After the trio of humans decided to take Tora with them when they went back to the city, they started to set off immediately. After Zoryn advised that xey transform into a fully human form to hide xeir wings, Tora instead chose to just hide xeir wings underneath xeir cloak. Thanks to the constant use of Polymorph, xey were able to stay in a polymorphed form for up to 12 hours, so xey wouldn't have to reveal the fact that xey were a phoenix. Leilani had donated some clothes that Malak altered with magic to fit xeir small human body so xey wouldn't be cold. Tora didn't mention that since they were a phoenix, xey didn't feel the cold, since they did need the clothes to fit in.
Whenever xey transformed into a human, the system automatically also gave them the cloak which could completely cover xeir body but provided no other clothes. When xey used Polymorph, xey could choose the gender of the body, so their form was always non-binary. But going around naked as a human was not a good idea.
One thing that Tora had noticed was the language. The trio spoke a language that xey could distinguish as one xey had never heard before, yet xey could still understand it's meaning. It was also the language that xey spoke in xeir human form unless they deliberately spoke in a language from their previous life. Xey had tried speaking to the trio of humans in xeir first language from when xey were human, but the trio just looked at xem in confusion and didn't understand a thing xey said.
"Hmm, we should have asked this earlier, but what is your name? I'm Leilani, the tall mage over there is Malak, and the archer is Malak's partner Zoryn." The female knight introduced herself and the rest of the group, gesturing to each of them when she spoke their name.
Tora tilted xeir head slightly, thinking. In xeir previous life, xeir name was Tora. But in that world, Tora meant tiger in their first language. That name didn't fit xeir form in this world. Finally, xey decided to go with a word that could mean phoenix from their first language. "My name is Kyōi."
"Kyōi? Sounds foreign. Your flock must have flown far to reach here." Zoryn commented. Tora, now to be called Kyōi, could only shrug, since xey had no idea about the geography of this new world. For all xey knew, a country similar to xeir previous one might exist in this world.
Zoryn began to explain a few things to xem after realizing that Kyōi had no idea where xey where. "Anyways, I should explain where exactly we are going. We are heading towards our home city, the Crystal City. It was named after its famous crystal taverns and inns, which are buildings made from a strong crystal. It's very pretty and fairly sturdy. The buildings were built by powerful earth mages who could manipulate the crystals. The city is fairly populated, and is the second-largest city in the kingdom."
Kyōi wondered about the adventurers. Were they like most isekai story adventurers, with a single adventurer guild that gave out quests, or were there individual agencies adventurers could choose to join? Suddenly, xeir system activated, showing the status windows of eight other beings. Checking the stats, xey realized it was most likely a group of bandits trying to surround xeir group, which was traveling a dirt road that led back to the city.
Xey tugged on Malak's robe to get his attention. "Eight bandits are trying to surround us. They are getting kinda close. I don't think they can sense power levels... They all seem rather weak." Kyōi trailed off, wondering if the humans of this world used levels to measure power. Malak's quick response answered xeir question. "You can view their stats? What levels?" Xey glanced around to check the levels of each of the bandits. "30-35."
As a level 15 after being in this world for only a couple of weeks, xey couldn't understand why the bandits, who all seemed to be around 30-40 years old, were not at a higher level. "30-35? That's actually around the average for normal adult bandits. We are around level 35 as well, but that's because we are adventurers." Leilani spoke up. Checking their stats again, Kyōi was slightly confused. It looked like they weren't able to see their stats since the entire trio was all level 40 or higher.
While Kyōi was thinking, xey had begun to lag behind. Once xey were a couple of meters away from the trio, a tall and muscular man jumped out from the forest and grabbed xem, holding a blade against xeir throat. "Stop where you are, or the kid is gonna get it!" The man's voice boomed out and the group immediately froze where they were. The rest of the bandits crept out of the forest, quickly surrounding the group. "Leave all your valuables on the ground or the kid's dead." The man pressed the blade against Kyōi's throat, leaving behind a thin trail of blood. Kyōi began laughing. "Hahahaha! Your bandits are dumb. You should always check the levels of your opponents before you try anything." Xey transformed into xeir black kite form and quickly flew upwards out of the bandit's grasp. The trio of adventurers sprang into action once Kyōi was out of danger. Leilani began swinging her sword as Malak began casting various spells, especially debuffs, against the bandits. Zoryn stepped back to use his bow to provide support for Leilani whenever she needs it. He aimed for non-lethal wounds, choosing to shoot the bandits in the arms or legs.
Kyōi began using a few of xeir skills, such as Fire Tornado to both obscure the vision of the bandits and to keep them from moving. Xey also used fireball against the bandits, being careful to avoid killing them.
Shortly after, Leilani had all of the bandits tied up with rope while Zoryn fussed over the small cut on Kyōi's neck. "Kyōi, how were you able to view their levels? Normally, to view your level, you need a tool called an Observer which shows all of your stats, including your level. Only a few mages can view the levels of others though." Malak asked once Zoryn finished putting a small bandage on xeir wound. "Uh... It was one of my skills?" Xey didn't know what to say, so xey said a partial truth. "Anyways, can you explain the levels to me? Leilani said earlier that level 30 is the average?" The mage nodded before responding. "Yes, that's correct. The average commoner adult, with no battle experience, is usually around level 20-25. Bandits that are normally higher since they have experience fighting. Noble families tend to be around 35-40 at around 20 years of age because they often train their kids from a young age. A kid your age is usually around level 4 or 5 if they are a commoner, 8, or 9 if they are from a noble family. Fighting tends to increase your level faster, although there are a few ways to level up other than fighting." Leilani jumped into the conversation once she notices it was about levels. "Kyōi, since you can see levels, what level are you? You are around 12 or 13, right? You're probably around 7 or 8, if you were able to survive on your own in the Forest of Beasts."
Xeir answer shocked the entire group of humans, including the few bandits that were conscious.
"I'm level 15, last I checked. Actually, I might be at 16 now, since I beat up some of those bandits."