Krovane found himself sitting in front of a plate filled with rice and all kinds of toppings piled on top, like a fried egg and some kind of meat, even though he did not know what kind of meat it was.

  He swallowed hard and lifted his head, looking at Emily who was sitting across from him. Once again, they were in the same restaurant, the same place they had been in about an hour ago.

  “Hurry up and eat. Do not waste time,” Emily said.

  Krovane nodded and quickly started eating, even though this was already his second meal in such a short time. He was the only one who felt hungry again so soon.

  “That is normal, because you still cannot properly control your mana core,” Emily explained.

  Krovane listened while his mouth was still full of food.

  “I think the ability you used earlier drained a lot of your energy. That is why you are getting hungry so fast. For now, it is better if you do not use that ability carelessly and focus on cultivating your mana core.”

  After that, Emily truly did not stop talking. She went on and on, explaining all kinds of things to Krovane in detail about what they needed to do next while staying in this city.

  At this moment, both Krovane and Hugo could only stare in silence, listening to every explanation. Like… training at full intensity for eight hours every day.

  “Wait… physical training for eight hours a day?”

  That did not sound friendly at all for twelve year old kids.

  Emily even suggested that they look for extra work in the city, any kind of job.

  “I suggest you choose work that adds value to yourselves. Physical labor would be good because it trains your body as well, so you are improving yourselves at the same time. Or even better, if you can find work that also trains your skills in a certain field.”

  When night finally came, they returned to their inn room. Once again, they sat down and meditated, focusing on cultivating their mana cores.

  A few hours passed, and after that, they continued on to their night’s sleep.

  The first day in the new world had finally come to an end. And no one knew how many more nights Krovane would have to go through before he could find answers to why he and his two companions were trapped in this world.

  Who was the owner of that house? Why was there a mirror that could send people to another world? And what did all of this have to do with the sound of war drums that Krovane had heard back then?

  **

  The next morning, Emily and Hugo brought Krovane to a corner of the city where the houses were no longer packed tightly together like they were near the city center. The area felt quieter and more open. On one side, there was a wide stretch of land that looked like a training ground. Across from it stood a large house that seemed well maintained, while several small huts were scattered nearby, likely used for storage or living quarters.

  “All of this is thanks to Davon. He allows us to join the training sessions he runs here,” Emily said. “Do not worry, they are professional mercenaries, so they are used to dealing with monsters and even bandits.”

  Krovane simply followed behind Emily and Hugo as they walked across the yard. On one side stood a tall building, about four floors high. It looked luxurious and well kept, most likely Davon’s house.

  “Hey, kids,” someone called out as a man walked toward them.

  Krovane looked at the man’s face and noticed a long scar running along the right side. He had shoulder length brown hair that was slightly curly, and his body looked solid and muscular beneath his simple gray clothes.

  A moment later, they stopped in front of him.

  “Hi, Rogan,” Emily replied. “I think the hard physical training is ready to continue.” She stepped slightly to the side. “Oh, and he is our new member. His name is Krovane.”

  “Ha ha ha,” the man laughed. “Yeah, I already heard about you from Davon. Come on, lazy ones, follow me.”

  “Watch your mouth when you call me lazy, Rogan, haha,” Hugo replied as he followed the man.

  Krovane quietly followed after them without saying much. He did not really have any other choice anyway.

  Some time later, Krovane stood at the far edge of the area. In front of him stretched a vast expanse of farmland, gardens, and wide fields of blooming flowers. The land spread out as far as his eyes could see.

  Honestly, Krovane never expected that a city surrounded by such tall city walls could have an area this large inside it. And if this was all private land, then it all belonged to Davon.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  “Krovane!” Rogan called out.

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Your task is to make sure you can run around that entire area twenty times in a single day. We will train other things if you still have time left after those rounds. So make sure you do it fast.”

  “Twenty rounds?”

  Krovane stared at the distance he would have to cover. Running was not something new to him. He was used to it. Delivering newspapers, cleaning gardens, doing odd jobs like that. But this distance was far beyond anything he had ever done back in his original world.

  “You will not be able to catch up to me, Krov,” Hugo said, and then immediately started running ahead, leaving Krovane behind.

  Krovane gave a faint smile and nodded. He had already decided that he would catch up. Not just catch up, but truly take on every task and role in this world with full effort.

  He took another deep breath and immediately burst into a run. The morning air filled his lungs, fresh and clean. The natural scenery around him gave him real energy, pushing him to run faster, even though Hugo had already pulled far ahead of him.

  Like… Krovane still could not fully process everything that had happened to him. The magic, the monsters. But it was not like he had any other choice, right?

  He had no choice at all. And he knew that what lay ahead would not be easy. It would never be easy, and he understood that.

  Hugo seemed to be enjoying all of this, in his own way. Emily too, always doing extra things beyond what she was already responsible for, even training her magic at the same time. Because of that, Krovane knew he had to be serious as well.

  Run.

  Run.

  Run.

  Day two, day three, day four, day five.

  Surprisingly, getting through each day in this world was not as bad as he had imagined. The food was clearly not as varied or fancy as what he remembered from his original world. Still, he could eat things he would never have been able to taste there.

  But seriously, had he really been here for almost a week already? Time had passed that fast, huh?

  **

  Krovane had actually been walking around the city whenever he had the chance, whether it was with Emily or Hugo. In those moments, he kept looking around, trying to find something he might be able to do, or at least try to do.

  And finally, on the day after another full session of harsh training, when the sun was starting to sink at the end of the day, Krovane stopped in front of a place people called a smithy.

  It was a building that looked both sturdy and rough at the same time. It had a wide layout and appeared to be only one floor tall, but the ceiling inside was clearly very high. From outside alone, the sharp sound of metal striking metal echoed nonstop.

  Even before stepping inside, the heat could already be felt. Hot air poured out through the entrance, making the atmosphere heavy and intense. This was where blacksmiths worked, forging weapons like swords and other tools of war.

  A short while later, the door opened, and a man stepped out. He wore a thick work apron over his chest. His head was bald, and his body was large and solid.

  “What are you doing here, kid?” the man said sharply.

  “Sir, may I work here? I am an awakener, level five,” Krovane said right away.

  The man bent down slightly, since he was almost twice Krovane’s height. His eyes scanned Krovane’s body, clearly taking in how thin he was. Then he reached out and tapped Krovane’s left arm with his finger.

  “What can arms this small even do in a place like this?” he said, before letting out a loud laugh.

  “Sir!” Krovane said firmly. “I am currently in training to register at the adventurers’ guild. I want to train my physical strength and flexibility, and if possible, acquire new techniques. I also want to learn how to forge weapons. If you allow it, please let me learn and do any kind of work here, as long as I can gain new abilities, whatever they may be.”

  The man paused for a moment.

  “Your hands would break with a single swing of a hammer. You cannot be serious about this, can you?”

  Krovane did not back down. “Sir, once someone has awakened to mana, even children can compete with adults. That is a rule that applies in this world. So please, at least give me a chance.”

  The man straightened his posture and opened the door behind him. A wave of hot air immediately hit Krovane’s face as the door swung open.

  “Follow me,” the man said.

  Krovane showed a faint smile, knowing that at least the man was giving him a chance. He quickly stepped inside, and the sound of hammer strikes grew louder and heavier, surrounding him as the heat from the forging area washed over his senses.

  Inside, he saw several people working near two large forging furnaces. Others were hammering metal on anvils, and some of them glanced toward Krovane as he entered.

  “What are you doing bringing a kid in here? What does he want?”

  Krovane simply smiled and gave them a small bow.

  The bald man walked to one side of the workshop, and Krovane followed him there.

  He picked up a pair of long metal tongs, used to grip heated metal safely. Then he grabbed a hammer. Krovane knew it was large, yet it looked almost small in the man’s hand.

  “Kid, these are called tongs, and this is a hammer,” he said, pointing to each tool. “Your task is to hammer this metal.”

  The man pointed at a piece of metal glowing red inside the furnace. “This process is called refining. It is done to remove impurities from the metal. If you can strike it one thousand times before your body collapses, you pass the test,” he said.

  Hearing the man’s words, more people began to look in Krovane’s direction, their faces full of curiosity.

  “You are really making a small kid do that? This has to be a joke.”

  “Hey kid, you should just stop. Your hands will not be strong enough to handle it.”

  “Yeah, even the hammer looks bigger than you.”

  Krovane only grinned as he listened to their mockery. He glanced around the room and saw that there were about twelve people working in the workshop.

  “Sorry for disturbing your time. Thank you for the opportunity.”

  After saying that, he turned back toward the bald man, who had already set the tongs and the hammer down.

  Krovane stepped up to the workbench where the anvil stood and picked up the tongs with his left hand. Then he firmly grasped the hammer with his right.

  He swallowed hard before lifting the hammer.

  “You will not be able to lift that hammer,” a voice came again from the side.

  But Krovane clenched his teeth and tightened his grip around the handle. He had to be able to do it. And he knew that he could.

  Then, with all his strength, he tried to lift the hammer.