What's up guys, it's been a while! Sorry, life's been a bit hectic, still is quite frankly, but I hope to get this chapter out soon. It's August 26th as of right now, so let's see when this actually gets published ha-ha. Sorry, this chapter should have been out ages ago, but I hated the flow so I've been working on it ever since…

God, we are almost to the point where I want to start going back to first person. I just need the character to age already, but I need to create a good basis before we get to the shit I want to write about. So the next chapter is 1st person or at least third with current events.

Honest question, I was going through the timeline, you will see it as well, it's actually Fucked! It all happens in less than a year!? So the question for you guys is, do you want that timeline for when Bell arrives to be canon or slowed down? G

Frankieu- I'm glad you liked it, and I appreciate the comment seeing as that was something I was a bit hesitant about in the last chapter! Thanks for your support!

Dazac- Thanks for the review and I understand where you are coming from but I'm not the biggest fan of those kinds of stories. I want you guys to hear and imagine everything that happens with the character so you can watch them grow and understand why they grew up that way. I don't like it when halfway through the story you get a flashback about the information then, rather than when the character understood it. I'm being a bit sloppy with the whole summary of the years, but I think it's important for you guys to get the info dumps now, rather than later. Sorry if you aren't the biggest fan of the recent chapters but it should be getting back to normal!

Those were the only recent reviews, so on to the story!

-Day 2,190 (Year 6)

Again, two more years have gone and passed, with the quaint lifestyles of the residents of the small village of Alera continuing with little trouble or nuisance… Well, all but one of the inhabitants, as I was not among those living in relative content. For starters, I had finally figured out my magical chant about a year ago, and while that would have been something to be proud of, my magic in terms of usability was less than I imagined, almost to the point that I would claim it being garbage. Yup, you heard me, garbage, and before anyone can refute my claim, let me describe my magic.

For starters, my magic is called Sensory Deprivation which sounds a lot cooler than it actually is at the moment. And for those that are curious, I did not name my magic, rather, the name came to me when I fully realized my chant. It was a very strange occurrence when it happened, but after using it for a year, it was an accurate name for the magic.

Aside from the name, the chant for the magic seemed relatively long, as compared to the chants of my mother's and father's magic. My dad had a very quick chant, with it being around a short sentence before he could cast his wind magic, while my mom's chant was a mouthful, with hers being around six full sentences before it took effect. Mine was similar to my mother's as I had around five sentences in my chant, making it as long as Riveria's magic. The actual chant is:

{The Immortal Beings of the Universe were the first to use the concept of Senses. Mortals were later given the privilege of these feelings, with both Gods and their creations using these sensations to enjoy the universe around them. You, however, would rather live in a world devoid of these feelings, taking them away from yourself and those around you. My magic is Sensory Deprivation, and I forgo the sense of Taste.}

Yup, just as I assumed, my magic was indeed something involving my body's senses, but what I didn't know was the specifics of what that meant for me. As my chant said, I can completely ignore my sense of taste… Yea, compared to the magic I had seen and read in DanMachi, mine was on another class of uselessness… But aside from the uselessness for combat, the magic has its pros and cons, which I will discuss.

Let's start with the cons first since there aren't as many as you would assume, but the few flaws are somewhat impacting. For starters, the time it takes for me to complete the magic is somewhat long, with my chanting taking around 15 seconds. In comparison to Bell's casting of Firebolt, it was extremely long, but that was only compared to Bell who was considered irregular by those around him. Compared to other magical chants that I've seen, mine is on the line between slightly long and normal. If I were to practice the speed of casting the magic, I could drastically reduce the time, which I will discuss later. Another con, and the most impactful, is the complete ineffectiveness of the magic. The complete lack of taste has no outstanding benefits for me or those around me. I can't take away anyone else's taste and getting rid of my taste barely benefits me, as most of the things I eat are to my liking. The only time that my magic has had a benefit, is the very seldom chance that my mother prepares fish. I found it quite comical that my dislike of fish has transcended universes, as my dislike of fish is the same from back on Earth. My mother doesn't find it quite so funny, but with the use of my magic, fish now tastes like nothing! It is a super weird experience to taste nothing, but it is much better than having to eat fish! So, apart from my mother no longer scalding me at the dinner table, there hasn't been any other use for my magic that I have observed. While these cons are somewhat detrimental, I think the pros outweigh the cons this time.

To begin with the pros, my magic is considered consistent magic, with my Mind slowly decreasing as I continue the spell. The amount to sustain the spell is fairly low, as I was originally able to keep the spell going for nearly thirty minutes at a time. At around the twenty-five-minute mark, I would become sluggish and disoriented, almost like I was drunk. If I persevered through that, the thirty-minute mark was the time that I would reach Mind Down, or as I have started calling it, passing the fuck out. Luckily, I can turn my magic off at any time if I start to feel the sluggish effects, or I am on the verge of passing out. So, my magic is pretty easy to activate and deactivate, as well as being magic that I do not have to micromanage. The next beneficial aspect of my magic is the ease with which I can practice and train my magic! Because of the low Mind cost of my spell, I am able to apply the spell multiple times a day with little to no side effects. Because of that, I have been able to practice the amount of time it takes me to cast my magic. As I mentioned before, I could cast my magic in around fifteen seconds, but over the year from when I gained the magic and now, I can cast it in just about ten seconds! That's a whopping thirty-three percent decrease in casting time, and not only have I been practicing chanting speed, but also multitasking my chant while I do other activities. While I have yet to reach any solid improvements in that field of chanting, seeing as my casting time for my magic is thirty seconds, it is an amazing first step towards the long journey towards concurrent chanting. I just need to keep practicing and overcoming the obstacles!

Another way that I have been training my magic is constant, and almost an abusive use of my magic at all times. I will regularly use my magic throughout the day, sometimes in short bursts of one minute, other times using it to the point of Mind Down. While the time it takes for me to regain enough Mind to wake up from Mind Down is around an hour at best, and yes, I do know the exact time as Oghren and I had timed me after I had asked him, with the only response to my question being, "Well, at least it will shut you up for a short time." Although the amount of time is relatively low, I do try and avoid Mind Down as much as possible since I feel like absolute shit when I do inevitably wake up. On the bright side to that, by progressively getting to the sluggish stage multiple times over the year, as well as constantly using my magic every day, my magic tolerance, as well as my Mind, has increased! As of right now, I can use my magic for around an hour, with the sluggish feeling being a lot more bearable than it had been.

The last, and most important aspect of my magic is the very high probability of my magic improving and or evolving with time. I make this assumption for two main reasons, the first being the actual conversation I had with Steve about the magic I wanted. I remember asking him that I wanted magic involved in stealth or something similar and seeing as my magic the complete lack of a body's senses, I can assume that it will eventually reach a point that I can get rid of the sense of sight. It isn't the most far-off assumption that I could have made, but it makes the most sense in terms of the context of the conversation I had with Steve, as well as him wanting me to make something 'exciting' for the rest of the entities to watch. The second reasoning behind my hypothesis is the actual chant itself, as it clearly says, "You, however, would rather live in a world devoid of these feelings, taking them away from yourself and those around you." Not only does that sentence in the chant specify feelings, plural, but it also mentions taking them away from others. Seeing as I only have one sense I can take away, and it is only from myself, I can presume that my magic will grow as I continue to train it, gain a status, and level up. So, in the meantime, I need to train my weak magic as much as possible so that I can easily use the evolved magic… gods, I hope it evolves!

So, now that my magic has been fully discussed, let's talk about what else I have been doing in the two years since. For starters, with the new acquisition of magic, my parents have taken a greater interest in my development, seeing as I had 'fully' awakened my magic at the tender age of five, eleven years sooner than my father had… Apparently, my father was considered a magical genius because of how early he had awakened his magic, especially since he did not come from a noble house like my mother and her family. I found it a little strange that even with that proclamation of his magical talent, he and my mother's love was still frowned upon, but seeing as he has yet to discuss his past since that once time, I have left it alone. But getting back on topic, when I did tell them about my magic, both my mother and father were very, very surprised, to the extent that they both demanded that I show them to validate my claim. Surprised by their demanding and assertive tone, I complied and quickly spoke my chant, and once my magic took place with a small burst of magic, my mother had let out a large gasp as she gazed at me with wonder, while a loud thud was heard from my father's direction. While my mother's gaze was still on me even with the loud thud, I gazed towards where my father should have been, and the loud noise, only to see him passed out on the ground with a dumbstruck expression on his face, all the while mumbling my name and the word for magic in Elvish. Embarrassed at the situation, I remained rooted in place as my mother slowly got over her initial shock and began to try and wake my father. After a small moment, he woke up from his sudden feinting and he and my mother began to quickly discuss something in Elvish together. Although I could say I was fairly fluent in Elvish now, the speed at which they were talking, as well as the whispering made it very difficult to hear what they were saying. After a few more minutes of this, all the while I was nervously fidgeting in place, they suddenly, and without any indicator, ran towards and gave me a large, and somewhat uncomfortable hug as they spun me around singing, "our sons a prodigy, our sons a prodigy!" After the initial shock of their actions dissipated, my nervousness once again turned into embarrassment and eventually happiness. After a few more minutes of my parent's embarrassing and loving gestures, they stopped their celebration and let go of their embrace.

After that debacle, they both had me sit down at the dinner table and we discussed my magical talents in detail, as well as my inevitable training, schooling, and future. I refrained from mentioning my goal of becoming an adventurer in the future seeing as I didn't want to ruin the moment of excitement for my parents. I still had no idea how they would react to the inevitable moment when I would tell them, but I was planning it off as much as possible, maybe in the next couple of years… The discussion continued for most of the day and almost reached evening before our stomachs eventually protested. We all looked towards the window as we saw the sun begin to descend from the sky, marking the time to be around five o'clock, a full six-hour discussion was made in the blink of an eye.

To summarize our discussion as easily as possible was that I was going to be on a day-by-day schedule for the foreseeable future! Although the idea of being on a routine may sound a bit demanding, as well as unreasonable, I found it refreshing! As a person that had to live their life on multiple routines back on earth, going from high maintenance to none at all was something I was not prepared for. So, the inclusion of an actual schedule was music to my ears!

For starters, the mornings were made to be my educational period, as during that time, neither my father nor mother had any plans or obligations to the village until later. So, they continued to teach me language lessons on a more difficult standard, as well as starting basic mathematics. Thankfully I was very much ahead on the math concept, so it was far from challenging, and the added difficulty in the lessons on Common, and Elvish were very informative. After the morning 'classes', I would either go with one of my parents as they fulfilled their jobs for the village. When I was with my mother, I would learn about the different plants, potions, and remedies that she made for the village, giving me a small background on the inner workings of a pharmacy/potion maker. My father on the other hand would take me around the village as he did his patrol, as well as bringing me along on some of the small hunts on the outskirts of the village. He wouldn't let me do any of the actual hunting, but he did teach me how to properly walk, breathe, and travel when hunting, as well as a beginner's guide to proper exercise for somebody my age. Obviously, I couldn't do a whole lot as a six-year-old, but proper forms as well and basic cardio was taught to me. Jogging/running with my dad were my favorites as it was something we could both do, while also making them small competitions with each other. They would both ask me to do magic as I shadowed them, with them being the ones that suggested and enacted the constant magic practice. After that, depending on which parent I was with, I would usually get a few hours to myself, with me mostly hanging out with Oghren, Welby, or Alice. With my age and experience growth throughout the years, I was tasked with more challenging tasks at Oghren's blacksmithy and Welby's general store. Although the tasks they asked for weren't difficult mentally, physically they could be challenging, but with the added challenge came a greater wage and goodies! I was now getting paid around one hundred fifty vali's an hour from Oghren, while Welby gave me small discounts in his store for my family and me! Thanks to both of them I was able to buy writing utensils and journals of my own, rather than relying on my parents. Not only did this help with my writing skills in the languages, but it also let me keep a small diary about my experiences and important events. It was very therapeutic and helped me get through the times where I grew sad about my life previously. Writing in English was also a nice thing to do again, as well as keeping my journal confidential. I also wrote a small timeline of the Danmachi universe that I would need for when I joined the main story.

Before 1000 Years ago-?

-1000 Years Before Story Starts - Ouranos and other Gods descend to the earth.

Why did they descend? It can't be just to have fun, since they could have come whenever…

-18 YBSS -Me Being Born.

Thank God for that, probably the best part of the story so far.

-16 YBSS - Fels makes contact with Xenos.

-15 YBSS - Zeus and Hera's family are exiled for failing the Black Dragon Quest.

Where are they now? Zeus is with Bell, but what after? Where is Hera? Where are their familia?

-12 YBSS - I am currently here.

-8 YBSS - Me leaving for the Dungeon, hopefully!

-5 YBSS - Evilus is "defeated" as well as the annihilation of the Astraea Familia.

Probably should try and do… Something about that…

-0 YBSS - Start of DanMachi with Bell being an adventurer for 3 months before he gets OP.

Hmm, I don't know exactly when he Liaris Freese, but will have to be around the Hostess of Fertility around that time so I can get the dates right.

-1 Month After- Bell Levels up to 2 "What the actual fuck!?"

-1 month and a half?- Bell and others defeat the Goliath.

-2 Months- Hestia and Apollo War Game.

-2 months and some days- Bell Levels up to 3… "God Damn!"

-2 Months and some more days- Haruhime joins the story.

-2 ½ -4 Months- War with Ares

-4 Months- Wiene joins the story, Xenos.

-4 Months+ Character development onwards

God, I did a pretty good job remembering!

Okay, after writing all this, I realized something that I didn't think about till now… The fucking timeline is fucked! Like, everything happens one after the other. I completely spaced this until I actually put my mind to it… God, there is no breaks man… Fuck it, I will just have to be sufficiently leveled by then… Cool.

Besides writing down the timeline, I also made a list of all the gods that I can remember from the anime and Light novel and made some small notes about their stories back on Earth, gods my old major from Earth is finally giving me something ha-ha. I honestly don't know if it will matter, but it will be handy to have some info at least, and who knows, it might give me some blackmail, especially for Loki!

Getting slightly back on the topic of my after-class schedule, hanging out with Alice was still pretty much the same, other than being able to help her out a bit more since I am a little bit older. I do not help her as much around her farm as I used to, since she does most of her work in the morning, but I do the best I can when I get there! When there isn't a whole lot to do around her farm, we usually just hang out around the village or her farm. It is mostly just us talking about our day and what happened throughout the day, but sometimes I help her cook or we go over our lessons from earlier that morning. Out of the three of my friends, Alice's friendship is the one I treasure the most, as it feels like she is my actual older sister with the way she treats me. As somebody who was an only child for a while, it was nice to have that older figure to look up to. Don't get me wrong, I love and respect Oghren and Welby as well, but our friendships are more of an actual friendship and mentors rather than an artificially made familial bond. Alice and I have gotten so close that my mother and father have also begun to grow close to her, going so far as inviting her somewhat regularly to dinner, as well as Alice joining in on my morning lessons. Alice had a very basic knowledge of common and mathematics, as the education in the DanMachi universe was very basic for most villagers not near Orario. So after hearing that, I had asked my parents if she could join, and they had happily agreed. Alice learns more about reading and writing, with the occasional mathematics lesson. It was nice to have someone else learning beside me, as it provided opportunities for both of us to learn from one another.

When the time reached around evening, I would go back to my family where I would help prepare dinner with my parents and occasionally Alice. After dinner, we would spend time as a family with the very occasional and brief history lesson at the end. It was mostly focused on the elves, but I would hang on to every word they said, as I had little to no knowledge about the history of the world I now lived in. I was a little upset with the amount that they taught and the time between each brief interaction, but I couldn't complain since they were both putting so much of their time into my education. The only good thing about the rare history lessons was that they almost seemed like a small treat when they were told. gods, I sound like a nerd that I look forward to history lessons but fuck off, that's just who I am and was, and will be! After that, I would go to bed and start the routine all over again. This schedule has continued the rest of the week, with me having the weekends to myself, where I would usually travel the outskirts of the village or join my friends by either working with them or just relaxing with them.

Something that I thought was important that I learned somewhat recently during one of my free weekends is the religious belief of the village. For starters, with the actual existence of the gods, prayers were a common occurrence with most families, with most prayers being spoken being short, simple, and not targeting any specific God. Most prayers could be heard coming from households during mealtimes, but they were also used during times of prosperity or troubled times. In correlation to the religious beliefs and practices of the village was the general kindness that most of the villagers gave to one another. A few years earlier I had noticed the direct kindness towards myself and my parents thinking it was only our family that was given this kindness, but as I have observed more of the village and those in it, that belief was changed. Instead of just my family, almost all of the villagers treated one another with kindness or at the barest minimum spoke with kind words to each other. I found this observation a little strange since even in the most generous places back on Earth, kindness was never usually directed towards everybody. When I asked my parents about my observation, they explained that it had to do with the religious beliefs of the village, the limited misfortunes of the area, as well as the general kindness of the villagers. The first reasoning was because of the existence of the gods as well the known afterlife, reincarnation, the concept of death, and religion were almost non-existent in the world, thus leading towards a brighter outlook in life. A life dedicated towards one's goals, interests, and happiness, which somewhat explains the number of adventures in Orario and their willingness to traverse dangers for glory. I didn't fully understand everything they had to say on that topic since I had a different experience from them, but it sounds like a nice concept when it works. The other two reasons were pretty self-explanatory, with little to no tragedies, thanks to a multitude of factors, will make any place happier. Knowing everyone in the village for multiple generations is also a big factor in the whole kindness factor so maybe my observation and questions were less inquisitive than I thought.

While the question of the village's kindness was most likely redundant, the answer of religious beliefs and practices was very interesting to me for a variety of reasons, so I continued with that line of questions by asking my parents their religious identity. They were a bit surprised by my bluntness on the topic as well as the actual question, but they answered all the same. My parents believe in a combination of the Elvish beliefs as well as the common belief held by the majority of the world. They explained that the Elves believed in the magic and spirits of nature before the descent of the gods, the decent as well as the concept of reincarnation slightly disproved their beliefs. Not only did this cause a rift between the elves and the gods, but the 'human' attitudes and personalities of the gods were something they also found displeasing of these so-called gods. For these two reasons, many high elves do not have a positive relationship with the gods, with the high elves and their territories actively avoiding the gods. Although most elves do not follow that belief, most of those in said territories were encouraged to stay in the region, which could explain the limited number of elves in Orario and the village. My parents on the other hand believed the gods to be powerful, but not omnipotent or all-knowing since they descended from Heaven for their enjoyment. They believe that most of them should be respected but not worshiped, as the ones in Heaven were the ones organizing our souls. They also believed that respecting nature is important as the world and all of its bounties are the only reasons we can live prosperously. The existence of spirits, especially those directly related to the elements and nature. As they explained their beliefs, I would unconsciously nod my head to their reasonings for their belief. Honestly, it made a lot of sense, and I couldn't really see any holes in their logic. I don't think I would 'convert' to their beliefs anytime soon, seeing as my existence and the knowledge of Steve was probably a big ambiguity in their current beliefs. I honestly have no idea what I should be believing in anymore, with the existence of Steve, and my current universe, I was in a slight conundrum… I think I'll probably stick to being agnostic for the foreseeable future as my religious preference was not something important… Don't smite me, Steve!

-Day 3,080 (Year 8 and a couple of months)

Again, two years have passed by like a flash with me continuously living life day by day. We have done this a few times already, so you know what to expect by now. For starters, earlier this year I finally asked/told my family that I planned to become an adventurer and will be going to Orario when I finally reach the age of ten. I didn't know what to expect when I told them, but I was very much surprised by their reluctant acceptance. That's not to say that they weren't upset by the drastic request, as my mother held back tears when she gave me her blessing while my father held her stoically, only nodding to my request. I felt bad at hurting them, but I couldn't continue living the life of a normal villager. I was originally put here because of my want for adventure and excitement, as well as providing excitement to Steve and the rest of the ethereal beings. That's not to say I owe them anything, but I should try and live up to the person they at least helped me become.

After asking and earning their blessings, I left our house to give them some time to let their emotions return from the shock, and to let them fully express their sadness and possible disdain at my request. I was gone for the rest of the day, visiting all three of my friends and letting them know my decision and the inevitable outcome I will be taking in the next few years.

Welby took it the best as he had guessed that I would eventually become an adventurer judging by the attention I had given to all his stories and life lessons. He was shocked by the date I had planned on leaving but seeing the level of maturity I had within me lessened his shock. He gave me congratulations for the decision and reminded me not to skip out on work since I wasn't leaving yet. I only gave him a small smile before telling him I would be there tomorrow to help. With that, Oghren was next, and I had assumed his reaction would be somewhat similar to Welby's or maybe to a lesser extent of not caring that much that I would be leaving, but man was I wrong.

When I first entered his smithy, Oghren was hammering away at what looked like a hoe for one of the many farmers of the village. He hadn't said anything when I entered but as I got closer he began to give demands on what he needed next for the hoe. Without batting an eye, I followed his demands and helped him for around thirty minutes before I began to tell him what I had done. At the moment of telling him of my leaving in the next two to three years, he had completely missed the hoe with his hammer, sending a large tremor through his arm at the impact. He began to curse in Dwarvish at the pain of the impact before suddenly turning around from his work to stare at me with misty eyes. "Say it ain't true boy, you're pulling my leg lad?" I gave a small shake to my head, surprised at the blatant grief showing in Oghren's face. At the shake of my head, tears began to pour down his face and into his beard as he tried in vain to cover it up. With the tears not stopping any time soon, Oghren tried pushing me out of his smithy, crying and now switching to cursing in Elvish as tried in vain to push me out, but his strength was all but gone with the emergence of his tears. Seeing as he had still had yet to move me an inch, I gave him a brief hug, tears slowly falling from my eyes as Oghren finally admitted defeat and stopped trying to push me, arms dropping to his sides and remaining motionless at my contact. I tried to reassure him as I continued to hug him, but he remained motionless and unresponsive. After a few minutes of this, I decided to leave and let Oghren process his grief. I unclasped myself from the old dwarf and moved the practically finished hoe to a safe spot before leaving the smithy, tears slightly falling from my face as I closed the door.

After that, I took some time to myself before I confronted Alice as I wasn't in the right headspace to talk to anyone for a little while after that. Who knew that Oghren cared about me that much… Hopefully he can forgive me, I would hate to have the next few years without him… After maybe an hour I went to Alice to break the news. I was extremely worried since Alice, and I are practically family. As I approached her house I grew more and more nervous, so much so that I was stuck at the front door. I don't know how long I was standing there, but enough time had passed that the door had opened from the other side, with Alice looking at me strangely from her home. She had given me a small smile before she beckoned me inside. It took a few seconds for me to hype myself up enough to enter, but as I did Alice was there, sitting down on one of the chairs surrounding her dining table. She once again beckoned me into a chair near her, and once again I followed after a few seconds. As I sat down and faced Alice, my mouth became dry at the words I wanted to say to her. My mouth opened, but no words came out, all the while Alice continued to give me a small smile. Just as I gained the necessary bravery to speak, Alice spoke up and brought my mind to a standstill. "I know that you plan to go to Orario and become an adventurer in the next couple of years."

I had given her a quizzical look at her comment before she spoke again, "I went to visit you and your parents, and they told me what you planned to do. I may not fully understand it, or fully accept you leaving everyone, but I can't or won't stop you." A small frown graced her face as she spoke, especially when she brought up me leaving, but at the end of her sentence, she gave me a bright smile while small tears began to trickle down her face. Tears once again sprang from my eyes as I rushed over to her and embraced her as I spoke, "Thank you."

I won't go into too many details but suffice to say I was upset about the whole situation, especially making two of my best friends cry at my expense. I wasn't going to change my plans, but I vowed then and there, that I would spend as much time with my three friends and family as much as possible. I also vowed that I would try my best to visit everyone at least once per year when I fully integrate as an adventurer… Maybe I could even hire the Hermes familia or another messenger family to send letters… That would have to wait until I got there, and that wasn't until the future, and I needed to think in the now.

After Alice helped my blubbering ass home where I once again became a crying mess as my parents, and I hugged and cried about the future. Call me a cry baby all you want, shit was sad! After that day, I began to work twice as hard as before in my studies and physical activities!

With me being slightly older I was now able to do slightly more strenuous activities, with my fathering upping the amount of exercise I did while I shadowed him, as well as actively participating in his patrols in the forest. Although I had yet to hunt any game, I did get to watch my father and other hunters bring down animals and the occasional monster. My father and the other hunters of the villagers would give me tips and knowledge while they hunted, and while the monsters in the forest were very weak in comparison to the dungeon to my knowledge, it was still amazing to see people take down a living, breathing monsters.

My shadowing of my mother couldn't really become that much more difficult, but I was now making very weak salves and potions with her supervision. Although my mom continued to help me study as well as provide me support for my future, I could tell that she was still not happy about my choices as I sometimes glimpse the brief looks of sadness from her when she thinks I'm not looking. It hurt every time I saw it, but it also made me work even harder as I never wanted her to go through her life without me. I needed to be the best so that I can always come home!

My magic practice is still ongoing, with the speed at which I could speak my chant being around the same as before. The duration that I could keep the magic going has tripled in the two years, as well as unlocking the ability to take the sense of taste from others! Although I could only take away the sense from one person at a time, as well as it only lasting an hour at the best of times, it was fucking progress! I don't know what caused it or when, but one moment I was speaking my chant and accidentally touched Alice at the end of the chant. I hadn't noticed any difference seeing as I hadn't eaten anything yet, but once Alice tried snaking on an apple after one of our lessons she had freaked out at the non-existing taste of her apple. After a bizarre look at the apple as well as multiple bites with the same expression doubling every time, I had put two and two together. I let out a cheer of triumph as I stood up and danced in place at the evolution of my magic. Alice once again gave a queer expression, but this time at my expense, which I quickly stopped once I saw it. I quickly canceled my magic and gave a very brief explanation to Alice, who congratulated me even if she didn't fully understand the full concept.

After that day, I regularly used my magic on others, and only those that agreed as well as the occasional animal I could touch. I learned that I always have to touch somebody to take away their sense of taste, and it only affects one person at a time, not including myself. I can keep the magic going on myself and one other, but the Mind drain is a lot! I also don't need to say the whole chant when I already have it activated on myself, with me only having to say the last sentence of the magic before it takes effect. The magic also can only stay in effect if I am somewhat nearby, usually around 100 feet, give or take a foot or two since I don't have a tape measure. The farther they are the harder it is to keep the magic in effect. Again, it's not much but gods damn its fucking progress.

The last impacting incident that occurred was my relationship with Oghren and my duties at his blacksmith and Welby's store. For starters, Oghren refused to talk to me for almost two months after our talk about me leaving! At first, he would tear up every time I tried to talk to him or help him out at his smithy, but after a few days of this, he began to slowly become withdrawn and ignored my visits whenever possible. After weeks of this, I began to grow worried that I had lost one of my only friends. With that thought in my head, I stopped trying since my visits only seemed to make him more annoyed, and since I was the one to cause this I decided that the best thing for Oghren was for me to just stop, and so I did. For two more weeks, I barely saw or heard of Oghren as I busied myself so that I didn't have to think about my friend.

After the end of the second month of no talking, where I was just about to leave my house to help/work with Welby, I heard a knock at my door. My mother answered the door, with me peering out curiously seeing as my parents weren't expecting anybody today, with the surprise visitor possibly being a hurt villager for my mother. To my mother's and my surprise, it was Oghren twiddling one of his many beard braids as he gazed at the ground. I was a bit too surprised to say anything, but my mom gave Oghren a bright smile as they both greeted one another, with her inviting Oghren in for some tea. My mother and I stepped to the side to let him in, with me sticking to my mother's side as I was slightly embarrassed about the situation. As Oghren walked in the house, our gazes met, and a look of awkwardness was also apparent in his expression. My mother, oblivious to both of our embarrassment or, when I think back to the situation, was probably blatantly ignoring it for our sakes.

All three of us ended up at the dining table, with my mother asking me to keep Oghren company as she prepared the tea in the kitchen. Mortified at being told to do such a task, I almost let out a complaint at her words, but at a somewhat seething glare at my mother, I obliged. Oghren didn't look any better, but seeing my mother's glare at me, he hurriedly sat down with me. My mother smiled at both of us sitting down before she walked into the kitchen to make the tea. After she had left, it was extremely awkward as Oghren, and I tried to avoid each other's gaze. On multiple occasions, we would both try and say something to the other, but nothing would come out of our mouths, and once again we would remain in silence.

Just before I thought I would die of embarrassment, Oghren finally spoke up, and to my surprise, it was an apology. I immediately looked to Oghren as he continued his apology, with much of it involving his immature attitude as well as his reaction towards my plan. Much of his apology had many Dwarvish and Elvish swears intermingled into the apology as he tried to come up with the right words to properly express himself. Each time an Elvish swear came from his mouth, a small clang could be heard coming from the kitchen, which I later learned was my mother trying not to reprimand Oghren during his apology.

After Oghren finished his apology with a large sigh of satisfaction, he met my gaze, waiting for my response. For a few seconds, I didn't know what to say to such an apology, and not just because of the vulgarity. After a few seconds of me trying and failing to put my jumbled thoughts into speech, I finally got the words I needed said out loud, with the first words also being an apology. I apologized for the suddenness of my decision as well as the way I approached it with him and for me not taking his feelings into account. Oghren was just as surprised to hear an apology as I was, but after we had both finished our apologies, we hugged it out, with promises to one another that we would cherish the time we had together, as well as promising letters and the occasional visit.

From the kitchen, my mother held two cold cups of teas she smiled at the both of us hugging.

After that, I once again began to work with Oghren, with me now helping Oghren side by side on many of his jobs. I couldn't hammer anything seeing as my strength was pitiful, but I could hold it down or douse it in water. It was hard work but rewarding all the same. I earned a higher wage as well as being able to practice on the very rare weapon Oghren had to repair, or commission.

As for Welby's shop, I would usually do the same tasks I would do before, while occasionally manning the counter when Welby was away. The new affairs that came with my declaration of wanting to be an adventure were tips and training that focused on survivability in the dungeon. Welby told me much about the first floors of the dungeon, with me taking multiple notes on the subjects. He also gave me tips on combating those that were the same height as myself or larger, seeing as I was around the same height as him, and would still be slightly shorter than most monsters when I go to Orario. Welby never sparred with me, but he did give me good pointers instances as well as practicing the motions of attacking. His teachings were invaluable and would help me for the rest of my goals.

Aside from those events, my life is much the same as it was before, with the date of me leaving coming closer and closer to the day I finally start the true adventure!

Well, there it is. It took me a bit but it is a lot nicer than when I originally wrote it a while ago. I originally had Alice being sad, but I thought it would be nice to have more development in Orghren and the OC's relationship since Alice already had a good portion.

How did you like the chant? Took me a while to come up with it, but I think it could be better. Any ideas?

If some of you haven't noticed, I make specific connections towards religion, gods, and mythos pretty often, and will be a common occurrence in the future of the story. I just wanted to give reasoning why, as well as the reasoning behind the character knowing so much about Mythology in the future. I have a Bachelor's in Religion and Mythology so almost all the references I have made or will make are my knowledge. So, that's the reason I may double down on religious, mythology, or similar texts. Sorry in advance, but it's what I enjoy so I will be pulling it into the story, and what better fanfiction than one where there is a multitude of gods lol.

The next chapter will be after my other story, so might not hear from me for a bit. Will try my best…