At the break of dawn, Ian and Gaelan headed back through the portal and arrived in the dank caverns within Mount Sacris. Of course, Ian made coffee before leaving to avoid the possibility of a caffeine headache. The two of them exited the cave and traversed down the mountainside. The rising sun cast warm beams of light across the sky, …

Noticing Ian’s odd behavior despite only knowing him for a few days, Gaelan raised a brow. He had the feeling that quite a lot had transpired between these two young people in the past; a feeling that turned out to be on the mark. “How have you been?” Lauren asked, smiling gently in spite of the awkward air between them. …

“What kind of reaction is that?” Alayna asked, clearly offended, or perhaps pretending to be. “Uh… nothing?” Ian hesitantly replied, averting his gaze. In response, Alayna glared at him. The short bickering between siblings caused Gaelan to chuckle. Then, Ian looked at Gaelan and, in an attempt to change the subject, said, “Yeah, so, let’s go get that stuff I …

“What is wrong with these people?” Ian muttered while using a towel to soak up the water that spewed from his mouth earlier. The previous News announcement left him fairly dumbfounded. Apparently, the radicals of the Nature Purist movement had gained enough influence to get national laws put in place for their beliefs. Something about it did not sit right …

The late summer sun kissed the horizon when Ian finally found the cave from which he originally arrived in this world. Finding it proved more difficult than he initially anticipated. His ears rang due to the number of lame jokes Gaelan cracked over the past few hours. “You know, you probably should have marked the entrance since there aren’t any …

The cooing of roosters woke Ian just before sunrise. Although he knew about them before, today was the first time the noisy creatures actually woke him up. Considering he lived in the city his whole life, the boisterous animals surprised him. Forcing himself to sit up, he groaned due to his sore muscles. The previous night, while waiting for his …

After the first lesson with Aria, Ian realized learning Common would be easier than he initially anticipated, especially since he could follow Aria’s teaching without breaking a sweat. Every once in a while she would get distracted and follow bunny trails, but for the most part, it went surprisingly well. Since Aria needed to go to the Visitor Center around …

The same old high-pitched ringtone startled Ian from his sleep. At first, he kept his eyes screwed shut due to the annoyingly bright light filtering through the window above his bed. Even so, he shut off the alarm out of habit. Eh? I never leave my blinds open… Ian thought. Oh, right, I’m in someone else’s home. Realizing he lay …

When the middle-aged man returned, Ian had only finished checking out a few of the items in the smithy. Not much time had passed, right? Without a doubt, this old guy was beyond fast. “I’m back. Thanks for waiting,” the man said. In his right hand, he held a piece of yellowish paper. “No problem,” Ian replied, his hazel-colored eyes …

Walking at a brisk pace, Ian made good time on the way to the last smithy mentioned by Aria, though not without bumping into a few people in the most crowded areas. However, due to a long day of constantly traveling on cobblestone road while weighed down by a fifteen-kilogram backpack, his feet burned with soreness. As a result, he …