Kensai remained in the small bed, his body still aching, though the pain had lessened. The salve and the strange healing magic Tilo had used left him feeling stronger than before, but not quite whole.
His thoughts raced, trying to piece together the events that led him here—the god who deceived him, the fall, his sudden leave from his world, and now this strange yet kind family.
He wasn't from this world, and the longer he stayed, the more questions arose.
'That panel that appears seems to radiate mana as well.' He thought to himself.
The fire in the hearth crackled softly, filling the silence as Kensai lay with his eyes closed. His mind drifted back to the mission the glowing person had entrusted him with. The person. The one who looked like that thing. He was certain he had to find them, which only leaves him with the question of.
What power or why is that person so important?
As he mulled over the thought, Rylen's words echoed in his mind: "The tournament is in a few weeks." Kensai had heard of such events in his world, but something about the way Rylen mentioned it made it seem like more than just a contest. It felt like a gathering of importance, where powerful individuals would meet. Perhaps the person he sought would be there.
A soft patter of rain tapped against the roof again, the sound soothing yet drawing out his inner turmoil. He clenched his fists slightly, feeling the weakness still lingering in his limbs.
He needed to regain his strength. The tournament could be his chance to learn more about this world—and perhaps even encounter the one he was meant to find.
As the sunlight filtered through the thin cotton curtains, casting a soft glow across the room, Kensai stirred awake, blinking against the brightness.
His body felt a little less heavy, though the soreness remained, a dull reminder of his fall and the magic that saved him. He pushed himself up slowly, wincing slightly but determined to regain his strength. He couldn't afford to be weak—not now, with the tournament looming and the mission still unclear.
Sitting at the edge of the bed, Kensai stretched his arms out, testing the limits of his movements. The unfamiliar hum of mana in the around him felt distant.
But something about this world was different—the mana here was... abundant but in the place it felt restrained and also strange, flowing in unseen currents around him. He could almost feel it in the air, as though the very ground and atmosphere pulsed with energy.
Kensai swung his legs over the edge of the bed and stood up, albeit shakily. The room felt warmer in the morning light, the small crackling fire from last night reduced to glowing embers in the hearth.
He glanced around, noticing for the first time the intricate carvings on the wooden beams above, small symbols etched into the wood. Protective runes, no doubt—Rylen wasn't just a simple man, since through Kensai's eyes he could see the mana leaking from it.
His thoughts turned back to the tournament. It couldn't just be a test of strength; there had to be something more to it. Kensai knew that tournaments in his world were often used to showcase power, but this felt... different.
He felt like he was being woven into something bigger as if he was being added to a grand scheme.
Just as he pondered these questions, a soft knock came at the door. Before he could respond, Tilo peeked her head in, her face lighting up when she saw him standing. "You're awake! Papa said you might be too tired, but you're already up!" she says cheerfully, bounding into the room with a basket of freshly picked herbs.
"I'm fine, thanks to you," Kensai says with a soft smile. "And your magic." He nodded toward her hands, still remembering the glow of healing mana she had summoned the night before.
"Papa says I'll be a great healer one day!" Tilo says proudly, setting the basket on the table. "But you'll need more rest before you go to the tournament. You're not strong yet, Angel."
Kensai choked at the nickname she had given him. "I know but in the world, pain is nothing, push past it or fade away." He says trying not to include the word death.
"Like dust?" She titles her head.
"Yeah, dust. Poff!" he giggles while doing the action. "Come on let's go down, I have to speak with your Dad."
"Just in time!" She spins taking him by his hands. "He's preparing lunch!" she pulls him off. "But I won't be able to join I have to check up on my animals!"
Kensai allowed himself to be pulled along by Tilo, feeling a mix of amusement and gratitude for her enthusiasm. As they made their way down the narrow stairs, the creak of the old wood underfoot was oddly comforting, since it reminded him of his training house in the village he was put inside.
The aroma of freshly cooked food wafted through the small cottage, mingling with the scent of herbs and wood smoke. Kensai followed Tilo into a cozy kitchen area where Rylen was busy arranging a simple yet hearty meal on the table.
The man looked up with a welcoming smile, his eyes holding a note of approval as he took in Kensai's upright posture.
"Good to see you're up and about," Rylen says, gesturing to a seat at the table. "You must be hungry. We've got stew and bread—nothing fancy, but it's filling."
Kensai sat down carefully, still feeling the residual pain in his body. He accepted a bowl of steaming stew, the warmth of the food soothing his insides. "Thank you," he says, his voice sincere. "I appreciate everything you've done for me."
"Alright, I'm off!" Tilo turns running off, waving them goodbye.
"What does she do out there?" Kensai inquires.
"She heals injured animals, or plays with them." He takes a seat in front of him, resting his blow of stew in front of him. "Don't worry I placed barrier ruins all around here, so I'm notified if something happens, and I have an eye on her all the time."
Just as he says that a bunch of screens appear around us, showing different locations of the forest and some with her talking to a bunny feeding it carrots.
"Surveillance runes" He says before it disappears. "I love my daughter very much, as I will do anything to protect her, so." His voice becomes more serious than his eyes. "If you might bring anything here that might harm her I need you to tell me."
"No." He flares his hands in the air, contemplating if he should tell him everything, and he does, hoping it wouldn't make him send him away, or if he might believe it.
"I see. " He doesn't show any hint of suspicion as if he believed him. Which he did. "Before I was a man bonded by a modern job in my original world. Then I died in a car accident and Vatilis came and got me, then I arrived here, I didn't have the will to become great so I stayed normal. I had a loving family and then a wife who died giving birth to my daughter, who I cherish and I will do anything for her to achieve that goal of hers."
"I understand." He gets up getting ready to leave.
"So-" He gets caught off and begins to cough. Spinning around Kensai sees blood all over his hands. "I need you to take her with you and carry her to her holy continent afterwards and give her to a man named Helios, he's her uncle who'll be able to enroll her into the academy for aspiring and unique students, I'm sure you can see she has a unique power."
Moving back to his seat he hands Rylen the cloth on the table. "What power?"
"Tilo has the ability to contort space, healing is just one of the many powers she can unlock."
His eyes widened in shock, "So that means she wasn't healing but manipulating space to heal,"
Rylen's gaze was somber as he took the cloth from Kensai. "Yes, Tilo's power is far beyond what it seems. Healing is just one application of her ability to bend space around her. It's incredibly rare and valuable, however, if healing is what she wants to do then I want her to do that, until he finds her path and until then I want her to be leveling up in the academy so when she does finally get her title and final goal she is powerful enough."
"And you're dying." Kensai notices, using his eyes to see that the mana flowing around him is little to nothing and yet he uses it to continuously generate this barrier. "If putting up the barrier is too much take it down!"
"No. If I do then the restricted amount of mana I'm letting in will force her power to develop more and I have no clue who might come after her, and I'm already too far gone to change that..."
Kensai noticed he was right there was nothing else he could do to change that, but had no clue what could come to her there was no way he could not help him, but what made him worried was what made him think he could protect his daughter until he reached the academy.
" I know you can do it." He takes his hand.
'A father who's killing himself to protect his daughter. How could I say, no?' He thought. "Ok." He says out loud.