A week slowly went by.
Zilon woke up with a yawn, looking around him in a haze before standing up and stretching.
His muscles trembled as he raised his arms upwards and tiptoed.
Crack
"Ready!"
Zilon smiled, feeling the changes in his body.
"I feel way lighter than usual. Luckily, I got a day off and slept like a log.." He held his chin while piecing his thoughts together.
"Still, it's already been a week. He hasn't taught me anything about magic, and his training just keeps getting worse." Zilon's heart skipped a beat as he realized today he would continue that training hell.
"Well, in any case, it's what I signed up for..."
He took a step when a thought crossed his mind.
"Yeah, apart from training, I have never used Dash for anything else....."
"What happens if...."
Opening the door, he bent slightly.
"Hmm, wait. Should I activate Chronico?"
"....."
"Nah, it should be fine."
His leg muscles tightened as air stiffened around him.
Taking a deep breath, his heart pounded in his chest.
With a grin, his mouth opened....
"Dash."
A huge gust of wind pushed into his room.
But he was no longer standing in the same spot.
Swoosh
With another burst of wind, and in front of him was the door leading to the bathroom.
"That was awesome." He jumped.
He quickly opened the bathroom door, but the moment he did, his smile immediately froze. What replaced it was shock.
Right there, close to the mirror and not too far away from the door, was Lyla, but....that wasn't the problem.
He stared at what was in front of him in pure disbelief and bafflement, and the other pair of brown eyes stared back indifferently.
Suddenly realizing what was happening, Zilon's face began to heat up.....
"I AM SO SORRY!!"
Zilon immediately shut the door and ran back to his room.
Boom
With a loud bang, he slammed the door and trembled in fear as he realized what happened.
"She....She....Lyla was ..." Zilon swallowed.
"....naked."
"I can't believe I walked into her," Zilon thought as the image of her seductive body resurfaced in his mind.
He was well aware that Lyla wouldn't be someone that was average. Although the long robe that she wore covered her, he could tell that beneath those clothes was a body even a saint couldn't fairly resist.
"She's gonna kill me," Zilon thought as he felt his feet becoming cold and his back drenched in sweat.
"What to do, what to do, what to do!" Zilon may look still, but his trembling eyes and shaking voice exposed his inner state more than anything else.
He took deep breaths and tried to balance the burning fire that had been awakened and the fear that gripped his heart.
"Calm down, Zilon. I just have to wait. I didn't see anything." Zilon took a deep breath.
In truth, it was just a second between him opening the door and seeing her.
Where he messed up, however, was him staring at her for too long.
"I have a wife on Earth, damn it." Feeling his deep breaths weren't effective enough, he redirected his thoughts back to that person.
And slowly, it began to work. It took a while, but he was able to calm down.
"Phew...." With a sigh of relief, he raised his head and decided to walk back.
"If push comes to shove, I will just have to keep on apologizing until she forgives me." Zilon assured himself and stepped out of his room.
Standing in front of the door, he could feel his heart racing, but with a deep exhale.
He knocked on the door.
"Listen, I am sorry. I should have knocked before I entered," Zilon said, but there was no response.
A few moments passed, but there was nothing.
Knock
Knock
"Uh...I will be coming in now."
Click
He opened the door and soon realized that no one was here.
"But it was just now. I mean, I can still smell her scent...."
Zilon sighed in relief and began to undress.
"I will need to properly apologize to her later."
Zilon eventually finished his bath and went to the kitchen.
"I guess she's not here either, maybe in her room then."
He saw the small pot on the table and decided to pick it up. He walked back to his room and dressed up.
Opening the pot, he found the usual.
When he was done, he left the pot back in the kitchen.
He reached Lyla's room and was about to knock when he suddenly stopped. Instead, he bowed while mumbling.
"Thank you for your care and the delicious meal."
"And sorry about earlier....."
He then walked back to his room.
"You know, I still have a little more time before Rivor comes...." Zilon began to walk in circles.
"But the only thing I can do right now is some warm-ups."
Tapping his chin, he thought of ways to kill time.....which weren't many considering the world he was in.
"This makes me miss my phone," Zilon sulked.
"Ah, I have an idea!"
"I have been totally introverted these past few days. What happened to the new-world vibe? I am definitely going out to map some places and be familiar with it. Who knows, I could gain some friends. It's how it usually happens in new worlds with these fateful encounters."
He decided to not waste any more time and walked out, stepping on the grass and going outside, for the second time since he came to this world.
.
.
.
.
.
.
"Wow....This place is bustling." Zilon's eyes shone as he walked around.
"It's quite early in the morning, and there are this many people."
"Rivor wasn't joking.....there really are people from other races."
He saw girls with pointy ears and slim builds, men with bulky bodies but with fur as hair, men and women with tails and ears like dogs or cats, all of them looking half-human.
"If this was on Earth, I would have definitely praised the dedication of these cosplayers, but yet this looks so real," Zilon thought, intrigued.
A thought flashed into his mind, but he immediately grumbled and continued walking forward.
He had begun by mapping out his neighborhood. There were fair amounts of people who stayed close to their houses. When going out, you would have to pass some of them. That's how he was able to see the difference.
Some of them waved their hands in greetings, which surprised Zilon.
"Such nice people. I can't believe I missed all this the first time I came out," Zilon said with a frown, feeling kind of disappointed in himself.
"Then again, while I was passing that day, I don't think anybody was really outside at that time," Zilon said as he waved to a pair of twins with bunny ears.
He finally stepped out and began to move in a northern direction.
He came across different shops that had some things on display. Some he recognized, like watches and necklaces in a jewelry shop, and some.....well, they were beyond his knowledge, like a cross made with iron that floated mid-air.
The most interesting things to Zilon, at least, however, were the vegetables that closely resembled the ones from Earth.
"The only difference I see is the colors. Onions being red, radishes purple.....oh, tomatoes are still red in this world!" Zilon chuckled.
"How can they tell the difference, I wonder?"
Zilon kept on his pace, keeping in mind the temperature from the sun.
"If it gets hot....I know it's time to go."
A nearby voice made him stop.
"Haha, you know that harvest day was recent. I got my own fill from the farm at a discounted price."
Zilon's ears twitched as he heard that from a merchant not too far away from him.
"That explains it..." Zilon sighed inwardly.
He soon arrived at the library that he had come across two weeks ago before he met Rivor.
"I can understand what they're saying....every conversation happening around me," Zilon said with a troubled expression as he finally made up his mind and entered.
There, he was met with a less crowded space and silence, with the only thing being heard was footsteps.
He took a few steps and, looking around, decided to take a seat.
There, he was able to finally take a good look at his surroundings.
The place itself wasn't very huge. It was more like a small library with different shelves filled with books.
There was a staircase that led upwards, and more shelves and books were visible, with even more people roaming about.
"There is harmony in this place...." Zilon thought as his eyes fell on a piece of paper which had bright drawings of danger. Still, he couldn't understand the contents of the paper.
"I just don't get it though..." He stood up and picked up a book.
The book didn't have any cover picture and looked like those old brown books you see in folklore movies.
"I can hear everything they're saying. It sounds like English to me," Zilon raised an eyebrow as he heard the slight whispers that went from person to person.
"But I can't seem to read it....I just get confused. What are these characters?" He thought after opening the book to the first chapter.
"It feels so alien...."
With a sigh of disappointment, he placed the book back and walked out of the library.
"I think that should be enough exploration for today." Zilon began walking back the route he followed.
After some loops and turns, he was able to reach back home, where he met the gaze of a certain someone.
"I hope....I didn't keep you waiting," Zilon said, slightly nervous.
There was some silence before a response.
"No, in fact, it wasn't long ago that I got here," Rivor responded.
Zilon stood straight as Rivor began to give him instructions.
"Today, you will be doing 350 push-ups, so begin with that and don't stop until you're done," Rivor yelled.
Zilon felt a chill on his spine, but he wasn't scared like before.
He dropped down and began immediately.
"Come on, that's the spirit." Rivor clapped as he began setting up the training equipment.
And that's how Zilon continued till nighttime.
.
.
.
.
.
.
"Done with another grueling training." Zilon smiled, tired but proud, as he locked the door and turned around.
"Hey."
"Ahh.. Oh, it's you." Zilon yelped slightly but recognized the voice and immediately relaxed.
Lyla just stared at him, the way she usually does, as if expecting something from him.
"I have been meaning to speak with you," Zilon beamed.
She nodded.
"I was wondering why I can understand everyone around when we're clearly not speaking the same language," Zilon asked with a frown.
That was the conclusion he came to.
"It took you long enough," Lyla responded.
"What now?"
"I already handled this the first day you woke up in this world. I was the one responsible for giving your brain the ability to speak in the same language as the one on this planet," Lyla explained.
Zilon's eyes widened.
"But....I don't remember any of that."
"Of course you won't, just like how you won't remember the fact it's your second time waking up in this world."
Zilon's eyes trembled.
"What....do you mean?"
Zilon reached for his head.
"I.....That explains the weird feeling I got from my stats..... like they weren't the same."
Lyla remained quiet.
"What's happening....to my memories then? Is this bad?"
"Don't worry, this is just for the initials. It won't continue. However, you have to grow stronger and level up. If you keep on going this way, you may end up forgetting more than you want to lose."
"I see....." Zilon fell into a deep train of thought.
"In that case.....I will have to keep on training until I can finally start hunting beasts to become stronger." Zilon mumbled, a bit shaken, as he slowly raised his head and stared back at Lyla.
"In that case....." Lyla said with a small smile.
For a moment, he was stunned and almost missed her last line.
"I look forward to it."
Zilon just stared at her, his cheeks involuntarily red, and it was only when she left that he finally snapped out of his daze.
"Now I have it confirmed....I NEED TO BE CAREFUL AROUND HER!"
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