Time went by, three months quickly passed and Asher already learned a lot about the planet Earth, Magic and how powerful the people on Earth were. The witches and mages are capable of destroying continents with destructive spells, magic arrays, cultivation of mages, this information really bothered him, scratch that, it scared him because he knew that the past owner of the body had caused trouble before he died and he messed with the wrong people, people that could use magic, people capable of destroying continents. He knew he had to quickly gather strength to keep his head, he didn't want to fight against them if he could avoid them, he just wanted to survive and know the reason he ended in this world and also get his past memories. He also learned that witches are more capable than mages because of their ability to use different elements with spells but mages are more dangerous, faster than witches because of their ability to use their abilities without hand movements and spell casting which takes time. Asher learned that he resided in a country named Lostria which is ruled by a president, practising democracy.
Today, Asher locked the door to the room, walked towards the bed in the room and he sat down, drew a large book closer and he looked at the opened page again. He is planning on cultivating. To access mana, a person must first cultivate their inner avatar which will draw mana to do their bidding. Asher is about to cultivate his inner avatar to bend mana to do his bidding and use magic. Asher did as the book instructed, he closed his eyes, regulated his breathing, cleared his mind of distracting thoughts, the book named it the breathing technique. Asher realising that he could feel the way air left his body and how air entered his body, he could feel his body enter a new dimension he couldn't comprehend. He felt something around him and he quickly realized that it's mana, fucking mana! He can finally cultivate and be a mage. He imagined that the mana in his surroundings gathered around his hand just like the book instructed but he didn't notice any change in the surrounding mana. He tried gathering mana around again but he couldn't control the surrounding mana and he could feel his body tiring out, so he stopped the cultivation immediately. Asher caught his breath, and he checked the magic book on cultivation and he searched for what could cause a person not to cultivate mana, after a few hours of searching the book and the other books, he couldn't find anything related to cultivation failure. All the books stated that humans are capable of cultivating if they get the breathing technique right and Asher got the breathing technique right, 'huh, let me just get some rest now.' Asher thought and he went out of his room, to get food that Lauren had cooked then he came back into his room to sleep. He woke up refreshed and he quickly got up to trying cultivating again but before he could start, the door suddenly opened and Lauren strolled in.
" Why are you here?" Asher asked, barely containing his anger.
" What are you doing?" Lauren asked as she moved closer to Asher, ignoring his earlier question.
" I am reading the magic books you gave me." Asher responded.
" There are some books I am yet to give you, remind me to give them to you, it seems you are really interested in magic, just like my son." Lauren said and Asher's face brightened, hearing what Lauren said.
" Why remind you later, give it to me now." Asher demanded but Lauren just shook her head.
" Not now, that's why I am here, I want to send you to the city to get me something." Lauren announced as she sat beside Asher, Asher's mood took a huge turn from joy, expectations to anxiety, fear.
" Don't worry, you will be safe." Lauren said, noticing Asher's rapid change of emotions.
" Why did you say that?" Asher asked.
" Someone is coming with you." Lauren said and she stood up and she walked out of the room, not waiting for Asher's response. Asher quickly got dressed, walked out of his room, not forgetting to lock the door, he walked towards the living room to meet Lauren and get the details of what he wanted to do in the city. Getting to the living room, he saw Lauren talking with a beautiful lady that seemed familiar and when the lady raised her head to look at him, he realised that she's Toni, the plumber.
" Hey!" Toni greeted as Asher found a seat opposite the both of them.
" How are you?" Asher simply said after a few seconds.
" Fine… you?" Lauren responded as she looked into his eyes.
" I was doing great before Lauren came into my room." Asher said with a slight smile, shooting Lauren a glance and Toni chuckled.
" So why are you here?" Asher asked Toni.
" Can't I come here? This place is my second home." Toni responded.
" Exactly. You can do this talking later, now Toni, I called you here to help Asher get a few things in the city." Lauren said.
" Okay." Toni added.
" Here Asher." Lauren handed him a paper that had a list, Asher took the paper.
" That's the list of the things you are to buy." Lauren said and Asher realised the purpose of the paper.
" Okay, let's go." Asher left with Toni after collecting money from Lauren. Asher felt joy and anxiety, he is joyful because he would get to see the outside world and meet other people and he's anxious because he might meet his enemies, meaning death. Asher placed a black face cap on his head to hide his face from others as they walked out towards the road that led to the city. As they walked, Toni and Asher didn't talk to each other but Asher noticed her sparing him glances but looking away before looking back at her. Asher was deep in his thoughts that he didn't even mind Toni that walked beside him, they soon reached the narrow road that led to the main city and Toni stopped him from walking further.
" Why?" Asher asked.
" A public tricycle would pass through this road and it would take us to the city. Toni explained, Asher just nodded his head in response.
" How come you don't know about this?" Toni asked.
" I forgot." Asher simply added and Toni chuckled.
" You forgot?" Toni repeated.
" Yes, I did. What's wrong with that?" Asher asked.
" Nothing." Toni said and Asher just tsked and looked away.
" Where are you from?" Toni asked.
" Lauren told me that you're a distant relative, you came to visit her but she didn't tell me where you came from." Toni added.
" I don't know. " Asher said.
" You don't know?" Toni repeated, with an incredulous look.
" If you don't want to tell me, you should have just said that." Toni said and Asher smiled.
" I wish I knew." Asher said honestly, he really wished he knew where he came from.
" So… where's the tricycle?" Asher asked impatiently, staying under the sun tortured his body, making him feel like he's burning.
" There it is." Toni said as she pointed somewhere behind Asher, Asher turned to look at what she pointed at and he saw a tricycle approach them.
" And how's that going to take us to the city?" Asher asked, noticing the slow speed and the little space the machine could afford.
" It's going to take us to the city. Toni assured and the tricycle already reached where they stood, it stopped at their front and they both entered. Asher saw that a man drove the tricycle, Asher smiled at the man, happy that he finally met someone like him, he also smiled back in response. The trip to the city was a slow and uncomfortable one because the tricycle naturally moved slowly and it was uncomfortable because the tricycle took five passengers, cramming them in the little space available but Asher enjoyed every bit of the trip. He conversed with the fellow passengers in the tricycle and they were really nice to talk to but he didn't let his guard down like Lauren instructed before he left home, enemies could be lurking anywhere. They finally arrived at the city and when Asher's feet touched the ground, he looked around and the city really felt choking to him, the way people crowded every part of the street, the dirt, the smell and the noise, he loved the city but he didn't seem to like living in a place like this, he preferred the silence the countryside offers.
" Asher." Asher heard his name and he looked around but he saw that Toni wasn't the one that called him, she was still paying for their ride. Asher frowned as he heard his name again and he saw the man that called him, smiling.