"Where am I?" Shawn wondered when he opened his eyes and found out he was lost in the middle of nowhere. It was a place he had never been; it wasn't familiar at all, and everything seemed different.

"What's going on here?" he asked again, seeing dust floating with the wind, creating a tornado. "What the hell? Is this a joke?" He screamed in shock and ran as the tornado became greater than he anticipated.

"Stop!" An unfamiliar girl, wearing a lilac shirt and pants, shouted at him. She had long, straight black hair and violet eyes that were sharp as daggers. She moved swiftly towards him and asked, "What are you doing here, stranger?"

"Stranger?" Shawn replied in a curious tone. "I don't know; I don't know what I am doing here. Am I not dead yet? Aren't you an angel fallen from heaven?" He lightly scratched his head and smiled like this was a joke before saying, "I think I'm lost."

"What are you talking about? Of course you're lost; you might have been from another kingdom, because you look really different with what you're wearing," she added. She studied him, scrutinizing every detail of his entire figure from head to toe as if she were undressing him.

Shawn glanced at his arms and legs. He noticed that he was wearing the same clothes before the accident—a pair of dark navy blue denim jeans and a grey shirt that exactly matched the stormy shade of his eyes. But he knew it wasn't time to think about that because another danger was coming.

"There's no time to chitchat. There's a huge tornado there, so we should evacuate," Shawn informed hurriedly, pointing at the tornado.

"Wait! What? A tornado?" She asked in a surprised tone. "If I'm not mistaken, it's my brother again. He keeps practicing to control his magic, but it always ends up in trouble."

"Your brother?" Shawn furrowed his forehead, showing a confused face. "You mean he created that tornado? Are you serious?"

"Probably. Let me fix what he's done first. He's just a kid, and he doesn't know what he's doing," she replied.

Shawn watched the girl carefully walk towards the vortex of violent, rotating winds. Then, he heard her chant a spell that made it stop swirling, and a young boy jumped from above.

"Stop making trouble again, Ash!" she scolded the boy, who looked similar to her with his short, black hair and violet eyes. "You might hurt innocent people with what you're doing!"

"I'm sorry, sis. I just want to train to control my power so that I can protect you and myself from harm. My playmates always bully me because I can't control my magic, unlike them," the boy said in a sad tone.

A boy who could produce a tornado? How was that even possible? Shawn wondered, holding his chin, and curiosity appeared on his face. Everything was unbelievable, and he couldn't even understand what was happening.

"Well, you don't have to overdo yourself because you're destroying the surroundings, and you can't protect us if you get hurt too," she advised. "Come on, let's go back."

"Wait, sister. Who's that boy?" Ash pointed at Shawn, who was still confused about what happened.

"Oh right. I saw him running a while ago; he was the one who told me you were here," she told her brother while approaching Shawn. "Hi! I'm Ava, and this is my brother, Ash."

"Hi, sir, my sister is beautiful, right?" Ash happily asked. "She's also good at combat; you might be interested in her. By the way, she's single, but—"

"Shut up, Ash." Ava covered her brother's lips with her palm. "You don't have to tell him everything. Don't forget that he's still a stranger, and we don't even know his name," she reminded him.

"I'm Shawn, Shawn Pendragon, from Earth," Shawn simply said.

"From Earth?" Ash asked. "Is there a kingdom called Earth? Is it very far away? Is it beautiful?"

"Shut up, Ash. Play with your friends," Ava ordered.

Ash shrugged and turned to leave. He wondered why his sister was so strict and overprotective. He just wanted to talk with Shawn, but why wouldn't she let him?

"I've been in this world for almost eighteen thousand years, but I haven't ever heard of a kingdom called Earth. You might be a spy from the Fire kingdom, and you're just lying to us." Ava's hunch grew stronger as she unsheathed her sword and prepared for a battle.

However, Shawn stood still, wondering if he just misunderstood what she said about living for almost eighteen thousand years. That was impossible! Besides, he didn't even have a stick or something he could use to fight. How could he battle a woman like her?

"Tell me. Where are you from, and what's your real intention for getting near us?" Ava commanded.

"I'm telling the truth. I came from Earth, and I don't know how I came here. But there's one thing I'm certain of: I never intended to hurt anyone, and I'm not a spy." Shawn tried his best to explain.

"Don't fool me, you assassin. You can't fool a woman like me, so you better give up and choose not to fight if you don't want to get hurt," Ava warned.

Shawn could do nothing since the woman wouldn't listen to anything he said. She kept saying he was a liar, a spy, or an assassin. It took her a while to realize that Shawn was completely helpless as he collapsed on the ground due to hunger.

"Hey! Stop fooling me!" Ava shouted as if she weren't convinced that Shawn was unconscious. She thought that perhaps he was just trying to trick her.

"Are you serious? How can you collapse like that? I thought you were a tough soldier sent from the Fire Kingdom, but you're not as strong as you look. I think I overestimated you."

Ava realized all those things as she carried the unconscious man and headed to their house. It was already afternoon when Shawn woke up. He was surprised as he opened his eyes because Ava was staring at his face with curiosity. He slowly stood up and stretched his arms a little bit.

"Um, you're wrong in what you're thinking. I wasn't looking at you." Ava denied what she actually did. She had been staring at him since they arrived here.

"I don't mind someone watching me sleep. By the way, who brought me here?" Shawn asked.

"It was; it was my friend," Ava lied. "Don't try to think that I would carry you after what you did."

Shawn couldn't help but laugh slightly, as he had been awake all this time since Ava carried him. He just pretended to be asleep since he didn't want her to think he was a spy.

"Why are you laughing?" Ava asked in her annoyed manner. "You better thank me for letting you stay here after what you did, or else you're already dead."

"What did I do?" Shawn replied. "I didn't even have something that I could use to fight, so why do you doubt my innocence?"

"I'm not used to strangers, especially when you said you're from Eat, Err, Erd—what's that again?" Ava asked.

"It's Earth. And even if you won't believe me, I can show you something that will prove I came from that place." Shawn took something from the pocket of his jeans. "This—" He showed her a smartphone.

"What's that?" Ava looked shocked and surprised as Shawn showed her something unfamiliar. "An artificial weapon?" She stepped back and quickly pointed her sword at Shawn.

"No! Wait, it's not!" Shawn exclaimed. "Let me explain—it's just a smartphone. I used it to communicate with my friends and family through social media, and it really doesn't hurt any people. Believe me."

Ava slowly dropped her sword, still curious what that thing was on Shawn's hand. Perhaps it could explode and the whole place would scatter, but she stood straight and pointed her sword at him again when he attempted to stand up.

"Why are you so insecure? I'm not planning to destroy this whole place. Trust me." Shawn opened his phone and showed it to Ava, who was still holding her sword.

Her trembling grip grew stronger after seeing someone dancing on his smart phone. It was just a video on an app called TikTok. But Ava became more confused and nervous at the same time.

"Who's that? Why did you put him there? How can I trust a weird man like you? Why are you showing me all of this?" Ava asked again.

"I already told you. I want you to believe me that I came from Earth, and we humans are different," Shawn said. "Do you believe me now?"

"No! I don't! Cut that crap!" Ava suddenly grabbed Shawn's smartphone and attempted to break it with her sword when someone entered the room.

"What's happening here, Ava?" an old man asked. He was wearing a long, loose outer garment that resembled a black robe and a magician's black hat. He was also holding a wooden cane.

"I'm sorry, master, but I find this man suspicious, especially this thing that has someone inside; he keeps showing me weird things, so I'm taking action," Ava explained.

The old man walked towards Ava. He picked up the phone from the floor and scrutinized it carefully. He accidentally dropped it when it vibrated as someone sent a message.

"Careful, master!" Ava warned aggressively while preparing for what could happen again. "I'm here to protect you, so don't touch that weird thing."

"Don't worry, Ava. It's not so dangerous after all," he said confidently with a smile while picking up the phone from the floor.

"How can you say that, master?" Ava asked curiously. "How can you say that it's not so dangerous if it contains someone inside? He might be planning to imprison us too, just like what he did to those people."

"Stop that, Ava! I saw the same thing before, though it's slightly different from this, but it's not dangerous, I'm telling you," the old man assured.

He walked towards Shawn and gave him back his smartphone. "Here you go. Keep it, or else she will break it into pieces," he whispered.

"Thanks, Geezer!" Shawn replied with a grateful smile as he slipped his phone back inside the pocket of his jeans.

"You too, Ava. Stop bothering our guest. He may have looked weird, but he's not as suspicious as you think," the old man told her. "You should prepare him something to eat instead of being rude. I know he's hungry," and then he went out of the room.

"You're just lucky that my master arrived. Or else you'd be dead, stranger," Ava said before she left.

Shawn sighed with relief. He didn't know what trouble he had entered, but he was aware that the people around him were very different from the ones he knew. Even if they wouldn't believe him, he knew for himself that he was reincarnated.

Days before, Shawn was living an ordinary life on earth. He was a student at Jefferson High School. Just like other people, he had a low profile. He loved keeping things private, never posting on social media about what was going on in his life, and never trusting anyone, not even his own family.

That day, about one o'clock in the afternoon, Shawn and his best friend, Justin, were crossing the highway when a rushing ambulance suddenly appeared. His friend managed to survive, but he was unfortunately hit and died on the spot. That ambulance didn't have a chance to bring him to a hospital; he was brought to a morgue instead.

Shawn would usually crack a joke to his classmates, telling them that if they were tired of their lives, they should not worry because there was free makeup in a funeral home, but he couldn't imagine or never expect that he would taste that free makeup first.

"Hang in there, Shawn!" were the last words Shawn heard from his friend before everything turned dark. He wished he had lost his virginity before that even happened.

Shawn wished he had confessed and admitted his feelings for his crush—there could have been a chance for them to be together. He wished he had lived his life to the fullest so that he would die without any regrets, but everything was too late already.

But if he were given another chance to live again, Shawn would not succumb to fear; he'd be braver than the old version of himself. He would rise and challenge his fears.

Perhaps it was all just a dream, because when he opened his eyes, he was dumbfounded and couldn't believe that he would survive that hit, but then he realized something was wrong: the atmosphere was different.

Shawn was confused about where he was. The blood on his head was gone. He seemed to be fine, but not in his memory, as if he had forgotten some things. Did he have amnesia? He tried to recall things, but his head started aching.

"Boy, what are you doing here?" the old man asked worriedly as he removed his hat and sat down next to Shawn. "You looked tired; you didn't eat your lunch, did you?"

Shawn gave a long, weary sigh. "Geezer, I'm just thinking about my past life. By the way, thank you for saving me last time. My smart phone wasn't broken because of you."

Shawn thought that there was still a chance for him to contact his family, despite the truth that it was almost impossible because they were one life away.

He already tried calling his friend, but it said he could not be reached. Besides, his battery was draining, and there was no electricity in this place. He still wanted his computer, even after reincarnation. He wondered how he got his phone there with him.

Shawn didn't know how they live a life in this world where he thought he couldn't survive, but he never intended to observe them like he was just studying ethnography.

Everything just happened without his control, and there was one thing he was certain of: he could not go back to where he had been—not a single chance, unless miracles happened.

"I just did that because I don't want Ava to cause you trouble, but I don't really know what's in that thing that you own. I haven't seen the same thing before," the old man admitted.

"What?" Shawn exclaimed and jolted in surprise. "So you don't really know about it? I thought you saw a similar thing before? It's just a smartphone, you know."

"No, I haven't. I just said that so that Ava won't bother you anymore. I know she will never let go of you as long as she hasn't proven your innocence," the old man explained.

"Ah, but still, I want to thank you for what you did. I know that Ava is just protecting something, and I can't blame her because it seems that there are conflicts happening between kingdoms here."

"We're just protecting the people we love from the soldiers that harass them, and I'm sorry if Ava doubts you as one of those spies," the old man apologized as he pressed his knees with his palms.

"No, its okay. I know where she's coming from. I know she's not a bad woman." Shawn smiled as he recalled how Ava would react to him.

It wasn't time to think about romance, he thought. But he never felt guilty for teasing her, since he started to love seeing her annoyed. In his eyes, she looked more attractive if she got frustrated.

"Geezer, I think I don't really understand how things work here, especially magic. I've been in a world where people don't believe in magic; I might not be able to survive here," Shawn said.

"So, you really came from a different world, huh? I think I should introduce you to my old friend. He might be able to understand and help you with your case." The old man sighed and stood up.

"Thank you so much, Geezer." Shawn smiled in gratitude as he stood up and followed the old man. Shawn didn't have any idea where they were going, but his instincts told him that he could trust the old man.

“Magic is everything in this world. People use it to make their tasks easier and more convenient. We also use magic to travel and to defend ourselves from foreigners who are trying to invade our kingdom, so if you want to survive here you have to study magic.”

The old man talked about the importance of magic in almost every aspect of their lives with Shawn while they were taking the road to the capital city of Owl.

Shawn listened carefully to the old man's fairytale-like stories. He learned that magic can be divided into three general categories. Attack magic, healing magic, and summoning magic. Each of them was classified into seven levels: elementary, intermediate, advanced, saint, king, emperor, and god.

"Master, welcome back!" a girl in black-and-white clothes welcomed them. She had long, curly hair that reached her small waist and brown eyes that shone brighter as she smiled.

"Good day, Emma. This is Shawn. Where's Leo?" The old man asked as he entered the house. "I have a new recruit for him; he should join your guild."

"A guild?" Shawn stopped right at the front of the house. He didn't notice that it was an adventurer's guild until he realized something the old man was planning to do without asking if he agreed with it.

"He's inside, Master," Emma informed. "Discussing some important matters with the adventurers."

The old man noticed that Shawn stopped right at the door, as if he were hesitating to enter. He forgot to inform him that they were coming here.

"Come on, Shawn. Don't you like to study magic? This guild is having a quest where you can learn to fight orcs and boars in the Forbidden Forest," the old man said, leaving Shawn speechless.

"There are two methods to practice magic: chanting and magic circles, but experience is still the best teacher, you know," he added, trying his best to encourage him.

"But I didn't say I'd like to join the adventurer's guild and fight with those boars. I can't even use magic!" Shawn responded.

"Then use a sword instead!" the old man suggested.

Shawn shrugged, as he didn't really want to fight dangerous creatures just to learn magic. He wondered why he had to do that if there was another easy way where he didn't need to get hurt.

"I know it's difficult for a newbie like you, but don't worry. Leo and his squad members will help you; they'll help you quickly adapt to new things," the old man said. "So don't be scared to be eaten by those orcs."

"No, I'm not afraid!" Shawn defended. "I'm not afraid to be eaten by orcs, but I don't know if I can trust these people." He didn't know what they would say if they knew that he was a stranger.

"'So, what are you hesitating for?" the old man asked. "Get inside and register for membership."

Shawn eventually rid himself of doubt and decided to enter the guild's house. He thought that maybe there was nothing wrong if he'd try. He was no longer the boy he used to be and ran away, so he followed the old man to the counter, where Emma served them some liquor.

"My friend, what are you doing here in my humble house?" A handsome man asked as he sat next to Shawn. He had a well-built body, as his muscles were popping inside his long red sleeves. He also had short, brown hair and a high, pointed nose. "And who's this boy with you?"

"That's the reason why I'm here, Leo. He's Shawn, a foreigner from a place called Earth," the old man introduced him.

"Bwahahaha!" Leo laughed harshly after hearing the old man. "Earth, huh? I've never heard of such a place before. Is it very far away? You might be mistaken. I don't think it even exists. Bwahahahaha!"

Hearing the guild master laugh, Shawn knew that he wasn't wrong—these people wouldn't laugh if they knew where he came from.

"That's what I thought too, but he keeps telling me that he came from that place, and he also showed me some evidence too," the old man replied.

"Such as what?" Leo asked. "Well, I don't want to know, bwahahahaha! So, you wanna join my squad, little boy? You'll get your first mission then."

"That's quick!" Shawn responded. "Won't you even give me an exam first? I don't think I'm capable of being an adventurer."

"Why? Are you scared for the mission we're going to give you? Well, if you're afraid, then you're not qualified to be a part of this team. Bwahahahaha!" Leo smirked and drank a glass of champagne.

The old man elbowed Shawn, saying that he should accept his first mission to prove his qualifications. But Shawn kept hesitating until he realized that nothing would be lost if he tried and failed, for fail was an acronym for First Attempt in Learning.

He thought that if he died here, perhaps he would be reincarnated again. How he wished that his next life would be better than this, that he wouldn't have to struggle hard because he'd have power.

"I'm willing to accept my first mission," Shawn said bravely. "What is it?"

"Oh right, you just passed the qualification round. You're now a part of this guild," Leo said as he took a paper and a card, which Emma handed over. "Here, sign this for our formal agreement. Here's your guild card too; drop some blood on it."

Shawn accepted the paper and read it, but he couldn't understand some unfamiliar words as they were written in a different language. They were very different from the handwriting of people on earth, so he asked Emma if she could read it for him.

Emma took the paper Shawn was handing her and read it aloud. Her voice was so soft and angelic that it could freeze anyone who listened.

"It says that you are free to take any quest you want based on your rank. The guild may assign you a quest, and you have the free will to refuse. The guild will not be responsible for any injuries or death."

"Um. What do you mean by rank?" Shawn asked curiously while pricking his finger with a knife that Leo lent him, dropping a drop of blood on his bronze guild card that has a capital letter M on it—but it was actually a W; it was just upside-down.

"Rank refers to your battlefield status; it can be your win rate in both ranked quests and missions. Adventurers are ranked from W or Warrior to MI or Mythic Immortal. Since you've just started, your rank is Warrior, and you can rank up by taking quests, killing monsters, lords, turtles, creeps, etc. We will reward you once you finish a quest," Emma explained.

"Okay, I get it now. It's similar to a game, but I know it will be difficult, for I'm the one fighting here, and I don't even have any equipment right now. But I really wish to reach the rank of mythic immortal!" Shawn raised both hands in excitement.

"You're wishing for the impossible," Emma remarked. "Oh, I'm sorry for my rudeness." She covered her mouth with her palm as if she didn't want to destroy his goal.

"No, it's okay, Emma. You're just telling the truth," the old man said. "No one has ever stepped on Mythic Immortal. I am currently a Master, and it's already difficult to step on Grandmaster; how much more on Mythic Immortal?" he emphasized.

"He's right, you won't be able to get there, bwahahahaha!" Leo added, making fun of his new member. "You should not think about your rank, but rather prioritize protecting the people here in the Land of Dusk as a member of our guild."

"I don't care if it's impossible," Shawn replied. He had been thinking that there was nothing impossible in this world since he got here in the first place. "I will work hard and do my best to reach the highest rank!"

"You're totally drunk, Shawn," the old man said. "You've already beat five bottles of beer. Don't cause any ruckus here. We should go back now."

"No, I'm not drunk yet," Shawn said. "I haven't even finished one bottle." He didn't know what happened, but his vision gradually disappeared when he saw someone approaching.

"Why did you let him drink, old geezer?" Ava asked in a mad voice as she caught Shawn before he collapsed. "Don't you know that the liquor here is ten times stronger than anywhere else?"

"Ava! Do-do-don't bother Shawn; you're falling in love with him, I know, haha," the old man said in a drunk and uncontrolled tone.

A pink tinge slowly developed on Ava's face after hearing those words from her master. She knew he was just drunk, but his words hit her hard, so she kicked him before leaving the guild headquarters.

"Hey! Why did you kick your master?" Leo scolded. "What a rude girl. Bwahahahaha!"

As he opened his eyes, Shawn was shocked by what he saw. Ava was inside his room, sleeping beside him, and they were hugging each other.

He was dumbfounded for a while, then he quickly withdrew his arms and stood up to avoid being misinterpreted, but he didn't know what to do as his ugly thoughts began swirling around his head.

He didn't know how this woman got inside his room; he couldn't recall anything. Was there something that happened between them?

"You're awake?" Ava asked in a sleepy tone. She rubbed her eyelids and gazed at Shawn. "You looked shocked; is there something wrong?"

"Nothing, um, by the way, what are you doing in my room?" Shawn asked while holding a bolster.

"Your room?" Ava asked and looked around. "What am I doing here?" She suddenly stood up and walked towards Shawn, thinking about what happened last night. She couldn't even sleep because he kept snoring and squeezing her breasts.

Shawn was surprised by what Ava did next. Her palm left a reddish mark on his skinny face as she slapped him without saying anything. It created a loud blast that pierced the silence of the dawn and snapped around the room.

"You pervert, why did you drink with that old man and collapse? You even vomited on me. I will never forgive you!" Ava shouted before she angrily walked out of the room with heavy and annoyed steps, then the door boomed as she shut it back.

Shawn came back to his senses, and he remembered that he was drinking with the old man and the guild master of the Adventurer's Guild yesterday. He also remembered the agreement that he joined the adventurer's guild, but he couldn't remember how they got back, as well as that he vomited on Ava.

Shawn touched his aching face. It was painful, but he still managed to smile as he imagined Ava's lovely reaction, though she was mad.

"Perhaps she carried me again. She probably misses me for being gone in a little while from this place. She really cares about me," Shawn thought while fixing his bed. "But is there something else that happened?"

"So, how's your sleep with my sister, sir?" Ash asked enthusiastically as he suddenly appeared in the room like a spy. "You were really drunk last night. Please tell me what you did and what happened!"

Shawn was surprised to hear those questions from Ava's energetic brother. He doesn't know that he saw him sleep with Ava as well as get drunk last night. But that was really embarrassing.

"Nothing interesting," Shawn simply replied. He continued to the kitchen, but Ash kept following him as if he really wanted to know what he did. "I just joined the adventurer's guild at the Capital.

"The adventurer's guild?" Ash asked, his wide eyes filled with excitement as if he wanted to hear something extraordinary. "Is there someone who's strong and powerful from that guild, sir? I want to join that guild too. I want to fight monsters and orcs to get stronger."

"Nope, and please stop calling me sir," Shawn replied as he sat down on a chair. "You also can't join that squad without asking your sister's consent because they are doing dangerous activities.

"But sister will probably disagree. She's so strict and overprotective to me. She won't even let me practice outside because she's thinking that I could destroy the surroundings and hurt someone; that's why she's still single until now. She's a hellcat," Ash exaggerated.

"Um, Ash, you should not say something like that about your sister. I know she's strict, but you should understand that she only wants to protect you and your family," Shawn advised.

"Okay, sir, I won't say something bad about my sister again. I'm sorry for my bad demeanor," Ash apologized in a low voice.

Silence prevailed for a little while after Ash apologized. Shawn doesn't want to change Ash's energetic behavior just because he said something more than he needed, so he broke the silence.

"Um, can I ask you something about your sister?" Shawn asked.

"Yes, sir, you can. I know many things about her—her flaws, her strengths, as well as her weaknesses; I know even the color of her favorite underwear," Ash replied and smirked.

"Can you tell me about the kind of man your sister likes?" Shawn asked him in a low and serious tone.

"Um, sister Ava likes a weird, strange, or odd man like you, sir. She believes that weird people should be valued and taken care of because they are special," Ash answered.

Shawn remained silent for a while as he touched his chin, thinking that perhaps this might be the reason why Ava was so worried about him, because he was special for her and there was a place for him in her heart no matter how silly he was.

"I have another question, Ash. Is there someone else who wants to be your sister's boyfriend? I mean someone who likes her and woos her?" Shawn asked in a serious tone.

"I think there's someone. Her friend named Allen. He's a wizard who lives in the Forbidden Forest. I think he likes my sister because they're always together."

Shawn remembered the forbidden forest that Emma had mentioned. It was a place where orcs and other dangerous creatures lived. The place where the squad conducts quests to train themselves.

"So, I have a rival to Ava. But I don't want to fight anyone just for the sake of affection. I believe that if you love a woman, you should let her go and support her wherever she's happy," Shawn said.

"But Allen isn't good. He does evil things such as attacking people using his dark magic and using them as subjects for his experiments," Ash informed. "My sister can be in any danger for staying with him."

"Is that so? Let me see if I can do something about it. But don't worry about your sister; she's old enough to handle anything in her own way," Shawn reminded.

"Yup! She's eighteen thousand years old, and I'm just ten thousand years old. She knows what she's doing, but I don't know why she still keeps talking with that evil wizard," Ash replied.

"You're seven thousand years old?" Shawn was shocked. He couldn't believe that a boy who was smaller than him was living in this world for more than seven thousand years. Perhaps the time in this world was way faster and different from the time on Earth.

"Yes, I'm already seven thousand years old. How about you, sir? How old are you?" Ash inquired.

"I'm seventeen years old," Shawn replied.

"Seventeen years old? Do you mean you're a fetus? That might be the reason why you still can't use any magic because you're not fully developed yet. Hahaha!" Ash laughed like a mischievous kid in a comic.

"That's not what I mean, so don't make fun of me. I'm a human, and humans can barely reach a hundred years old before they die; our lifespan is so short compared to yours," Shawn explained. "We were also born without magic, so stop laughing at me."

"I see, you're seventeen, but that doesn't mean you're younger than me because there's a huge gap between our lifespans," Ash cleared.

"Exactly, but I think I'm not the only human in this world—there might be someone else here who also came from Earth," Shawn said.

"You're right, Sur. It's not impossible that there's someone like you here because you're here in the first place," Ash reminded her.

"I really hope to find someone like me here, but I think I should practice using magic too, so that I will be able to compete with the people here," Shawn said.

"You mean you're taking a mission from the guild?" Ash asked in an enthusiastic tone. "How I wish I could join too, so that I can learn to control my magic as soon as possible."

"No, you can't; your sister won't agree. But I think I should convince them to give me a mission; they might underestimate me because I'm just an ordinary man who can't use magic."

"Don't worry, Sur. You'll get what you want because I believe in you, so you should believe yourself too," Ash said.

"Thanks for bringing my hope up, Ash. I'm going to the guild house now, so take care of yourself and your sister," Shawn replied.

Shawn stood up and continued outside the house. Ash followed him, watched him go away, and disappeared from the view.

Thereafter, Ash showed a devilish smile on his young face that grew creepy, and then his appearance slowly changed. A white mask gradually formed and covered his face; he didn't have the chance to resist it.

"See you on the other side, human!" His demonic laughter gradually disappeared as the sun began its journey in the sky.

It was already afternoon when Shawn reached the capital. The people were looking at him like a monster as he passed by, and he became uncomfortable like a fish taken out of the water.

"Am I so popular that they keep staring at me?" Shawn asked himself. He didn't know what was so interesting about him that he became popular until he heard some gossip about him.

The people were gossiping that he was a stranger who came from Earth, a human who couldn't use magic, and a drunkard who asked for a fight.

Shawn felt embarrassed by what he heard, so he hurriedly headed to the adventurer's guild to hide. He remembered that he was shouting and asking for a fight last night due to drunkiness.

"Oh, Shawn, what's up?" Emma asked when she saw Shawn running towards her. "We're having a quest; do you want to join?"

"Yes, Emma! That's why I came here. I want to join the quest." Shawn panted as he halted and held his knees in front of the woman. He kept chasing his breath for a while.

Emma didn't give him a glance before going to the counter. She took a piece of paper with a drawing and gave it to Shawn. "We'll be conducting the quest in the forbidden forest. There's no rank limit here; anyone can participate. The participants have to collect ten leaves of a clover plant to finish the quest."

Easy-peasy, Shawn thought as he took a look at the drawing. It depicts a plant with four leaves, a clover, and also some ugly, human-like creatures called orcs, as well as goblins, which may be protecting the plants.

Looking at the drawing, Shawn realized that it wouldn't be easy since there were orcs that he needed to fight in order to do his task. He was thinking about how he could defeat these creatures.

"It won't be easy because there are many orcs in the Forbidden Forest; not just that, there are also other dangerous creatures that you may encounter, so don't let your guard down," Emma reminded.

"Can you let me borrow some equipment before I take on the quest?" Shawn asked. "I'll give you the leaves as an exchange once I finish the quest."

"Exactly. I can use those leaves to make healing potions." Emma stood up and led Shawn inside their stockroom, where the equipment was stored. "You can pick whatever you want."

Shawn borrowed a weapon and armor. After that, he was ready to embark on a journey to the forbidden forest. He didn't waste any time thinking about what was waiting for him there.