Sunlight gleamed into Nate's eyes, and he gradually regained consciousness. Lying on the firm forest floor, he scanned his surroundings, eventually fixing his gaze on an elderly woman. She hummed a tune while methodically grinding herbs in a bowl with a small mallet.
The old lady possessed a short and hunched stature, her long wiry gray hair tangled around her face. Wrinkles adorned her weathered visage, telling tales of a long and eventful life.
"Don't you dare budge, boy," she cautioned as she noticed he was awake.
After a while, she shuffled towards him and started applying the concoction she had been working on to Nate's wounds.
"Are you daft?" the elder scolded after completing the treatment. "Why in the ancient realms would you venture into that dungeon alone? Do you harbor some kind of death wish?"
"The quest I received at the adventurers' guild demanded that I conquer this dungeon," Nate grumbled, displeased with being labeled as an idiot.
"Foolish lad," the elderly woman muttered, shaking her head. "A dagger user with no offensive magic attempting a solo dungeon run? You should consider yourself fortunate I noticed your entry and chose to shadow you."
Listening to her words, Nate couldn't help but acknowledge that he might not have thought things through thoroughly, especially considering he might have met his demise without the intervention of the old woman.
The elderly woman leaned in closer, sniffing Nate. "Why do you still reek of death? I healed you," she exclaimed, her face wrinkling in confusion before dismissing the issue.
"Excuse me, but who are you?" Nate inquired.
The old woman responded with a toothy grin. "I followed you around a bit to see who my disciple is shacked up with."
Nate's eyebrow raised in surprise. "You're Gwen's mentor?"
If looks could kill, Nate would probably be dead after the stern glare the old woman gave him, sending a cold shiver down his spine.
"So, you cheat on my disciple, do ya?" she exclaimed, grabbing what looked to be a small shovel from her bag. The old woman then proceeded to discipline Nate by smacking him on the butt with her shovel until Nate could no longer feel it.
After venting her frustration, the old woman declared, "I've taken young Samantha as my disciple, you womanizing scum."
"I'm not a womanizer," Nate grumbled, avoiding eye contact with the elderly figure.
"Well, whatever. Who am I to interfere, just a weak old woman past her prime," Nate frowned, skeptical of her words.
"Well, kid, I should be getting back to my disciple," she said, tossing a monster core at Nate. As she prepared to leave, she suddenly halted, gazing at Nate as if discerning something new.
"You should learn to control that bloodline of yours, or my disciple might disfigure you as a womanizing scum." A large wooden staff then materialized in the old lady's hands before she used it to launch herself up into the distance.
Surprised by the old lady's departure, Nate took a moment to gather his thoughts. Shaking his head, he resolved to examine the AI he acquired upon reaching level 15.
As he accessed the system, he realized that it needed a name. After some thought, he decided to name it after one of his favorite things that he missed from Earth: 'Cola.'
A pleasant, feminine voice greeted Nate's choice as soon as he gave the AI a name.
'Cola?'
'That is correct, host,' the AI replied in a curt tone.
Nate's mind was flooded with unanswered questions, most of which had been festering since he regained his memories.
Even though he already knew the answer, Nate still wanted to ask. "Why is my race sealed?" Nate inquired, hoping for a different response than he figured he would receive.
"I am not authorized to disclose that information," Cola replied.
Nate sighed and moved on to the next question. "Why do I possess illusion magic when I never chose it?"
"As a Fae, you were born with innate fae magic. The God of Balance decided to give you Illusion magic as compensation," Cola explained.
For the first time since he was reincarnated, Nate offered a prayer of gratitude instead of cursing the God of Balance. He could have sworn he heard a reply of "About time, brat."
"Any idea why I am unable to use spatial magic?" No matter how much Nate had tried in the past, he had never been able to do anything with his spatial magic.
In her feminine voice, Cola responded, "There are two reasons for this. First, due to the specificity of spatial magic, you'll require a mentor. The second reason is your Intelligence stat is too low."
This confused Nate, but Cola soon chimed in to explain. "Host, the Intelligence stat is related to how much magic your mana core can hold."
Hearing Cola's answer, Nate resolved to invest more time in comprehending the intricacies of the system. Since regaining his memories, he hadn't felt an intense drive to pursue power, which explained his earlier neglect of the system. However, frequent visits to Nurse Joy over the past few months sparked a newfound seriousness in him about the journey to becoming stronger.
"Last question: what was that message about becoming an Enhanced Mortal?"
"Host, paying closer attention in class would be beneficial. To elaborate, there are ten stages for your physique: mortal, enhanced mortal, exalted, celestial, demi-divine, divine, immortal, transcendent, and god every time your physique acquires enough energy it will progress to the next stage."
Scratching his head a bit, Nate did kind of remember hearing something about this at one point but didn't find it interesting, so he probably fell asleep.
Having found satisfactory answers to his main queries, Nate chose to abandon his attempts to complete the dungeon for the time being. The mossy wilderness eventually gave way, and he re-entered the bustling city. Though the streets were teeming with people in a hurry, Nate navigated through until he reached the guild.
As he walked through the guild, he began to notice several women staring at him with flushed faces. In response, he offered each of them a small smile, feeling a bit uneasy about the attention he was attracting.
Carrying the two cores, he approached Mini and waited for her to finish her current task. After a minute, she turned towards him and her eyes landed on his, causing them to become hazy and her face to flush. "Are you alright?" Nate asked, concerned.
Without warning, Mini's hand moved to slap herself lightly in the face, dispelling the hazy look in her eyes. "Don't use your charm abilities on me!" she snapped.
Nate was confused at first but then remembered what Meloni had told him about having charm-related fae magic. "Your fae powers are awakening; it would be wise to find someone to teach you to control it," Cola's voice sounded in his head. "I'm sorry, Mini. I have no control over it right now," Nate apologized, realizing the cause of Mini's reaction.
Mini seemed hesitant at first, but as soon as she saw his ears, she seemed to relax. "Where are the people you recruited to help you in the dungeon?" she asked. Nate remained silent and avoided her gaze while Mini took note of his disheveled appearance and blood stains coating his clothes.
"Idiot," she muttered, eyeing the two cores critically. "Not sure how you're still alive, but I'm marking this as a failure. Can't have dim-witted silver rankers around. Try again in three months." With that, she handed him some coins for the cores and briskly ushered him out the door.