Ashen stormed into his apartment, clearly furious. His expression said it all, he was angry, though not at himself.
His anger was directed at that fool online, the one who thought it was a good idea to reveal everything about magic and skill abilities on a public social platform of all places.
The worst part? It hadn't even been twenty-four hours since their summoning, and already someone had decided to make it public news.
"A good thing his viewers don't believe him," Ashen muttered through clenched teeth.
But deep down, he knew that wouldn't last forever. How long before they stopped doubting? What would happen when that guy started showing something more than a small fire trick?
What if he started flying through the sky?
What if he summoned lightning?
Or worse, froze an entire ocean?
With skill slots, all of those things were possible. Completely doable.
And when people saw that, what would they think then?
It wouldn't take long before the rest of the world started believing. And the government… Ashen didn't even want to imagine what they'd do with that kind of knowledge. Governments never ignored power, especially supernatural ones.
"I should be celebrating the fact that our skills actually work in this world," he said bitterly. "But instead, I'm stuck babysitting idiots."
He rubbed his face and sighed. It hadn't even crossed his mind before that their experiences in Thyrennor could carry over to Earth. Not just mentally, but physically too.
And that statement from the guy about filling a skill slot with the knowledge of fire to gain the Fire Element. That made Ashen pause.
He had to try it.
He made his way to his room, threw himself on the bed, and stared at the ceiling for a moment. His dad wouldn't be home until late at night, so he had plenty of time to work with.
Closing his eyes, he focused. He willed himself to sleep.
When he opened his eyes again, he was no longer in his room.
He was back in the hut, lying on the floor, the quiet interior dim and empty.
Ashen slowly sat up, looking around. There was no sign of Gaius.
He pushed himself to his feet and walked outside, only to find the old man sitting near the front of the hut, resting against a wooden post.
Not that it was surprising. Gaius was old, too old to do much besides sit around, enjoy the weather, and rest his aching bones.
"Ya finally awake," the old man said without looking up.
"Good morning to you too, old man," Ashen replied with a teasing smile, matching Gaius's grumpy tone with a friendly one.
"Morning?" Gaius barked. "It's already afternoon, ya fool. Ya sleep like a demon! I tried waking ya up, but ya refused to move an inch!"
Ashen scratched his head awkwardly.
Gaius sighed, shaking his head. "Thought ya were dead for a moment there. If your chest wasn't moving, I'd have buried ya already."
Ashen's face went pale. "Wait, what?"
The old man continued, completely serious. "Aye. If ya had slept any longer, I would've called the villagers. A crowd would've gathered, and before long, we'd have dug ya grave."
Ashen gulped hard at the thought. "Let me make this clear, old man," he said quickly. "I have a sleeping condition. I can sleep for hours, maybe even a full day, but that doesn't mean I'm dead. So if I ever don't wake up right away, don't start planning my funeral."
He sighed, rubbing his temple. "When I want to wake up, I will. Just… don't panic next time."
Ashen realized this was important to clarify. Logging out of this world meant his body here looked like it was sleeping, maybe even dead. If he was going to keep traveling between Earth and Thyrennor, he had to make sure Gaius didn't mistake him for a corpse one day.
Balancing two worlds wasn't going to be easy. He had to keep track of time here and on Earth, making sure he didn't draw suspicion in either one.
At least on Earth, he was relatively safe. His dad never came home early, and even when he did, he rarely checked on Ashen. The two barely spoke except in the mornings before school. That was their only moment of contact, and even that felt mechanical.
Still, it gave Ashen freedom. He could log into Thyrennor as much as he needed, as long as he managed his time carefully.
First, he had to focus on saving this world. Then, deal with that reckless fool who decided to show off on camera. And now, apparently, he had to worry about not getting buried alive because he was mistaken for a corpse.
For someone his age, Ashen had far too many problems on his plate.
"I heard ya, kid," Gaius said suddenly, snapping him out of thought. "Now go get ready. We're going hunting."
"Uh…" Ashen blinked. "What?"
"Ya heard me. Hunting."
Ashen's mouth fell open. "Wait, wait, wait. Hunting?! That wasn't part of our deal! Errands, cooking, cleaning, sure. But you never said anything about hunting."
He crossed his arms, annoyed. He live in a world where hunting's not even necessary. People go to the supermarket, not the forest.
Gaius frowned, tapping his cane on the ground. "Ya fool. How do ya expect to cook if ya don't have anything to cook?"
Ashen stared at him, speechless.
"Food doesn't just appear outta thin air," Gaius continued, slowly pushing himself up with effort. "If ya want meat, ya go hunt it. If ya want to eat, ya work for it."
He pointed a wrinkled finger toward the inside of the hut. "Now stop complaining and fetch the bow and knife. We're losing daylight."
The old man's voice echoed with finality. There was no changing his mind.
Ashen groaned and muttered under his breath, "You want hunting, old man? Fine. I'll give you hunting."
He had no idea how to hunt. Not a single clue.
Still, how hard could it be?
Probably harder than he thought, but hey it's not like the old man is giving him much of an option to work with here.
He needed a place to crash in this world, much as he needed to start learning things.
So if hunting was going to be his first lesson?... Why not.