At the library, the old man sipped on wine examining it critically. Kyle consumed the food shoving food down his gullet without rest. The tray of food brought in earlier had been decreased greatly. The old man found the wine subpar so he decided to focus on something else.

“Kid, you read the book right, what did you learn?” He took another sip, but his face scrunched slightly.

Kyle banged his chest to swallow the food quicker, “Well, Heroes seem to be working for a righteous cause-” Before finishing his sentence he couldn’t help himself from taking another bite.

“Heroes are like a pillar that supports the kingdom. They bring great prosperity and hope to the people of the kingdom.” The old man’s eyes shone with splendor, his love for Heroes was strong.

“-But do they ever get to return back to their home world or are they stuck in this one?” The importance of such a question need not be elaborated on.

The Librarian's face darkened “No, they don’t return however, I read an ancient text once, it said a Hero in the distant past figured out a way to return once. As for how they did it, I have no clue.”

Kyle felt the food, tasted bland after hearing the first sentence. The second sentence however left a small trail of hope to chase. A rough plan began forming in Kyle’s mind. Slay the big bad demon and search for clues along the way, simple. That was until Kyle remembered that he had no way to find this Demon Lord or even a method to kill it.

The whole plan flopped before it even started. It was then Kyle knew he needed help to get home. The pressure built up even further after remembering that he had to set off in less than a week. The stress, time constraint, and cluelessness of his situation caused him to take a gamble. Whether it would be good or bad, only time would tell.

“Old man, I want you to teach me about this world. I have no clue what I’m doing and I really need any help I can get.“ His tone was somber, and deep down the helplessness stirred. Clenching his fists, Kyle let out a dark chuckle, “I know I’ll be dead the moment I step out of the kingdom because of my ignorance. Because even the weakest monster in the book would have the power to kill me. So old man, can you teach me how not to die?” The change of atmosphere was sudden and unexpected.

The old man hesitated a bit, “Mmm, sure on the condition that you give me a massage every day before you leave.” The old man was happy with duping Kyle into giving him free massages. The sweet words felt like a heavy weight was removed from Kyle’s back. “Thank you.” The sincerity was pure.

The old man coughed “Let’s see what I’m working with here, do you know how to…” He went on to list a whole bunch of things. Ranging from foraging, survival skills, and even swordplay. But by the end of it, the old man felt like he was dealing with a lost cause. “How the hell did you survive until now!?”

“Uh, my parents took care of me as a child?“ Kyle gave the best answer he could.

“No, I mean how have you not been killed either by other humans, beasts, or anything remotely dangerous.” The old man rubbed his weary eyes and looked at Kyle like he was a miracle.

“Oooh,” After a bit of thought, the weird began making sense. Considering that if this world’s inhabitant’s world view was taken straight out of a fantasy book, the whole idea of Earth would almost be a utopia to them. Kyle hurriedly cleared up the misunderstanding that developed. By the end of the explanation, the old man looked as if he had listened to the most outlandish story. The old man took a deep breath and reorganized his thoughts.

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“So, what you’re telling me is that you are more incapable than a literal child?” What he once thought was a free meal turned into a total scam. The huge increase in the challenge to keep this Hero alive was drastically different than the initial estimate.

“Impossible!” Kyle refused to believe that a kid could be stronger than an adult either in emotional, physical, or mental capacity.

“It is true, from what I just learned you must not have even butchered an animal once in your life.”

“I accidentally drove over a squirrel once, that must count.” The old man started having doubts about whether the Hero was replaced during the summoning. But, the Earth was described in so much detail that it didn’t seem fabricated.

“Alright, I’ll figure something out that’ll keep you alive.” What was thought to be an easy task quickly turned challenging. He began to develop an initial plan, but he need to confirm something before developing it further.

“Kid, your first mana ability should be some sort of muscle control or relaxant based on my observation?”

“Huh, mana ability what’s that?” Then it dawned on the old man, that this damn kid didn’t even know about mana.

“Haa, let’s start from the basics. Mana is an energy that exists all around us. It can be sensed and controlled to a degree by living beings. You know what let me just show you. As they say, you won’t truly know what color is unless you've never actually seen it.”

Kyle suddenly felt a suction force pull towards the old man. At first, Kyle assumed it to be the wind, but all the windows in the library were closed. It felt entirely different compared to wind, temperature, or gravity. It almost felt like it could be controlled. He concluded that this, feeling, must be mana. The Librarian collected the mana on top of his palm. He turned it into what Kyle sensed to be a ball. With a flick of his hand, a rush of energy swam at Kyle. The mana phased through him, it felt like being thrown around by a huge gale and having no way to resist.

When the mana dissipated Kyle sensed something similar in his body. Like undergoing intense exercise and the wildly beating heart was much easier to sense than when it was relaxed. This time, the mana, just like the drumming heart, was much more noticeable compared to its inactive state.

“You might feel that the mana inside your body is slightly different than what’s around you. That’s because there are two types of mana, personal and general mana. The distinction might be unclear, but all you need to know for now is that personal mana is unique to one’s self.” The old man exhibited an aura of competency as he spoke. He took the role of a teacher more seriously compared to what Kyle expected.

“Follow my instructions and you’ll be able to see the manifestation of your mana.” Kyle closed his eyes and listened intently. Following the first step, he focused inward and grabbed onto the wisp of mana previously sensed. He found the Origin Trail linked to his personal mana. The Origin Trail according to the old man acted similar to a shortcut on a mountain trek, but with mana.

Kyle walked on this Origin Trail and got lost occasionally, but the old man’s guidance proved useful when placing him back on track. That was until a tumbling fog swooped into the infinite expanse of darkness in Kyle’s mind. Without the old man telling him, Kyle knew he was getting closer. He looked past the white fog at the huge object in the distance. The object got closer and closer the more he walked.

Eventually, he entered a valley without realizing it, the mountains enclosed this secluded and empty land. A few creeks from the mountains led to the center of the valley where small floral life grew. The destination of the creeks was a small pond devoid of life. Except for a few little plants, the whole valley was devoid of life, empty and desolate. Opening his eyes Kyle returned to the library.