sent out.

"Can you tell us what you saw?" Asked Mr. Raymond. "Yes...indeed." He replied.

He went on about what he saw and gave a description of the exact location. It seemed like almost the exact place where we came through. "The others were running away with me but something grabbed..Lisa." said Jack with tears in his eyes.

We tried to help but she was being pulled away. We thought that it was the mosVamps because that's the only creature we saw." I wonder if there was something else out there because when Kero had incinerated all the mosVamps I felt a strange feeling like we were being watched.

I explain all this to them. They decided on forming a band and going to check it out. We were willing to help because we also wanted to explore the country and we know we couldn't do it all by ourselves. "Hey I'd like to do business with your village as well" said Mr. Raymond.

"Yea I'd have to talk to the leader first, I'm assuming you want this potion that we have" I replied. "Yes indeed, that will come n handy during battles. You said it completely restores your energy. Wow fascinating." Said Mr. Raymond. We decided to leave in two days to check if the path was secure.

We continued our exploration of the village until we reached a serene pond, located just a short 10-minute walk away. The group consisted of my friends, Sarah's cousins, and even Aiden and his friends joined in. I wasn't particularly fond of Aiden and his attitude, especially considering what he had done before. If he dared to repeat his actions, I decided I wouldn't hesitate to defend myself.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

As we approached the pond, I overheard Celestia whisper, "Who invited the five fools?" Sarah agreed, saying, "They shouldn't be here at all." John added sarcastically, "Well, guys, let's consider it a bonding session in the hope of forging new friendships and good fortune among us."

I found it challenging to tolerate their chatter. Sometimes, I wished I could just send Aiden packing back to Mars and move on, but for now, I decided to go along with it.

Throughout the day, I sensed that Analu wanted to talk to me ever since I woke up. The walk to the pond felt like forever but we finally found ourselves walking side by side yet she hadn't brought up anything. We just walked next to each other, speechless.

"Hey Rome, aren't you curious about who healed you yesterday?" Sarah asked, raising an interesting point. "Do you think you have some kind of instant regeneration powers?" It had completely slipped my mind to ask about my savior.

"So, who healed me?" I inquired. A soft, beautiful voice spoke up from beside me, "I healed you, Rome," said Analu. "Ahh, thank you, my dear."

The revelation left me wondering if this meant something more, if she had feelings for me. I couldn't help but speculate whether she was the only healer in the village and if that was the reason why she showed such concern for me when I was lying on the ground yesterday. I had to rein in my thoughts, reminding myself not to overthink the situation.

As I calmed down we arrived at the pond. It was so beautiful, normal birds flying around, beautiful flowers that I've never seen before and a tree in the pond. Nice I could take a swim and chill under that tree because the sun was scorching. Everyone was eager to go in except Aiden and one of his dumb friends, i dont even know his name and i dont care.

Celestia and Kero were having so much fun. It's great to see her smiling and having fun. She's mostly quiet plus I think she likes Kero and all.

Analu came beside me and started apologizing for what happened. "That's ok.....can I ask you something?" She looked at me and nodded her head. "Well what's the history with you and fire force over there?? Right now he's glaring at me like he's ready to attack."

She sounded a bit hesitant but she started explaining. Turns out she knew Aiden about two months before the explosion. And they had started dating a week before the world changed. "Since he got his powers he has changed, he's more angry, super jealous and violent. So. I ended the relationship a few weeks ago but he still thinks we're together," she explained.

"Well you're like kinda cute and he lost you so he must be frustrated" I said. She snapped back saying. "Kinda??" Here we go again. I stuttered a bit but I held my composure an told her that's how I talk at times and I meant she was like the most beautiful girl I've seen in a long time.

"Oh now your talking" she said smiling. "To be honest, your not just pretty but you have this....thing about you, like your...." I was interrupted by an argument with John and one of Aidens friends called Derek.

Apparently Derek was saying Sarah caught him off guard that's why she won. He wanted a rematch but John took the challenge. "Alright let's have a challenge then" said Aiden. "Two of you vs two of us."

" This will be fun. I get to kick your butt again," Aiden said with a sinister grin on his face. Maria had insisted on a friendly duel. Analu didn't like the idea, but she couldn't stop it. "Don't worry, Analu. Those two can take care of themselves, trust me," assured Celestia. Kero and Sarah exchanged satisfied looks, which reassured Anula that everything would be fine.

The rules were simple: the first person to get knocked out or submit to defeat would be the winner. Analu had agreed to heal anyone who got injured, but only for minor wounds. "I can't promise you that, but I'll do my best," said Aiden.

"Dust, come forth!" Shouted Derek. Dust immediately clouded our vision as he attempted to blind us. Little did they know, my senses were highly heightened.

John went left, and I went right, sensing Aiden's presence from above. I swiftly dodged his attacks and the two fireballs he shot at me. I was testing his fighting style, noticing his love for surprise attacks and aerial strikes. "Frozen!" John shouted, freezing the ground about 15 meters in front of us. Derek ran straight into it, sliding toward his doom, and John knocked him out with an ice ball.

"Hey, I'm done over here. He's all yours," said John. This enraged Aiden, who charged toward me like a wild animal, throwing careless punches. I easily caught one of his punches and effortlessly tossed him into the nearby pond.

Anula and Maria's eyes widened. "Wow, he's strong," remarked Maria. "Yes, Aiden is no match for him," added Analu. The onlookers began cheering Aiden on, encouraging him to fight back. Aiden gathered fireballs and leaped out of the water with an air flip, trying to look cool or impressive.

He charged his signature fire blast, the same attack that had defeated me yesterday. But this time, I was already beside him before his attack went off. I redirected his blast into the sky, leaving him bewildered. I then kicked his foot away, and he fell flat on his back with a thud.

I aimed for his face with a punch, but just before it hit, Analu shouted for me to stop. I managed to halt my fist just in front of his face, the force still sending a small shock wave. Dust flew from the impact, and he appeared to be in pain, resembling someone who desperately needed a restroom break. I might have scared him pretty hard, maybe even making him soil himself.

"I wasnt gonna hit him though, only scare him." I said.

I got up, feeling satisfied with my performance, and began to walk away. In response, he swiftly rose to his feet, preparing for another attack. "Rome, watch out!" warned Kero urgently. With lightning speed, Kero conjured a powerful fire blast, launching it directly at Aiden. I turned around just in time to witness the blast whizz past Aiden's face, hitting the ground with an explosion even more intense than the fire attacks he had unleashed the previous day.

Aiden halted his attack, visibly stunned and afraid. The entire group, aside from me and my team, stood in shock at the unexpected display of power.

"Hey, Aiden, that's what you call a fire blast," John taunted, breaking the tense silence with laughter.

"Are all of you like super strong or something?" Maria inquired, her amazement evident.

"Not exactly," Sarah responded with a smile. "We've just trained extensively to overcome tough monsters we encounter from time to time. Yesterday, Rome even stopped that big guy with just one hand."

"Remarkable, you sound more interesting now Weirdo." Remarked Marie with a smile.

As Sarah recounted our previous adventures, Maria and Analu looked in awe. I decided to sit down next to Analu, who asked, "You weren't really going to punch him just now, were you?" I shook my head gently, reassuring her, "No, I wouldn't do that. It could seriously hurt him. My intention was only to stop right in front of his face."

Aiden and his friends slinked away, clearly feeling defeated. I couldn't help but wonder if I had just gained a formidable enemy. I suppose time would tell. We all continued to chat and share some laughter before making our way back to the village.