Krovane sat frozen in disbelief as a plate was placed in front of him. On it, a perfectly roasted piece of meat glistening with flavor, accompanied by a few small fruits on the side. He swallowed hard.

  Lifting his head, he glanced at Emily, who was already eating with her fork and knife, every movement neat and graceful. So typically Emily, always composed and perfect on the surface.

  Meanwhile, Hugo was devouring his meal with both hands, sauce smeared at the corners of his mouth. He grinned between bites and nudged Krovane with his foot under the table.

  “What are you waiting for? Eat up. I bet it’s better than anything you’ve had in your twelve years of life.”

  Krovane swallowed again and looked around. The restaurant was open-roofed, with several tables where groups of people sat together, laughing, shouting, and thumping their tables in joy. It was a lively place near the main street, not far from their inn.

  Finally, he picked up his fork, cut a piece of the roasted meat, and slowly brought it to his lips. Even before it touched his tongue, the smell alone was enough to make his stomach twist in hunger.

  The truth was… this was the first time he would ever eat real meat. The closest thing he’d ever had before was a sausage. That counted as meat, right?

  He placed the piece in his mouth and froze again, eyes widening as flavor burst across his tongue. He turned to Emily, who was eating calmly as if nothing was happening.

  “What’s with that face, weirdo?” Hugo asked casually.

  “It’s so good,” he said with a grin.

  A single tear slipped from Krovane’s eye as he chewed.

  Hugo laughed with satisfaction and started eating even faster.

  Emily simply watched them without saying much, continuing her meal in silence.

  “Finish it before it gets cold. Or do you need my help to eat that too?” Hugo said, chuckling as he stuffed another bite into his mouth.

  Krovane began eating faster as well, the taste filling him with pure happiness. For a moment, everything felt warm and alive.

  The three of them were far from their parents and guardians, sitting here in a strange place, in a world that wasn’t their own. Yet…

  “How did you even get the money to pay for all this, Emily?” he asked curiously.

  Emily paused for a moment, then quietly went back to her food without answering.

  “She helped sell stuff,” Hugo said casually.

  Emily instantly stopped eating and tapped the table lightly with the handle of her spoon.

  “I…” she began, a hint of annoyance in her voice, “helped manage Davon’s finances.”

  “Manage his finances?” Krovane repeated, raising a brow. “How?”

  Emily then continued, “I helped Davon by giving him advice on how to manage his money properly. How to handle income and expenses, organize his goods, and make plans for trading. It was simple enough once I understood how things worked here.”

  Krovane stared at her, speechless. “How?”

  “What do you mean by ‘how’?” Emily replied.

  She continued. “My parents do that kind of thing every day, and I’ve always been around to see it. I can handle it without much thought. The people in this world are still a bit behind when it comes to that sort of system. Unfortunately… my phone was left behind when we got pulled into this world.”

  “Oh!” Krovane suddenly remembered. His watch was gone too. The last thing his parents had ever given him. He glanced down at his wrist; it was empty.

  “Did it fall off when we were brought here?” he asked quietly.

  “No,” Emily answered. “It seems modern items can’t be brought here. Only our clothes came through, at least.”

  Krovane nodded slowly and returned to his meal.

  “So, Davon pays you for helping him with that?”

  “Yes, it’s enough to get by,” Emily replied. “At least until we can register at the Adventurers’ Guild and officially take on monster-hunting missions.”

  Krovane nodded again, chewing thoughtfully. “I’ll pay you back for this meal later.”

  “You should,” she said simply, then turned her gaze to Hugo. “You too!”

  “Yeah, of course. No need to worry,” Hugo replied casually.

  Their meal continued in relative silence, at least on Krovane and Emily’s side. The only one keeping the noise alive was Hugo, who kept talking, laughing, and finishing his food faster than anyone else.

  “So, Krov, let me explain what we’re going to do after this,” Hugo said once he was done with everything.

  Krovane nodded, listening closely.

  “Our goal is to register at the Adventurers’ Guild and get our Adventurer IDs. Once we have them, we can start taking missions and fighting monsters,” he explained confidently.

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  “Is there no age limit for that?” Krovane asked.

  Hugo replied with a grin. “In this world, kids and adults are treated the same as long as they have power. You could even lead an army into battle if you have the strength to back it up.”

  Krovane nodded again, trying to take it all in.

  “But before we can do that,” Hugo continued, “you’ll need to go through some training first. You have to learn the basics. How to fight, how to survive, and how to use your abilities.”

  “Have you already done that training?” Krovane asked.

  “Yes, haha,” Hugo said proudly. “But don’t worry, I’ll wait until you’re ready too. Once you’ve got the minimum qualifications, we’ll register together.”

  “Okay,” Krovane replied quietly, feeling both nervous and eager at the same time.

  After some time, Emily set down her utensils and neatly arranged her plate. At that moment, Krovane had also finished his meal.

  “Now, let’s move on to something more important,” she said.

  “How do we use it? The magic?” Krovane asked curiously.

  But instead of answering right away, Emily suggested they head back first, saying it would be better to discuss this somewhere quieter.

  Soon, they found themselves back in their room at the inn. Each of them sat on the floor, with Emily sitting across from them.

  “Have you checked your status?” Emily asked.

  “Status?” Krovane repeated, puzzled.

  “Yes. Do it the same way as before,” she instructed.

  Just like when he had summoned the Mission earlier, Krovane focused his thoughts and gave the command in his mind.

  Status!

  And then… the same thing happened. A glowing display appeared right in front of him.

  [Name: Krovane]

  [Level - Stage: 4 - Novice]

  [Signature: Beastform Nexus]

  Krovane fell silent for a moment, staring at the display in front of him. It wasn’t the first time he had seen something like this, but seeing his own name appear there, along with his level and other details… Made it feel strangely real.

  “Incredible, this is exactly like in a video game,” he muttered under his breath.

  “What’s your level? Your signature!” Hugo asked eagerly, leaning forward.

  “Level 4.”

  “Level 4?!” Hugo exclaimed in shock.

  “Why? Is that high? It’s only 4,” Krovane said, confused.

  “That’s annoying,” Hugo replied, clearly bothered.

  “What about you?”

  “I’m already level 5, and Emily’s at 7.”

  “Then you two are higher than me.”

  “Yes, but I started at level 2,” Hugo said, sounding a little defensive.

  Emily then stepped in. “I’ll explain how to increase your level later.”

  Krovane nodded, and Emily began to explain further.

  “There are a few sections in the status we can see now,” Emily began, “and more will appear as we grow stronger. For now, what we can view are three things: level, stage, and signature.”

  Krovane nodded, listening closely.

  “Level and stage are connected,” Emily continued. “Every ten levels, we advance to a new stage. For example, right now we’re still considered Novices. When we reach level eleven, our stage changes to Apprentice, and so on with every ten-level increase.”

  Krovane nodded slowly as he processed her words. “What’s the difference between each stage, Emily?”

  “Novice…” Emily began explaining, “as a Mana Novice, you receive basic body enhancement from Mana. Your body becomes stronger, you can run faster. Most of the improvements happen physically. I’m sure, at level four, you’ve already felt the difference, even if you haven’t realized it yet.”

  “So… that’s why Hugo ran faster in the forest,” Krovane said thoughtfully.

  “You too, you were running fast as well,” Hugo replied, smirking.

  “I mean… I’ve always been good at running, but I’ve never seen you move that fast before,” Krovane said with a small laugh.

  “You’ll be shocked once you learn about my signature ability,” Hugo said with a grin.

  Emily ignored his interruption and continued, “There’s also something called a Signature Ability. It’s a unique power that appears the moment someone awakens to Mana.”

  Krovane glanced back at his own status screen. Beastform Nexus? he thought, reading the words with confusion.

  “As for me,” Emily went on, “my signature ability gives me affinity with all elemental magics.”

  “What?” Krovane repeated in disbelief. “Elemental magics? Like in the Avatar cartoon?”

  “Kind of,” Emily said with a small smile. “Let’s say Earth, Fire, Air, and Water. When someone reaches the Apprentice Stage at level eleven, they start unlocking affinity with one specific element. Most people only get one, and it’s extremely rare for anyone to have two. But my signature ability gives me affinity with all four basic elements, even though I’m still a Novice.”

  “Incredible,” Krovane breathed, his eyes wide with awe.

  “Me!” Hugo jumped in with a wide grin.

  Krovane turned his attention toward him.

  “My signature ability lets me boost my physical strength and speed several times over. The more exhausted I get and the harder I fight, the stronger I become.”

  “That’s cheating,” Krovane said. “In video games, we’d call that a Berserker, right? So in battle, you’d be the one charging ahead and taking the hits.”

  “Yeah, hahaha!” Hugo said proudly. “I’ll be the tanker and the strongest fighter, Krov. I’ll charge in first and hold off the enemies while you and Emily attack from the back.”

  Then, both Emily and Hugo turned their eyes to Krovane at the same time.

  “What about you?” they asked in unison.

  “Before I tell you, I want to ask something first… how did you know what your signature abilities actually do? Is there a way to see the details?” Krovane asked curiously.

  Emily answered right away. “Each of us has a name for our ability. For example, mine is called Elemental Convergence, and Hugo’s is The Burning Will. There isn’t really a written explanation for what each signature ability does. We figure it out by comparing ourselves with others.”

  “In my case,” she continued, “I realized mine was unique because I could already use elemental affinities even while still a Novice, which is something other Awakeners can’t do. As for Hugo, his physical strength is already on par with those who are at the Apprentice Stage, so that’s how he learned what his ability was capable of.”

  “Okay,” Krovane said quietly, then began removing the leather gloves he was wearing.

  He lifted his left hand and stared at his pale skin. The veins beneath it glowed faintly darker, almost like something was flowing through them all the way to his wrist.

  Pressing his thumb against his index finger, he could feel his skin. It was thicker than usual. Then he clenched his fist, and a surge of power pulsed through his hand, stronger than anything he had felt before.

  “My ability,” Krovane said at last. “It’s called Beastform Nexus. I think it allows me to…”

  He paused, trying to process it. “Morph into beast form?”

  Hugo burst out immediately. “The transformation probably starts from your hands and then spreads until your whole body turns into a terrifying monster. That’s seriously cool, Krovane!”

  “It doesn’t sound cool to me, I think,” Krovane replied, frowning slightly. “What if I completely turn into a monster and lose my human form? Or worse… lose my mind?”

  The thought made him swallow hard.