The party looked at him with serious expressions.
"So, we will go to the nearest city then?" Lana asked. "Indeed, after learning how to cast magic, we can easily defeat the awakened Troll King."
Alsten shook his head.
"No. We will not leave this place. This is the main route the monsters take to attack human settlements, right? If we do that, more people will die."
He wasn't completely sure about the plausibility of his idea, but he was somehow extremely confident in it.
"I'm going to learn magic here. On my own."
The four party members blinked at the same time, staring at him in disbelief. When no one spoke, he continued to explain his point. Actually, he didn't want to go to a human city just yet for several reasons.
"If we stay on this spot, we get to protect the civilians from more harm. Also, I don't think there'll be a need for me to go to a magic school."
They stared at him with questioning eyes. He continued.
"I can feel it, somewhere inside me. There's a mysterious energy that I don't quite understand. If I experiment on my own, I think I'll be able to use magic before the Troll King awakens."
It started last night when he was bathing in the calm river. Something felt... different. Perhaps, it was because he used to be a regular human back on Earth.
According to Genler, magic was bestowed to humans at birth. So, those who were not blessed with this ability would never know the difference between having it and not having it.
Alsten, on the other hand, got to live as a normal human before becoming a magic caster. He could sense the slight difference. Like an extension of his consciousness, there was another entity hiding inside his soul. Without the knowledge that he already had, he might have thought of this as some sort of a spiritual experience. But no, he was quite sure that this was what they called 'magic'.
And the most important reason was, there was a chance that someone in the city who can deal with curses and spells would blow his cover. Until he learned sufficient information about himself to better mimic the original Alsten, it was better to steer clear of human settlements.
"Alright, then. We trust your judgement." Lana stated. Not a hint of objection was present in her tone.
Yobu smashed a fist on his palm... or paws, as though a brilliant idea crossed his mind.
"Oh! And learn swordsmanship as well while you're at it. Watching you fight almost makes me wanna puke."
***
Genler used to be a professor in a magic school back in the kingdom before being recruited into Alsten's party. He taught healing magic.
Healing magic didn't require mana, and can be freely used by anyone. Instead, it used the power of ancient spirits of nature. However, the incantations and rituals, as well as the technical knowledge in medicine required to perform healing magic would take decades to master. It goes without saying healers were one of the most important people in the kingdom.
And so, Genler was the most qualified in the party to teach Alsten magic.
Genler spent the whole day describing to Alsten what magic looked like and how they were used, as well as the history of magic. Alsten dozed off several times.
With no actual reference, Genler didn't see the point of his assistance.
Little did he know, Alsten was getting further and further into understanding the nature of this mysterious entity. He just had to find a way to interact with and trigger it.
"Then, over time, the use of magic is integrated to daily human affairs. Some specialized in combat, but most of them used it for entertainment, technology, and other things."
As the healer was speaking, Hetaphar's loud voice cut through.
"We have some guests."
Three snow trolls arrived, they seemed to be on their way to attack a human town once again.
The party rose and grabbed their weapons. Getting accustomed to battling these grotesque creatures, Alsten defeated them without breaking a sweat.
After that, Alsten spent the rest of the remaining hours to read the books Genler had lent him. While doing so, he kept the weird sensation of mana inside his body in the corner of his mind.
The night arrived once again, and their roles hadn't changed. Alsten wanted to help them with the chores, but he was told to focus on studying magic, so he did. After dinner, Yobu tended to his blades, Hetaphar was... well, dinner didn't end for him. Being that huge, finding sufficient food must have been hard. Luckily for him, Lana was very generous.
The elf was on top of a tall tree, scouting their surroundings. Her mind seemed to be wandering off somewhere far away.
Genler, just like last night, was jotting down words on his notebook. It turned out that he had been documenting their journey for the past five years. That job had been entrusted to the brilliant professor.
These people will one day save the world.
After another good night's sleep, Alsten's third day as the Hero came. Waking up to a beautiful face became his favorite routine.
He began to wonder what their relationships with each other was. The five of them, he means.
Just like yesterday, Alsten read Genler's books and asked him of the details he wanted to know. Then, when noon hit, Alsten closed the book and approached Yobu who was lying under a tree.
The wolf heard his footsteps and opened his eyes. He looked at Alsten.
"Well? How's it going?"
Alsten smiled.
"Smoothly. I think I've got a better grasp of it now."
Yobu sat up and stretched his arms and back.
"Hah... If it's you, learning magic without going to school doesn't sound ridiculous at all."
Alsten faked a laugh. Actually, he was confident because he could feel the obvious difference between having and not having mana.
"Anyway, I'm here to ask you of something."
The corner of Yobu's lips curled up.
"About dang time, eh?"
The two walked into a clearing where no one else could watch them. Alsten was wielding his greatsword while Yobu held a stick.
"There's no way I'll be able to swing that thing, so just use your imagination."
Alsten nodded. They stood beside each other, he listened to Yobu's every word and watched his every move.
"You're using a greatsword, but because you're stupid strong, you swing it like a short sword. So I'll be using this stick to teach."
Another reason why he chose a thick, heavy sword was because the regular ones instantly broke in his hands. The greatsword was custom made for his ridiculous strength.
Yobu liquidized his knowledge in swordsmanship and poured it directly into Alsten's mind. The beast was surprisingly a good teacher. Soon in that same day, he learned the different styles and forms, as well as the basic techniques. When the monsters arrived, Alsten had dealt with them and even received a compliment from Yobu.
It was either Alsten was a natural or Yobu had a knack for teaching. Once they slay the Demon King, he already had a back up career plan to suggest to his friend.
When night arrived, Lana prepared to hunt again. She brought home different kinds of game. Some had wings, some were four legged. Sometimes, she brought one big prey, sometimes she hunted small, quantitative animals.
This time, Alsten decided to come with her.
The archer looked at him, confused.
"Help me hunt?"
Alsten scratched the back of his head and faked a smile.
"Well... I'm sure you can do it on your own but..."
He was embarrassingly nervous. How does one talk to a woman again?
"You know... I just wanted to... learn, I guess."
Lana shrugged.
"In that case, I don't mind."
With that, as the sun began to set, the Hero and the elf ventured into the forest.