The sun streamed through the bedroom window, its rays hitting Kai directly in the face and waking him up. He opened his eyes and looked around, realizing it was his first night in this new world where he remembered nothing. He stood up and his eyes landed on Lyla, she was pale, and her lips had lost all their color.
Instantly, he rushed to her side, tapping her shoulder repeatedly to try and wake her.
"Lyla, wake up. Come on."
His voice was thick with worry until she finally reacted.
"What’s wrong, Kai?"
"What do you mean 'what's wrong'?" You're pale, Lyla, you look like you're deathly ill.
Lyla tensed at his words, a flash of concern crossing her face before she quickly masked it.
"Were you watching me while I slept? How perverted of you, sweetheart." Lyla pulled the sheets over herself.
Kai didn't laugh, nor did he even blush. "Don't try that. Tell me what’s happening right now, Lyla".
Her lips trembled slightly before she let out a heavy sigh. The playful, joking tone she had used moments ago vanished completely.
"As I told you, my power no longer depends on the faith of the people, but on yours, and right now, you're only level 2. Besides, I lost a lot of strength with everything that happened yesterday," she explained, looking him directly in the eyes. "That’s why I’m like this. If you’re worried about whether I’m going to die, the answer is simple, no. I’ll just be weak until you level up more".
"So, you’re like this because of me..." His gaze was heavy with guilt.
Lyla’s heart sank seeing his reaction. She gently moved toward him and pulled him into a tender embrace.
"It’s not your fault. I decided to bring you back. I created the system for you. You aren't to blame for anything," she whispered into his ear.
A shiver ran through Kai's body, but he didn't pull away; this time, he simply let her hold him.
"I think I’m starting to enjoy this," he murmured, trying to lighten the mood.
Lyla’s lips curved into a warm, genuine smile. "I missed you so much... being able to watch you all this time but never being able to interact with you..." She brushed her lips against Kai’s neck.
Just then, the window swung open and Allice stepped in.
"After our encounter last night, I was thinking that maybe we could all train together so Kai can improve and" She stopped, blushing at the scene before her. "I’m so sorry, Mistress! I didn’t mean to interrupt".
Kai blushed too, pulling away from Lyla and standing up.
"It’s alright, Allice. In fact, we were thinking the same thing last nigh, Kai needs to train," Lyla replied with a soft chuckle. "Though I’m feeling a bit weak, so I’ll just watch".
"Alright, Mistress... we can go to the forest. Follow me". She began to walk away, still looking a bit embarrassed.
After a short walk, they arrived back at the forest. Lyla sat down on the grass to observe.
"First, we'll do hand to hand combat. No magic, alright?" Allice asked as she set her daggers on the ground and squared up in front of Kai.
"Sounds good to me". He lowered his center of gravity, bracing for the fight.
"Perfect. Then let's begin".
Allice was the first to strike. A rush of wind brushed against Kai, it wasn't magic, just the pure speed of her movement. Kai managed to dodge and tried to land several blows, but Allice blocked them all with ease.
Allice lunged her left arm toward Kai’s face. Panicked, he focused on her fist and slipped to the right, the punch grazed his jaw. But before he could react, Allice wound up a HighKick with her right leg that Kai saw far too late.
"Shit."
Knowing he couldn't dodge it, Kai threw up his left arm to protect his head and jaw. Allice’s leg slammed brutally into his arm, sending him flying several meters back against a nearby tree.
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"You saw it coming, your body remembers and your perception is good, but you're still too slow to avoid the damage," Allice commented, walking toward Kai as he struggled to get up.
Kai stood up, his legs trembling slightly and his left arm throbbing with pain. He needed to get stronger for Lyla, to recover his memories, and to reclaim his role as a hero.
"Thanks... I guess".
Suddenly, a notification appeared.
[ SYSTEM MESSAGE ]
ENEMY DETECTED
Type: Monster.
Threat Level: Rank F.
Distance: 10 meters and approaching.
Kai instinctively turned his head and saw several slimes approaching through the trees and bushes. An idea struck him. Without warning Allice about the slimes, he lunged toward her. She quickly took a defensive stance but was surprised when Kai bypassed her, running straight for her daggers instead.
"What are you doing?!" she demanded, trying to understand.
Kai didn't answer. He kept running until he was face to face with the pack of slimes.
"Are those slimes? Where did they come from?"
"No idea, but you only said I couldn't use magic".
Using Allice's daggers, Kai easily cut through the 14 slimes.
[ SYSTEM MESSAGE ]
All enemies defeated.
Total XP Gained: +210
Level Up!
Level: 4 (35/100)
Mana increased to 200!
You have 4 points to distribute among your stats.
STATS
Strength: 10
Speed: 12
Endurance: 10
Intelligence: 16
Mana: 200/200
Perception: 21
Lyla watched the whole scene, a small smile forming on her face. "You're very clever, sweetheart". Allice still hadn't fully grasped what was happening and simply watched.
Kai looked at his stat panel and put 2 points into Speed and 2 points into Strength.
STATS
Strength: 12
Speed: 14
Endurance: 10
Intelligence: 16
Mana: 200/200
Perception: 21
"Ready." Kai dropped the daggers and walked back to Allice. Still confused, she simply attacked him again. She threw a perfect combination of strikes, but this time, Kai dodged them. Surprised, Allice quickly repositioned herself before Kai could counter.
Kai smiled slightly before returning to his guard. Allice got the message and launched several LowKicks at his legs. The kicks were incredibly painful, so much so that Kai nearly collapsed, but seeing Lyla sitting on the grass, acting as if everything was fine, pushed him to keep fighting.
Allice feinted another LowKick. Kai looked at her legs and prepared to block, but it was a trap. Her right arm shot forward at high speed, aimed directly at Kai's fase, a finishing blow.
But this time, Kai didn't just see the punch coming. With his left hand, he reacted fast enough to parry her fist while driving his right elbow forward into a brutal counter strike.
Allice fell to the ground, completely defeated.
"You... won," she admitted, trying to sit up despite the pain.
Lyla smiled broadly and walked over to hug and congratulate Kai. "Congratulations, my hero," she murmured provocatively.
"How did you do it?" Allice asked. "Did you use that thing Lyla made for you?"
Kai nodded. "The system. I killed the slimes to level up and used the points to improve my strength and speed".
Allice raised an eyebrow, not fully understanding. "I don't quite get it, but it worked well enough. The hero you once were is still inside you". She finally stood up to join them.
"And thanks for holding back a little. I could tell you weren't going all out," Kai said gratefully.
"Don't think your victory is worthless just because I held back," Allice replied. "Even at 1%, no one below Rank B should be able to touch me. As I said, that hero is still in there. That will help you a lot".
"I hope so," Kai replied with a short laugh, still wrapped in Lyla's arms.
"By the way, we should head back. I'm starving, and I assume you are too".
"Now that you mention it, I am hungry. It’s been a tough training session, we deserve a break".
"Then let's go back to the city. We'll go to the tavern you used to love." Lyla stroked Kai's cheek.
"That sounds great. I want to try the food in this world, we didn't get the chance yesterday," Kai said. "But... won't they recognize Allice as your subordinate?"
"Yes, but it's common. I'm always with the people of the city, so they won't think anything of it," Lyla answered calmly.
"Good. It would be weird for simple novice adventurers to be hanging out with a high ranking subordinate," Kai remarked as they left the forest.
The three of them returned to the city and entered a crowded tavern. They looked for a free table and finally found one at the very back.
As they moved toward the table, a man stepped into their path. He was an old man with eyes turned completely grey, yet they seemed to see with perfect clarity.
"Even after all these years, and with a mana so low and entirely different... I still recognize you, my Lord". "It is good that you have returned, though I see confusion in your eyes. I see... ignorance".
The man paused for a brief moment before continuing.
"The Goddess is weak. You are also weak. You are not yet prepared for what is to come. Protect the Goddess, protect the kingdom, but most importantly, protect yourself. Do not act, no matter what you see. Wait until the time is right, my great Lord".
Before anyone could react, the old man reached out and tapped Kai’s forehead with two fingers.
[ WARNING ]
[ WARNING ]
An external power has connected with you.
[ WARNING ]
[ WARNING ]
The sound of the system drowned in the noise of clashing swords and screams.
Kai opened his eyes amidst hay and straw. He looked around, a stable. When the screams finally died down, a confused Kai stepped out. He had never been there, yet it felt as if he had lived there forever.
Leaving the stable, he saw hundreds of corpses littering the ground. He approached two in particular.
"Mom? Dad?"
