After identifying themselves at the gate, the knight's carriage rolled into town.It was past midnight on Sunday; almost all shops were shut and the streets were dimly lit.
Hiroki, now to be known as Alvar, slept soundly on a bench beside the knights.
The carriage halted at the main square."We're here, captain," said the knight up front.
"Wake up—we've arrived," Theodore exclaimed, jabbing Alvar's shoulder.
Groggy and weak, Alvar forced himself upright.Theodore supported him as they stepped down. The square's fountain loomed, dry and cracked, leaves scattered in its basin.
"This is as far as we go," said the blonde knight."I'll take you to an inn. The others will wait here."
Theodore looked worried. "Drink one of your potions—it'll help you rest."Alvar just nodded.
They walked down a quieter street past shuttered stalls and noisy taverns.
At last they reached a small inn perched above the stone road.The knight pushed open the door; a bell chimed softly.
"Didn't expect you this late," said the innkeeper—a short, plump woman with black hair and faint wrinkles, her voice firm but kind."But you're early in terms from your mission."
"Apologies," replied the blonde knight.
"No trouble. Is he with you?"
"Yes. Can you arrange a room?" the knight replied while tapping her pocket.
The innkeeper presented two options: a medium and a smaller room.The knight looked at him to decide.
Not knowing the prices, He spilled coins on the counter."Is this enough for one night?" He asked.
The innkeeper blinked."Does he... not know the currency?" she whispered to the knight.
The knight whispered back."This is classified, so don't tell anyone, but he was abducted by bandits," the knight murmured back." And due to that he only remembers the past few days, other pieces of memory including his childhood are blank in his head!"
'I am able to hear their whispers, it seems the lady of this inn is a trusted member, or maybe an insider for them, i should be careful not to expose anything if this is my place of stay' Alvar thought as he avoided looking at them.
The innkeeper's eyes softened as she gently took his arm."Sweetheart, this is more than enough. Two of these silver coins would cover a medium room with meals and a bath. What you offered could last a month."
Alvar's eyes lit up."Then I'll pay three days in advance, miss."
"I'm Matrye Wood—you may call me Matrye."
"Alvar Walter," he replied with a hesitant note.
Matrye then offered the knight a bath, noticing her muddy clothes and the black paint on her face.The knight politely refused and left with a message:"I will see you in 3 days!!!"
The innkeeper unlocked the door to a small, cozy room on the second floor."This is your room."
He stepped inside.The air was thick with the scent of old wood and herbs.
A comfortable-looking bed with a brass frame and rumpled wool blanket invited his tired body to rest.A simple chair was tucked beside a writing table covered with a white cloth.
A single window looked out into the pale moonlight, and exposed wooden beams with leafy vines hung from the ceiling.He noticed the old, faded paintings on the walls.
Before she left, the innkeeper gestured to a door opposite the bed."This is a private bathhouse next to a toilet," she said, pleased he had chosen a medium room, as the smaller ones lacked this feature.
After she left, he undressed and placed his belongings next to the wooden tub.He sank into the warm water with a sigh of relief.
The past few days had left him grimy, and the bath was a comfort that he had missed.He dozed off for a moment, waking with a jolt to find the water a muddy gray.
He quickly washed and re-entered the tub, enjoying the clean warmth and a feeling of peace.
Feeling refreshed, he returned to his room and found a meal on the table, along with spare clothes covered with a note."The night's stay is on the house," the note read, "your charge begins tomorrow. These are my husband's old clothes, but they are clean."
It was a simple but generous meal of eggs, bread, butter, and milk.
"Now for the last event of the night." He muttered as he grabbed a potion from his bag and drank it.An intense, but bearable, pain ran down his veins before he passed out on the bed.
The first peaceful rest in days.
Morning came with sunlight through the window and a gentle knock.
"Mister Alvar, breakfast is ready."
He ate slowly—roasted meat, bread, eggs—each bite rich and filling.
"This must be the first time eating such meat, I don't believe it is an animal I have eaten before. I wonder what is it?"
"So delicious!!!"
He finished his meal and let out a burp!!!
Holding his stretched-out belly from eating, he muttered,
"I have lost so much weight and energy, but the good thing is… I feel a lot better than yesterday, so this is clearly a win."
After the innkeeper took the meal plates, it was now time to plan his next move.
A few days ago-
[It is true that you are being judge upon another person's abilities and you are better than that guy, but-
Your body constitution is not that much better than the real Alvar Walter, and if you didn't have used your vitality inside the dungeon, the monster's would have killed you]
[In simpler terms, the skill you had acquired from monsters and the body you have are not compatible, thus it took a hit for every movement you made, and it will have consequences!]
'Why didn't you tell me that ?' Hiroki thought in his head as the scorn from the knights continued.
[I couldn't, I had no way of speaking instead of announcing, I don't know how I am even doing this now!]
And today:
"Now then system, tell me everything you know.....let's start with the question- why I didn't use magic instead of vitality ?" Hiroki asked, crossing his legs as he sat on his bed.
[You are human. That sounds obvious, but you are very different from people like Theodore, the knight captain, or even the innkeeper. They all have mana — and a mana core to store and directly use it — but you don't.]
[Mana is the energy that fuels magic, martial arts, and sword techniques. It is renewable — it flows through the world like water, constantly recycled by nature. Magic is simply mana shaped with formulas and imagination.]
[But you, instead of using mana, have been burning vitality — the energy of your body.]
"Is vitality the same as life force?" he asked nervously.
[No. Life force is tied to the soul — it is the essence of being alive. It is almost impossible to replace. Losing even a small amount can take decades to recover and often requires divine intervention.]
[Vitality, on the other hand, is the energy of the body — the vessel itself. A dragon has more vitality than a human because its body is naturally superior. Vitality can be restored with great effort — potions, elixirs, monster cores, and essences — but it is still limited. Unlike mana, your vitality does not recycle itself easily.]
[You right now, can't use a single one of your skill since you have no mana]
"Then what about my skills? If magic needs mana and formulas, how do I even have them?"
"Then what about my skills? If magic needs mana and formulas, how do I even have them?"
The system revealed his list of skills, the sudden leap in their power making his heart pound.
Fire Blast: Level 4 → 9Scale Armor: Level 4 → 7Fire Breath: Level 4Fire Bomb: Level 2
"That's… a huge leap. I wonder how much powerful it is now?!"
[You can try it, but it is a one-way ticket to the afterlife if you do.]
"I will stick to my imagination, thank you. So… how do I even use these skills in the first place, since I have no prior knowledge of such formulas?"
[To understand why you can use skills, you must learn the difference between human magic and monster magic.]
[Every living thing has mana, but not all possess a mana core. Mages and even magical constructs like golems always have one. They create spells by combining mana with imagination and formulas.]
[Monsters, however, don't need formulas. Their magic is formed naturally the moment mana leaves their body. This is called monster magic.]
[A monster's core stores two things: mana and essence. The essence is what gives a monster its unique ability to shape mana into a spell — like a dragon's fire breath or a wolf's wind whirl.]
[And you have the ability to take monster cores and absorb them into your body.]
"I… I can absorb monster cores?"
[Correct. But unlike monsters, you do not use mana. You burn vitality. When your vitality combines with imagination and the monster's essence, a skill is born. For example: your vitality + inferno lizard's essence + imagination = Fire Blast.]
"But does me absorbing cores mean I have mana inside my body?"
"Since you said I absorbed monster cores the mana has to go somewhere right ?"
[Yes, you do have mana, an enormous amount at that!- Can you guess why you cannot use it right now?]
He frowned, thinking of what he had just been told.
"Because… I don't have a mana core!"
[Exactly. You don't have a mana core, meaning you cannot store mana for direct use. Imagine a lake — to drink water you'd need a smaller container: your hand, a glass, or a bottle.]
[This will be our task — making a mana core, and increasing your body constitution as well as your vitality.]
[Till then, it will kill you if you use Fire Blast Level 9. So they will be downgraded, but once we succeed, it will be worth it.]
Determined to sow the rewards of this power, he clenched his fists.
"…Then I'll do it."
"One last question," he asked."How did I come into this world? And… will I ever be able to return?"
The system fell silent for a long moment.
[...]
[I will answer that… at a later time.]
"I can't really do anything about it. I just have to believe everything it says…"
Next Chapter — Training Hell and Becoming an Adventurer Again