‘Adventuring’, as it turned out, was not quite as interesting as he had imagined it as a child. In his mind, he knew this—soldiering ended up much the same, after all—but it dampened the little spark of childish glee in his heart that had ignited when he chose to become an adventurer for this life, tempering it with realism.

  Much of his time was spent walking. The road he was on was well-trodden. Lee was not confident enough in his navigation skills to go off-route. There was also the little mistake he had with his packing… namely that he forgot to pack a map. It took him awhile to notice, as he had been walking near mindlessly, only stopping to eat, sleep and train in safe points. When he had decided to try and break the monotony by going out into what seems to be interesting places around the road… he realized he didn’t have a map to find any interesting places with.

  He could certainly just go without a map, but that felt like a terrible plan. Despite him deciding to choose an ‘occupation’ that would be a constant hazard to his continued existence, he did not want to mindlessly waste his life walking into what could be a dangerous part of the woods.

  He did, at the very least, know where his destination was. He just had to follow the road. There were a few villages along the way that he could look around in for a map. He could even do some odd jobs to get some money. He doubted they’d have much need for an artificer, considering how well-traveled the route is, but it didn’t hurt to try.

  It will still take some time to get to the closest village, however. It was night time, and he had set up camp next to the road, a small white tent set up with his mana stove boiling some stew in front of it. It was dinner time, and though Lee didn’t bring much entertainment with him, he found that it hadn’t really mattered.

  The last few days of travel have been, despite being boring, a soothing experience. In a way, despite his dampened childish glee, he was glad it was so quiet. It gave him time to reminisce and relax, to think about his future and his past.

  He hadn’t had much time to think about much during his past lives. His first life was as a soldier, and he didn’t think as much as he should have, relying on his training to kill and maim barbarian scum. Then when he was relieved off duty, he lived off instinct, scavenging and only thinking about how to get his next meal.

  In his second, he spent far more time dedicating himself to learning artificing. A hard practice, especially as someone who hardly had any experience with it. He had done so many mistakes as a student. At the time, he was simply happy that he had passed, though with the years behind him, he realized what a waste it was that he couldn’t be more like his other classmates, some of which have certainly become mages instead of pure artificers. Spellcasting wouldn’t be too different from imprinting into machines, after all, and a mage that can create their own foci would find their finances suffering less than it normally would.

  That was why, at night, when he had to set up camp, he trained.

  There was his spearmanship, of course—though he would have to modify it a bit to work better alone. While the training he had undergone made sure he would have appropriate training in the scenario he couldn’t reconnect with his legion, considering the barbarian’s expertise in non-formation combat, he had to modify it to better suit him now that he was truly alone… which was easier said than done. He couldn’t even begin on thinking about how to modify a martial art to be more suited to him.

  And thus, he drilled his thrusts as he usually did, and practiced the stances taught to him that were more suited for individual encounters.

  Aside from his spear training, he also attempted to learn traditional spellcasting. He had already thought about how little difference there was in traditional spellcasting and artificing, so the last thing left would be to put it to the test.

  The first time he officially practiced his spellcasting was with the basic Hurt and Protect spells he had done a lifetime before. They worked as well as expected—his Hurt had created a relatively fast projectile that didn’t seem to do much damage, and his Protect created a shield right in front of him that would theoretically protect him from attacks.

  Casting those two spells had put a strain on his reserves already, but seeing as he hadn’t passed out, he decided to try and do something a bit more complicated.

  Adding intents to his spells was an arduous affair, and this was where he found the first issue with spellcasting: unlike in artificing, he would not be given the time to weave intents in each spell. It had taken him a decent amount of time to imprint Hurt and Expand to the same spell he was molding, and he doubted it would do more damage.

  The second was that the cost of mana increases the more intents he added onto a spell. He should have figured, considering that it was the same with artificing. Needless to say, after he had casted a two-intent spell, he had passed out and woken up with a killer headache.

  He repeated this training over the past few days. His spells were still not battle ready—even casting a spell with one intent took a few seconds already—enough time for a decent fighter with a half decent self enhancement technique to close the gap and skewer him with a weapon.

  At the moment, his spearmanship and body enhancement are much better than his spellcasting, though he hadn’t given up on practicing magic yet. He had a whole lifetime ahead of him—and who knows, it may come in useful.

  It was during these training periods that he buried himself in thought. Maybe not with the spellcasting—that required much of his mind to be focused on casting. But with the repetitive physical drilling of his spear, there was plenty of time to think.

  His future; he had foreknowledge about some events that would occur. But they weren’t enough—that was why he chose to become an adventurer, after all. But could he do something about some of the events? Could he perhaps capture the traitors that had turned an entire town against its own garrison? Or perhaps he could warn the Esnef about the attack?

  Well, it would be incredibly unlikely for any of the officers to believe him, much less the ones in Esnef. At the start of the war, Esnef would be well within the Empire’s borders, far from being a target of the barbarians. He could leave that for later, if he remembered when the attack happened. For the traitors… he doubted it was a problem that could be solved by telling an officer. He’d have to find the barbarians inciting these traitorous thoughts himself and take care of him. But as he is, he probably wouldn’t even be able to kill a barbarian, much less destroy a legion. He’d have to get more information.

  Lots of maybes and lots of uncertainty. Many things he couldn’t do because of his weakness. But that’s why he trained—to be ready, to be able to do something before he died. To be able to make his life last longer. In his previous life, he died even earlier than his first—and wasn’t that a massive waste? So many years left, so much time… and all the decisions made before to just be gone.

  Lee exhaled as he finished up his spear drill, taking a deep breath as he relaxed his form, holding the spear to his side as he did so. He walked back to his tent and carefully placed his spear down, sitting next to his mana stove, taking a sip of what was essentially hot seasoned water. He opened a pack of dried jerky and bit into it, chewing silently as he gazed up at the moon.

  An adventurer’s life, despite him not living it very long, was far less busy than that of a soldier or an artificer. In his last lives, it would be near unthinkable to have a moment like this to himself. Downtime was spent reading up on intent theory and proper cable management for artificers. Downtime would be spent listening to radios for orders and keeping watch against barbarian infiltrators as a soldier.

  An adventurer did neither of those things unless they wanted to. It was the ultimate freedom of an unemployed vagrant. He wasn’t quite sure what to feel about it, but so far, he’s leaning more towards a positive feeling. Though his ‘ease’ of living it might have to do with the fact that he still had coin in his pouch and in his bank account.

  Regardless—he was still living the life. He doubted an adventurer without a backup plan or halfway decent skills lived long.

  He finished up his ‘soup’ and jerky, making sure to pick up the packaging and his stove to put inside his backpack. The cool air inside blew out to his face, making for a nice sensation, though he closed it up quickly. Letting the cool air go out would make the mana gem eat more energy than it takes from the environment, and he didn’t want to wait for the backpack to recharge. His food source, being mostly non-perishable, wouldn’t be hurt too bad, but he didn’t want to have to drink lukewarm water for a while.

  “Alright, time for spellcasting…” Lee took a deep breath as he stood up, energy flowing within his body as he prepared to cast and experiment with his Hurt spell…

  Before a high-pitched scream echoed from within the woods he was camped beside.

  His head whipped towards the woods as the scream petered out. “A woman in the woods?” He was a day or two away from the nearest village, why would there be a woman in the woods? This seemed like a trap, but…

  He took his spear and settled his energy, circulating it around his body to enhance it. His heart and lungs, for his stamina. His arms and legs, for strength and speed. Underneath his skin for endurance.

  “Well… It’s time to do as adventurers do,” Lee started walking towards the scream, pushing past twigs and shrubs as he focused. “Meddle in things they really shouldn’t be meddling in…”

  Walking through the woods without a map isn’t exactly type of trip that Lee would find fun, but necessity demands things he often doesn’t want to do. The screams work as an excellent beacon for him to figure out where to go, but he made sure to use his spear to leave little L shape markings on the trees he passed to know where to go to go back to his camp. He wouldn’t want to rescue the woman only to find out he didn’t know the way back.

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  The dark ambience the forest had was a tad unnerving. He was on constant alert, his eyes shifty as he trudged through the undergrowth as quietly as he can. Only the moonlight illuminated the dark forest, letting him see enough of the forest in front of him to make sure he doesn’t trip.

  Another piercing scream echoed through the forest, and he heard a few birds fly off and squawk in annoyance. The scream sounded closer, but also sounded more frantic. “Damn… I should hurry up,” it sounded as if the person getting more and more panicked the longer he took getting there. It didn’t sound good.

  Lee, deciding to abandon stealth, broke into a sprint to quicken his pace. He kept his breathing steady as he kept vigilant of possible dangers. He held his spear in a tight grip as he pushed past plants and weaved through boulders, leaving huge gashes along trees as he ran.

  That… could not be good for the spear tip. I’ll have to get a knife or something at the next village. The idle thought ran through his mind as he broke past the trees and into a clearing, where a trio of monsters growled and barked at someone on a tree.

  “H-HELP!” The voice came from…

  “I’ve never heard a man scream like that before,” Lee mumbled as he watched the creatures claw and scratch at the tree.

  The monsters took the form of large wolves. Frankly, if Lee had been a normal civilian, he’d probably be scared out of his wits. The person on the tree didn’t appear to be a hunter or anything, so it made sense they’d be screaming for help as loud as they could.

  Regardless of his screaming, however, Lee still had to save the man. Wolf monsters were dangerous, but this wasn’t a big pack. They are somewhat intelligent and can have squad level tactics, but with only three in front of him, it probably won’t be an issue.

  I just have to take the initiative. Blitz them and run away after getting the guy. That should be his plan.

  More barking and yells from the tree sounded out as he prepared, his brows furrowed as he gripped his spear tightly. And, like a snake uncoiling, he struck.

  He dashed forward. He was not fast enough to cover the distance in an instant, as much as he wished to be, but the small distraction of turning to look at him cost the monsters more than it cost him. One of the monsters turning caught a spear tip to its flank, yelping as it tried its best to disengage. Lee pulled out his spear with a flourish, the monster’s blood spilling onto the forest floor as he re-aimed and thrust towards its head, ending its pained yelping.

  With one of their trio killed, the other two monsters barked and charged at him together. Lee narrowed his eyes and took a stab towards one of the wolves, which it dodged fairly easily by hopping back. In return, the other wolf leapt at him with its mouth wide open, the fangs seeming to glint as it tried to bite him.

  Well, he may not be able to use his spear, but as a soldier, they were trained to utilize their entire body as a weapon.

  His arms were still in an extended position from the failed thrust, so he let go of the spear with one of his hands and pumped as much mana as he can into his elbow as he intercepted the bite with an elbow strike to the wolf—which had hit its neck, making it yelp as it veered off course, allowing Lee to back off and reposition so that both wolves remained in front of him.

  The wolves growled at him, but they seemed to be a bit more hesitant to charge again. It was not too surprising—he had already killed one of their number and proved to be a bit tougher prey than they expected. Monsters or not, they had a sense of self preservation, which was what Lee was banking on. In a way, he was glad they were wolves and not anything else—because of their intelligence, it was easy to make them think that something wasn’t a worthwhile hunt.

  One of the wolves tried to snap towards him, but he quickly turned towards it and pointed at it with his spear, keeping his stance low and ready to move in case the other decided to attack, but it simply decided to back off, growling all the way.

  Please just leave. This isn’t worth the hunt for you. If they charged him again, he might not be able to get out unscathed. The only reason he hasn’t been scratched up is because they’re being careful to not get hurt. It was the same as to why he wasn’t charging forward to try and finish the fight, after all. If they attacked, none of them go off scot-free.

  The tension was thick. A bead of sweat dripped from Lee’s forehead as he kept an eye on the wolves, who were growling at him and pacing back and forth.

  In the end, the tension was broken by the wolf he had hit barking and running off, the other wolf giving one last bark towards him before following. Relief flooded Lee’s body as he heaved a sigh. Thank the gods. I don’t really want to use my coins for a medical bill so quickly… He turned towards the person he was meant to save, who was still stuck on top of the tree.

  ”Hey!” Lee yelled. The man above seemed to have been transfixed by the sight of the wolves fleeing that he forgot that his savior was still there. “Do you need any help getting down?”

  “N-no! I’m good!” The man yelled back. He shimmied down the tree, his hands pale as he gripped the tree tightly, slowly making his way down. In the meantime, Lee kept his head on a swivel, keeping watch for any other monsters that may come towards the two of them.

  It didn’t take long for the man to get down from the tree. “Thank you!” The man panted heavily as he bowed towards Lee. “Gods, I thought I was a goner!”

  “You could have been, if you hadn’t yelled as loud as you did,” Lee admitted. “You’re lucky I was close by, sir…?”

  “Luis,” the man thumped his chest with a fist. “An adventurer! Though…” he deflated, seeming to remember the near deadly encounter. “Though I’m not a very good one. I thought I could do fine foraging for a bit, since my dad is a forager and he’s been teaching me all he knew since I was a kid, but…”

  “But you stayed out too long, and you came across a bunch of monsters,” Lee surmised. Well, he doubted that staying out too long was the cause of the issue. Monsters were bound to find someone straying out of the major roads. If one was unlucky, they could pop out even then. “You don’t know how to fight? I would expect that being a prerequisite of being an adventurer…”

  “Well! I was planning to learn how to fight, but no one in my village was a fighter,” he scratched his head. “The closest thing we had was a hunter, but he didn’t wanna teach me anything.”

  “Really, now,” Lee drawled. It wasn’t hard to imagine why. If he was as loud about aspiring to be an adventurer back in his village as he is now, it wouldn’t be too far fetched to imagine the others there wanting to discourage him from the line of work. “I wonder why.”

  “Hey, wait, you look about as old as I am,” Luis perked up as he pointed at him. Lee almost interjected by telling him how much older he is compared to him, but remembered that he was practically still a teenager at the moment, so he held his tongue. “How’d you learn to fight like that? Was your dad a hunter or something? Actually, wait… who even are you?”

  “Ah. Sorry, it’s Lee,” he nodded at him. “An adventurer, I suppose. And as to how I learned to fight… I was trained in it.”

  “You’re an adventurer as well?! Wow…” Luis eyes seemed to be glowing as he took another look at him. “You must’ve been adventuring for a long time…”

  “Uh, not really,” Lee scratched his head. “Just a few days, really.”

  “What.”

  Their conversation was broken by the wind, and a howl.

  “… maybe we should continue this conversation back at my camp,” Lee advised him.

  “… probably. Let’s go.”

  “So… you’re saying you spent like a month preparing everything before you set out?”

  The conversation continued as Lee led him through the path he took. The cuts he left on the trees worked extremely well as markers, as they were very much unnatural enough to be distinguishable from everything else. “Well, two months, but yes.”

  “But… how’d you know what to bring? I didn’t even think about bringing more camping equipment, I was just going to sleep under the moon or something…”

  “Seriously?” Lee tilted his head as he looked at his companion. “So, what did you bring?”

  “Um,” Luis seemed to be racking his brain for a reminder. “My—my coins…”

  “Uh huh.”

  “A bunch of water bottles…”

  “Go on.”

  “… s-some food?”

  “’Some’?” Lee questioned as he pushed past some twigs. “How much is ‘some’ food, really?”

  “… I ran out of it before you found me. It’s why I was out foraging in the first place.”

  “Hmm,” Lee slowly nodded. “So you went out adventuring unprepared and got caught with your pants down.”

  “… you don’t have to be so real about it.”

  “I have to be,” Lee stated. “I’m sorry, sir Luis, but you almost died out there. If it weren’t for me being in the right place at the right time, your parents wouldn’t be seeing you again.” They’d have been miserable in my past two lives, having lost their son to the wilderness. I’m glad I was able to save him this time, at least.

  “And what about you?” Luis suddenly questioned. “What’re you doing adventuring? I know you’re prepared and all, but aren’t your parents worried?”

  “… My parents are dead,” Lee didn’t turn to look at him as they finally arrived at his camp. Thankfully, everything was still where he left it. “They probably would object to my current occupation, though.”

  “Oh… sorry, that was insensitive of me,” Luis apologized. “Also… ‘current occupation’, why do you talk like that?”

  “Ah… well, just,” Lee looked for the words to answer the question. “It sounds more professional. I’ve found that people respond better if you sound like you know what you’re doing.”

  “Do they?” Luis seemed intrigued by the idea.

  “From what I’ve experienced so far, yes,” It was the truth in all three lives he’s lived so far. He was sure others would call him a ‘professional bootlicker’ instead.

  “Huh. I guess I’ve got a lot to learn, still,” Luis took a seat across his tent. “… also, where is this, even? I… kind of lost track of where I was when I was avoiding the wolves.”

  “It’s the National Road, halfway between the City of Angels and…” Lee racked his brain, trying to remember the name of the village that he was going to reach. “Logger Village?”

  “Logger Village? That’s where I live,” Luis sighed. “I didn’t adventure too far out after all.”

  “What were you looking to do, anyway?” Lee inquired. “Adventurer or not… it seemed a bit foolish to just wander into the woods. Were you looking for something in particular?”

  “Well,” Luis scratched his chin. “There’s a bit of a story in the village, about how the Emperor’s Hands train within the forest.”

  Lee slowly nodded. “That would check out. The forest is close to the City. But what does that have to do with adventuring?”

  “I’m getting there,” Luis cleared his throat. “So I thought to myself… wouldn’t the Emperor’s Hands be using equipment inside the forest? Couldn’t I possibly snag some for myself so I can get some coin?”

  “…”

  “Isn’t that a smart idea?”

  “I… uh,” Lee genuinely had no idea what to say to that. “I think you’re misunderstanding what they do with the equipment. It’s not like there’s going to be a cache for you to loot in there…” most likely, the Hands picked up whatever they used so as to not have to bother writing up paperwork for any lost items. He’d know, as plenty of soldiers had to do the same after losing equipment. He doubted it would be different for them—if anything, they’d have to write more paperwork, carrying expensive and powerful equipment as they do.

  “But there’s a chance,” he insisted.

  “No. No chance,” Lee sighed. “Look, why don’t we find your stuff tomorrow and I’ll take you with me to your village? I’m sure your parents will be glad to see you back home.”

  Luis deflated. “You—you’re just gonna take me back home? But I haven’t even adventured all that much yet…”

  “And you almost got killed for it,” Lee countered. “Look, it’s pretty obvious you’re out of your depth here. You should just find a trade and get good enough with it to make some money, not gallivant off to find some fairy tale weapons cache.”

  “What the hell does ‘gallivant’ mean…?” he heard Luis mumble under his breath. “… Alright, you’re right. I should just head home. I don’t want to have to worry my parents.”

  “Good,” Lee nodded approvingly. “Life is precious. Don’t waste the time you still have with your parents. You never know what’ll happen.”

  “You sound much older than you actually are,” Luis noted with a bit of amusement. “Did you hear that from your dad—ah wait, shit, sorry.”

  Lee offered a dry smile. “I’m sure he’d have said the same thing to me. It’s just my genuine belief.”

  “… Right, I’m still sorry, though,” Luis seemed to be thinking about something as he apologized. “Ah, actually… we don’t have to find my ‘pack’, I have all my coins with me, and my water bottles were empty anyway… I’ve been drinking from a stream since I ran out of water…”

  Lee… could not express his disappointment even more than he already has.