Chương 4: The Road

"Farm work." Zelier answered honestly.

"Oh?" Grey's interest was immediately piqued. His knife never stopped moving, but neither did his mouth.

"So you really grew up on a farm?"

"I honestly thought you were some runaway young noble looking to 'experience common life.'" He chuckled.

"Come to think of it, aren't mages usually rich? Spell scrolls, wands, robes... every piece of gear costs a fortune."

"... There are exceptions." Zelier shrugged. According to the memories he'd inherited, the original Zelier had come from nothing special. He was simply the son of poor farmers living on the kingdom's frontier. Ever since he was born, he and his parents had spent every day working the fields. Their lives revolved around the changing seasons, the crops, and endless labor beneath the scorching sun. After paying taxes each year... There was barely enough left to survive. Everything changed when Zelier turned seven.

It had been an ordinary summer afternoon. The work in the fields wasn't especially demanding that day, so for once, his father hadn't urged him to keep going. Instead, he'd allowed the boy to rest beneath the old locust tree beside the fields. The cicadas buzzed relentlessly. Heat shimmered over the distant farmland. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, scattering patches of golden light across the grass. Everything was exactly as it had always been. Peaceful. Ordinary. Sleep-inducing.

Lying on his back, young Zelier stared absentmindedly at the leaves swaying in the breeze. Then... The world changed. Not visually. It was something deeper. A sensation beyond ordinary perception. For the first time... He saw the wind. It was no longer invisible. Pale emerald threads drifted through the air like flowing ribbons. He heard the earth. A deep, resonant hum echoed beneath the ground... Steady. Rhythmic. Like the heartbeat of the world itself. He felt the sunlight.

Countless golden motes danced within every ray, warm and vibrant with life. Then— The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. An irresistible force erupted inside his mind. His consciousness was violently pulled away from reality...... and swallowed by an endless sea of darkness. A silent universe stretched infinitely around him. At its center floated a single point of light. Tiny. Fragile. Yet impossibly beautiful. Curiosity overcame fear.

As his consciousness cautiously drifted closer... The tiny seed seemed to notice him. It pulsed once. Light blossomed outward. Like a crystal spring bursting from deep underground, a mysterious power flowed into him. That power... Was mana. On that day... Zelier awakened his Fountain Seed. When his consciousness finally returned to reality... His heart pounded wildly inside his chest. His breathing came in ragged gasps. For the child of a farming family... Turning seven meant something.

It meant you were no longer a child who played in the mud. You learned to judge whether crops were healthy. You learned to shoulder a hoe nearly as tall as yourself while enduring your father's stern instructions. Zelier's life should have been simple. A lifetime of dirt. Sweat. Harvests. Until one day he grew into another weather-beaten farmer, just like his father. But now... He had glimpsed another road. A path completely different from the one laid out before him. The path... Of a mage. From that day onward...

His life split cleanly in two. One half remained the hardworking son of poor farmers. The other became a dreamer chasing magic. For the next nine years, Zelier devoted every spare moment to learning. He scoured the town for every scrap of information related to magic. Whenever wandering bards carrying lutes arrived in the village, he would pester them endlessly for stories about legendary mages. After saving money for years... He finally managed to buy a battered spell scroll containing a Spell Matrix.

Following countless hours of meditation and practice... He eventually mastered Fireball. He was sixteen. The tiny flame that first bloomed in his palm had filled him with indescribable joy. But that same year... The king raised taxes. The people suffered. Life became increasingly unbearable. His parents, worn down by a lifetime of labor, finally collapsed beneath the burden. Both of them passed away. After burying them... Zelier sat beneath the old locust tree beside the fields.

He remained there for a very long time. Silent. Lost in thought. He could have inherited the farmland his parents had spent their entire lives cultivating. He could have become a farmer. Instead... He gathered what little savings remained. Cut every tie binding him to that life. And set out as an adventurer. Sometimes... A person simply has to choose a different way to live. Seeing Zelier fall silent, Grey assumed he'd accidentally touched a sore spot. He nudged him with an elbow.

"Hey."

"Don't take it personally."

"I was just talking."

"If you're short on money, save up little by little." He flashed an encouraging grin.

"Honestly?"

"The way you cast that spell earlier..."

"You've got talent."

"You'll make it."

"Thanks." Zelier smiled warmly. He didn't say anything else. Instead, he tightened his grip on the wolf hide and continued helping Grey. Skinning and processing the carcasses took far longer than the battle itself. By the time they finished, most of the night had already slipped away. The remaining carcasses were dumped into a nearby pit and left to rot. Fortunately, these wolves had ruled this part of the forest for years. Other predators avoided their territory entirely.

Despite the heavy scent of blood hanging around the camp, nothing else came to investigate. Since Marcus and Grey had done the bulk of the fighting, Vaelis took over the remaining night watch. The rest of the night passed peacefully. When Zelier opened his eyes again... Bright birdsong greeted the morning. Golden sunlight filtered through the gaps in the tent flap. Dawn had arrived.

"... Ah." He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and sat up. The bedroll beside him was already empty. Outside, he could faintly hear Marcus and Grey chatting. Didn't sleep very well... It had been his first day after transmigrating. Fragments of memories and dreams from two different lives had tangled together all night, leaving him mentally exhausted. Guess it'll take some time to get used to all this. Running a hand through his messy hair, he instinctively opened his status screen.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Name: Zelier Level: 2 Strength: 65 Agility: 60 Constitution: 68 Spirit: 71 Intelligence: 66 Perception: 30 Charisma: 45 Luck: 41 ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Aside from the four points he'd invested into Spirit last night... Nothing else had changed. Beneath Matrix Deduction, another line quietly remained. The Grand Creation Analysis Progress: 0% Zelier frowned. The Grand Creation... Just what kind of spell is that? After a moment, he sighed. Forget it. I'll ask at the Mage Guild when we get back.

The previous Zelier's understanding of magic had been shallow at best. There was still an enormous amount for him to discover on his own.

He pushed open the tent flap. A cool morning breeze brushed against his face. The forest air was crisp and refreshing, carrying the scent of leaves, earth, and wildflowers. It instantly cleared the last traces of drowsiness from his mind. After a quick wash, Zelier caught the piece of black bread Grey tossed his way. He dipped it into a bowl of hot soup before taking a bite. The bread was incredibly hard. Without soaking it first, he doubted he could even chew through it. As for the taste...

It couldn't compare to the pastries and fresh bread he remembered from Earth. There was barely any sweetness at all. Still... It filled an empty stomach. That was enough. According to Marcus's plan, the party would leave the Ashwood Forest today and return to Blackstone Town to report the completion of the wolf extermination commission at the Adventurers' Association.