Lone was crouched next to a bush in an open area next to the guard tower. He had escaped Ceilie weaving between each building till finally he reached his destination. From here, he was well hidden with a good vantage point of the possible exit in the wall. In the seven years he's been in this village, he'd never been outside. It was an exhilarating thought of freedom. Still, he knew that being seven years old, and having the body of the same, would make the world an especially dangerous place, but mentally he still felt like he was mature and felt the small village was more of a prison then a guard post.

Why Fallane decided to make the village a guard post and mini fort was still a mystery to him, but it's not like he had a map to see what justifications they had. He did understand why the villagers stayed. Whether it was Fallane or Rocthane it made no difference whether the merchants came from one side or the other they still pay taxes, they still sold their grain' and they still had built their lives there.

From what Aaron told him, it was all a bloodless affair, The Viscount had sent a troop of soldiers, and the captain negotiated with the village head. It had turned out that they were willing to pay the villagers to build the wall and help build the small fort in return they would be exempt from taxes for a few years which coincidentally was the same deal they got from the Baron of Rocthane for starting the village.

All in all, the wall wasn't badly built, but it didn't exactly look like it was professionally built either. There were holes here and there that were quickly filled with mud like plaster. It wasn't very pretty, but the wall was solidly built. And after years of a few repairs here and there, it had started looking decent enough, all except for this hidden hole next to the guard tower hidden by the bush he was crouched next to.

Lone got closer to the opening inspecting the rotten sides and glimpsing through a big hole and could see foliage on the other side. He guessed that it was another bush on the opposite side doing the same thing that the bush he was crouching behind, hiding this little hole that was just big enough for him to squeeze through. He began ripping at the sides which came away much easier than he thought it would giving him just enough room to enter and push through. Lone even got stuck a few times as he squeezed out of the opening head first, after a minute he was finally out. He felt free and excited knowing he was now outside in the open. The bush on this side being much larger than the one on the inside allowed him to stand stretch his arms wide without being seen. He decided to peek through the bush and see what it looked like.

Lone grinned as he could see a field about 100 yards in distance to the tree line. Uneven ground and tree stumps speckled the field, many having new saplings sprouting from their old roots. Nothing a full-grown man could decently hide behind but more than enough for a 7 year old boy.

He looked up at the wall to see if he could spot a guard looking in the direction he was planning on going. Disappointed, his angle was so far off that he couldn't even see the overhang roof of the Guard Tower but Lone knew it mostly wouldn't matter. Nine out of ten times the guard wasn't looking or even awake.

Working on that logic, he got ready to sprint to the next closest saplings covered stump. Listening for any sound that tell him if someone was up there, actually guarding but then he heard something that tolled him he didn't even need to worry.

A distant snore from above.

He quietly moved out of the bush making as little noise as possible. The guard may be asleep, but he still had levels and some kind of skills that justified him at the position of look out. It was one of the things he asked about as he was sure it would help him gauge the average abilities of the regular soldiers but got an answer he wasn't expecting.

"It could be anywhere from Lv.45 to Lv.70. Half those guys are young and out here to train while the veterans that didn't get past Lv.80 stay to retire. The captains and sargents though must be around hundred to get a post like this." Aaron said "might not look it but they have elites here for any sudden attack and most of the guards can hold the wall against Lv.90 soldiers and below." Lone remembered

Lone cringed as he stepped on a stick and it snapped loudly. Staying very still for a moment then he slowly looked toward the guard tower... For a solid minute he stared not able to see anyone, unable to hear the guard snoring in the distance anymore, then finally letting out a sigh of relief, as he figured he was in the clear.

It only taken him around 10 minutes to cross the field but felt like an eternity but he finally made it to the tree line. As he got to the first tree he could hide behind he leaned against it taking a deep breath letting it out slowly, relieving his nerves. As he did he felt a wave of exhaustion hit him as well, it may have only been a hundred meters but his smaller frame got more tired than what he was used to even though he had an exercise routine he never felt himself get stronger or progress in endurance and stamina.

Yes Lone grew as a child should but he could not run further, he could not get one more push-up, he couldn't even walk farther when he did laps around the village. No... exercise he didn't seem to improve him in any way. Till finally he thought...

'Was it the system walk?! Would it really be stopping me from getting stronger? Why?' He was furious at the idea. 'is it really going to stop me from getting fit! That's just stupid.' then I thought occurred 'wait does the bank affect this too? Will I suddenly feel stronger when I turn 10?' for him there were no answers Aaron didn't have any idea why and neither did any other adults that he could talk to but he did confirm the increase in strengths. It was...

'Annoying...'

After resting he began planning on how he should explore not really thinking this far ahead. He made a mental note that planning beforehand would be a priority in his thought process. He looked at the trees around him and noted that all of them were BIG. There were a few in the village but none of them were as large as these, almost all of them reached a hundred feet high. The next thing he noticed was the chill in the air, though it was warm maybe hot in the field, here the air felt cold enough to where he might just see his breath. It was actually kind of refreshing. Finally he noticed a feeling in the atmosphere, something that was just... unusual. It was like he was breathing something other than air, his skin slightly tingled with goosebumps, feeling something different than mountain air. It didn't feel dangerous or poisonous or even slightly bad finally he recognized this slight unique feeling... It was mana.

He recognized it because Aaron had healed him and he felt a similar presence, it wasn't the same as Aaron's Mana which was warm and healing. No this was natural coursing through nature. It was cool like the Mountain Air, felt alive like the trees, and added a richness to the dirt under his feet.

He ran through his plan and decided that going deeper into the woods was most likely a bad idea, so he would stay with invisible range of the village walls and investigate the forest around it.

Has he traveled around the village he noticed large fields to the South East that were plowed and probably already seeded. He was surprised by the size of the fields knowing only a few farmers lived in the village. Then noticed just beyond the fields a small cluster of houses and farms. These buildings look a size and a half larger than what was in the village, excluding the churches.

As much as he wanted to investigate further he decided to continue looking around the village itself before going on any longer excursions.

After a while of hiking through an unbeaten path he found himself facing the Northwestern Road, the one the viscount had closed. He knew this because he recognized the gate on one side of the village. The Fallane flags hanging over the wall. He wanted to cross and investigate more of the forest on the other side but knew that there were Scouts regularly sent down this road as an early warning system against a possible invasion of the Rocthane. Lone didn't miss the irony in this situation since Fallane took this land away from the possible Invaders.

He decided to turn back and go a little deeper into the forest deciding to get a better map in his head for the surroundings. This was something he was actually good at, his sense of direction was something he prided in himself back in the old world. That being said, he had to pace himself, it being so much harder to travel in this small body.

He'd gone so much deeper that he could barely see the village anymore. He wasn't really worried though because if he did get lost all he had to do was head due south and he would either hit the Northwestern Road The Village or the farmland he saw earlier.

He began wandering around in a grid pattern he made up in his own mind. He knew it wasn't 100% accurate but it was better than nothing. His process was choosing a distinctive tree walking to it while counting the steps then pausing and looking at his surroundings trying his best to memorize any unique details around said distinct tree. While mentally mapping these areas he did spot a few wild animals, birds that were almost perfectly camouflaged in green and blue feathers, squirrel like creatures with bunny ears and monkey tails, and finally a deer like creature that had some tusks and antlers more hooked at the ends rather than sharp points like the deer he knew.

It was all very interesting and fulfilling but he figured it was time to go back, until he spotted a rocky area between some trees their roots doing a good job of hiding it from prying eyes. It was only by chance that the sun light hit a particularly white part of the Stone catching his eye.

He had to climb up to the rocks as they seem to jute out of the ground on a hill, there being more tree roots than dirt as he walked. Has he got to the rocky area he felt a little nauseous as the feeling of the Mana in the air got thicker and changed feeling more violent than the usually peaceful Forest Mana.

As fast as it came the nausea left as if all the sudden it was just his imagination. The man I was still thicker and still more aggressive than it was in the forest but he felt he could handle it like a puppy nipping at his heels bothersome but not dangerous. As he got a better look at his surroundings he noticed the cave half sunken between the tree roots. The entrance reminded him of a poorly made archway. He got closer realizing there were steps going down. A jolt of electricity shot through him as goosebumps formed on his arms and the back of his neck.

"Really?" He asked himself

He knew it wasn't a good idea, he knew it was better to turn back now, he knew it was getting too late, he knew he should wait until he was 10, he knew he was being stupid...

Lone began walking towards the cave stopping once to pick up a stick he saw on the side that looked like it could act as a spear, then continued till he reached the top of the stairs. Taking a deep breath he began his descent. Each step echoed sounding too loud to be his own footsteps he could hear his heart pounding in his ears. It wasn't a long descent but it was a steep one. When he finally reached the floor he looked around, up at the ceiling where tree roots clung, walls smoothed down, and a floor with a thin layer of dust. He took another step and then...

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Lone was frozen. The system screen just kept popping up giving him no time to react. For a moment he thought that he stepped into some sort of boss battle but then realized it was something else.

"What the hell?!?"