"W... Ca... Cale, wake up."
"Huh?" I opened my eyes but closed them immediately due to the brightness. Why is it so bright in the basement? Wait, this isn't... Right, I forgot.
"Is it morning already? Why didn't you wake me up?" I asked, sitting up and stretching.
"You looked tired yesterday, so we didn't want to wake you up," Mai said and looked slightly tired.
"You did everything yesterday, so we thought you deserved a proper rest," Aiden added.
It was also when Mai's stomach growled.
"..." She got completely embarrassed and looked away.
I could find something in the forest before we went or steal food after arriving in the Empire.
While stealing food isn't the best thing I could do, there isn't a choice when we don't have money, plus there is a high possibility of being caught.
I thought for a second about the two options.
"I'll go to the forest and try to find some berries or maybe a rabbit we could cook," I told them before standing up and going towards the forest.
"Be safe!" Mai shouted.
"Don't worry. I'll be safe!" I told her before mentally bringing up the daily quest window.
[Daily Quest: Preparations to become strong.
Press-Up x100: Incomplete (0/100)
Sit-Up x100: Incomplete (0/100)
Squat x100: Incomplete (0/100)
Running 10km: Incomplete (0/10)
Warning: Incompletion of Daily Quests will result in appropriate levels of punishment.]
I should at least get the 10km run before we head towards the Empire.
---
"Found you," I muttered, slowly turning my head to the right, staring straight at another rabbit.
The little animal was so scared by my gaze alone, so it started running away, but I wouldn't let him escape.
I started running after it and caught it before even two minutes passed.
"You know, for a little guy, you sure gave me some trouble catching you," I told the rabbit in my hands.
It was also twice the size of an ordinary rabbit.
"I hope you taste good," I said with an innocent smile.
[50 EXP for killing (Animal)]
[Magicules increased by 50]
I should return quickly so we won't waste much time here, so I started running back to our temporary camp.
...
[Running 10km: Incomplete (7/10)]
...
[Running 10km: Incomplete (8/10)]
...
[Running 10km: Incomplete (9/10)]
...
[Running 10km: Complete (10/10)]
...
"I'm back," I said as I walked out of the forest, slightly out of breath showing the two rabbits in my hands with a slight smile.
"Are those..." Mai trailed off, practically drolling with stars in her eyes, when she saw the rabbits I had with me.
"Yes, I got myself some breakfast," I then looked at them, "So what are you guys going to eat?" I asked jokingly.
"Come on, don't be like that, Cale..." She said, pouting.
"I'm just joking," I replied, prepping the rabbits.
The knowledge I got from reading all those books in my previous life is coming in handy these days.
Before I got my sister's old and slightly broken phone, the only thing I could do was to find books in the school library where I read books about survival in the wild, learning about different plants and animals, but at the same time, I don't know how much they will help in a fantasy world.
Reading and doing it are different things, but in the end, I managed to skin and butcher them.
While it wasn't the best, it should be edible and get us through until we get to the Empire and find a way to earn money.
"Here, eat up," I said, giving them the rabbit meat on two quickly made skewers.
They each took one, and we tasted it.
While many would say it was bland, for me, it was one of the best food I have eaten. It could maybe be because, for the first time, I ate a warm meal instead of the leftovers in my previous life.
My family used to give me what was left after they finished, so most times, it would be vegetables or stale bread and some meat or fish on good days.
I sighed and looked at the skewers for a while. I should stop thinking about my past life. This is a new chance for me. Maybe this life didn't start well, but I could make it good.
After we finished eating, I looked at the sky. Judging by the sun's position, if it's the same as on Earth, the time should be 10 am. That means if we go now, we should arrive in Rubelios around 6 pm.
"Let's go. We can't waste more time just sitting around." I said and stood up.
And so we set out towards the Holy Empire of Rubelios with Aiden on my back. I just hope we can get a priest to heal his leg.
We walked for four hours and could already see the city in the distance.
While I could continue until we reached the Empire, Mai looked like she would pass out.
I don't know if she got any sleep during the night, but having only eaten the rabbit and not having drunk any water for almost two days didn't help either.
That's not including the fact that we were kept inside a room for god knows how long.
"Let's take a quick break to catch our breath," I said when we found a tree we could rest under.
"N-No, I can c-continue." She said in between breaths.
"But I'm tired, so I can't carry Aiden all the way," I said and crouched down so Aiden could get off my back while also giving him a look that said I didn't call you fat.
"Fine..." She relucted and fell on the vibrant green grass.
I didn't notice before, but the air feels cleaner, and the wildlife looks more vibrant in this world than in my previous one.
I started thinking about my future plan in this world.
After arriving in the Holy Empire, we will need to get Aiden to a healer and somehow join the Holy Knights.
The Holy Empire is one of the most powerful military powers in this world. So joining them until I'm strong enough would be good. Then when I'm strong enough, I will think about what to do next.
But then there is also a big chance we will become a food supply for the vampires.
Who would care if three homeless kids went missing?
While I'm probably slightly stronger than an average human, I would stand no match against a monster.
After resting for about half an hour, we continued toward the Empire and arrived at the Capital City, Lune.
If I remember correctly, the Capital City of the Holy Empire is considered one of the most well-developed human cities ever built. Having a powerful gigantic city-wide barrier that encloses the entire capital city, completely shielding it from any external threats, such as monsters, spirits, and demons that try to enter without permission.
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Authors Note:
Thank you for reading this chapter.
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