[Congratulations! CHR Tree Has Been Unlocked!]

[2 Quests Completed!]

[Climb The Mountain!]

[Fall In Love!]

Rewards:

1000 XP

Lesser Life Potion x4 [INVENTORY]

Lesser Magic Potion x6 [INVENTORY]

Silver Coin x20 [INVENTORY]

Lovers Necklace x2 [Unequipped]

Unfortunately, The Link Is Unavailable!

[Main Quest Active!]

[Reach the Bladembel Kingdom!]

[4,712 m]

16 Minutes Later…

After their encounter, 'Hina' tagged along with Izuku back to the Kingdom. For most of their descent down the mountain, Izuku would casually mention his troubles traveling to it, and how he had "g-got lost behind a massive pond!" And how he had to go around it; he thought it wiser to not enter the unknown waters. As it turned out, he was more than right to trust his instinct, as Hina had explained to him that the pond was filled to the brim, "with some of the most potent Dead-Water. It's known for sapping those who enter it from their magic, and then their life force, which in turn feeds the water's beauty. After this revelation, Izuku shivered, himself catching the attention of Hina. Shortly after, she asked if he wanted to stop and warm up—only to remember that he probably wasn't cold. Despite this, they rested under an entanglement of vines and trees. Silence pursued during the break, but the noise soon came back as they got on track. It was now that Izuku began to clear up the misconception about his origins to Hina—he mentioned his age too, ending up with even more information about her in return. She was also his age, and her birthday wouldn't be too long from now.

"Oh," Hina sighed, "sorry for assuming that you were enrolled in Sentaba—your uniform resembles the school's daily-ware, so, I assumed you went there; not to mention that you've unlocked an element for ice, like me; doesn't usually come naturally to most commoners. That's my fault—"

"N-no!" Izuku denied, "i-it's not your f-fault at all… b-besides, I kind of showed up out of nowhere, and I didn't really deny your accusation earlier, so i-it's m-my fault, really."

A small silence ensued.

"So, if you didn't attend Sentaba, then what school did you go to? Was it Demara, or maybe ElderHold?"

Izuku came to a pause, but didn't stop walking—

"I, uh, never actually attended any of the schools here in Bladelbem, nor any of the other Kingdoms," he replied. He'd assumed that there were more nationalities amongst the world, and he would be surprised if stood incorrectly. Despite his lack of knowledge about the world, common sense never hurt anybody.

Hina seemed to choke a little on the air surrounding them, staring at him inquisitively. "You're saying you've never attended any of the mage schools in Merildek?" she asked, her voice filled with surprise. Izuku turned to look at her, his hands gesturing quickly.

"N-no," he breathed hesitantly, "i-is that a bad thing—?"

"Not as far as I'm concerned… however, most of those that have even honed an element have forgone some form of Magical academic training. It's just surprising, really… unless you are a spy sent by the N-allë!" she laughed, playfully reaching for her rapier.

Maybe Izuku didn't understand the joke at play, but he followed along anyway. He'd do anything to keep himself away from that thing again. None-the-less, he laughed awkwardly but hadn't quite set-off the mood. Looking up, Izuku swiped his hands, causing a bundle of screens to make themselves known to him. He checked the map.

[4,512 m]

There wasn't a lot of progress, but they were getting somewhere. Had they not taken that fifteen-minute break, they would've been, statistically speaking, around [3218.69 m] away from the Kingdom Bladelbem. It was a surprise to Izuku to find out that, in fact, he would be taking the lead in their departure towards the kingdom. He probably should've mentioned that he had actually never really been to the Kingdom before, but that was not an option anymore. It had been scribbled out in the first few minutes of meeting Hina.

"It's impressive, Izuku."

[Relationships Menu Has Been Unlocked! See The Menu To Track Your Relationships]

Her voice echoed in his ears. Izuku ignored the blaring screen. Maybe it would've been a good idea to inform him that last names were not a priority or a custom in Merildek—because every Daedra in existence knows how socially deprived this kid was… not to mention his lack of practically everything else, too. He did a retake, his cheeks turning red. The only person to ever actually say his name was his mother, so to hear a girl his age call him out so suddenly? His heart was having trouble keeping up. Is this how it felt to have a quirk!?

"W-w-w-w-what w-was that?"

" Hm? " Hina hummed. " I just said that it was impressive?" her hands seemed to mesh together as she leaned forwards, reconnecting eye contact with Izuku who had tried to look away. "It's no small feat to hone into an elemental power without the help of those with prior experience. Some of the best students at my school needed Grimoirs to even get started," she remarked, saying it as though it was common knowledge. A sigh left her mouth as she finished, "I wish I could afford one of those things. Maybe I could finally learn how to obtain another element other than ice"

To this, Izuku's head tilted. He had heard of Grimoires once before in a fantasy movie but hadn't thought too much about them. As far as he knew, Grimoires carried magical knowledge that could be obtained upon instant use. And, least importantly, how much did they cost? Were they worth that much? Before Izuku could determine the answer, she continued.

"—well, I guess that's why I'm aiming for Yueei in the first place."

Izuku gagged, nearly falling over, only to be caught by a long stick that Hina had been toying around with since they took that break. Was he still on his planet? He wondered. Hina gently, yet strongly, lifted him back to his feet, having to catch him twice when he fell a second time, not entirely balanced out yet. The girl seemed to smile at him because of this.

"I—I know it's a big dream, and all, but you don't have to go falling over! Besides, I'm in the peek of my classes—well, my magic prowess could always be better, but my ability, 'Sword Magic' makes up for that disadvantage." She let out a small chuckle, covering her mouth a little. She continued down the path as Izuku began to question her, still failing to notice the branches and rocks under his feet as he tripped again and again.

"Y-you're g-going to Yueei?" He asked, his eyes turning into half stars and half question marks.

"Yeah! Well, I really just want to join for the money, and not the army… I-I know it's a pretty trashy way of thinking, but I'm the only person in my school who hasn't learned more than two elements, and..." her voice slowly drifted off, and Izuku looked towards her rapier. It was always covered in ice, he realized. Cool…

"Are you okay?" Izuku asked, his voice steady and calm. The girl perked up, blushing, "yeah, I'm good! Just, concerned, you know?"

Izuku nodded. He understood, too. Before this quirk of his Not A Quirk! showed up, he had no hope of actually becoming a hero. He certainly dreamed of becoming one, but there wasn't any realistic way that he could become a hero. He had once tried to apply himself with electronics, realizing he was natural at electrical engineering but had later found out that he was lacking in funding to make anything that could help him. He also hadn't known who Mei was.

Sympathy filled Izuku as he locked his forest-blue eyes onto her gray-frozen ones. This brought forth a reaction from Hina, making her falter ever so slightly under his gaze. Her heart began to race, strangely enough… 'W-what's this feeling…' Hina wondered curiously, familiar to the feeling. She got that feeling whenever she spectated the Royal Battles, or when she was surrounded by the Ranks of the Kingdom. They're the coolest.

New Skill Unlocked: Comforting Gaze lvl.1 [Active]

Instead of having to open the screen, Izuku simply looked at the tab at the bottom, reading the top portion. He'd have to read about it later, but now he knew why she made those strange movements.

"S-sorry for staring!" he yelped.

The conversation continued. And for the next hour, for one minute of every twenty minutes, Hina looked at him, and she eased in a little more. She always considered herself as the more sociable person at Sentaba, but she was treated differently. She was typically treated as either a queen to the school for her outstanding swordsmanship or she was treated like an animal because of her lack of elemental control.

Izuku was one of the first few people she met outside of the Bladelbem Kingdom that didn't seem to care about her elemental flaws, or wasn't a spy . In Merildek, to be a student in magical arts without a variety of magic was considered a major flaw. Both Izuku and Hina found themselves in the same boat; they just didn't know it yet.

It turns out that, despite Izuku's realistic prediction, he actually had been "transferred" to another world. The meaning of this power scared him, but he didn't feel like wondering about it too much. Besides, he couldn't really get himself together in the first place! So much was going on!

[Comforting Gaze Leveled Up!] [Active]

[533.11 m]

"Would you like to take another break? I mean, we're not too far from Bladelbem, but you can rest up a bit if you want," Hina stopped, gesturing to a nearby rock and log for them to brood around. Izuku slowly nodded, gazing at her before taking a seat on the mossy log, and stretching his legs. He let out a much-needed groan as he felt his muscles pop and whir. He began to stir, taking a moment to check his abilities and stats. He became easily addicted to the swishing and swooshing of the screens in front of him. Joy filled his being.

'Progress Report,' Izuku thought; his quirk flared to life, and a bundle of notifications appeared before him. He was surprised to see a new screen, too, which showed his clothes.

Armor:

[Helmet] Nothing

[Chest] School Uniform [Equipped]

+1 Note Taking

+1 AGI

[Leggings] School Uniform [Equipped]

Nothing

[Shoes] School Uniform [Equipped]

+1 DEX

[ACCESSORIES] Lovers Necklace, Explorer's Ring

[Lovers Necklace] +5 Charisma [Equip? Y/N]

Izuku turned his back to Hina, pretending to stretch his back as he accepted the Necklace—Only one of them appeared on his body, fading into existence—Hina failed to notice, and Izuku turned back around.

STR: 7

INT: 21

DEX: 9 {+1} 10

VIT: 8

AGI: 8 {+1} 9

WIS: 12

CHR: 5 {+5} 10

LUK: 6

Exp: 88.7% 2750/3100

He had leveled up quite a bit on his journey, and he was almost to his next level of progression. He checked his exp bar and smiled slightly. Just a little further, and Izuku would level up to 4. The rewards were different for each level, he read in the handbook, so curiosity got the best of him for the entirety of their small break. The one thing bringing him out of his stupor being Hina.

"Are you ready to go?" She asked subtly.

Izuku nodded, a little anxious as they returned to the path, eventually treading onto a large patch of gravel road that leads in all directions. It was also apparent to him that each one lead into the forests. Izuku was still amazed by the beauty of the Kingdom in front of him.

"Oh, since you're new here, you're gonna need to sign up a populace contract at the gates. But, don't worry about that! The fine is only around a silver or so every month."

Izuku turned at this. As far as he knew, silver wasn't too much but also had a large value. The currency was all jumbled to him; it'd probably be his next shower thought. "I-I mean, I have the coin ," Izuku learned to say, "but, I don't really have a job—"

"I thought you'd never ask!"