Chapter 3: EXP Grind 101
The carriage was way more rundown than Ethan expected. The wood was rough, the seats had no padding, and the wheels creaked with every turn on the road. Still... it made sense. The sanctuary they were in was secret, and a luxurious carriage would attract way too much attention. Discretion was the priority.
Ethan had expected Aeris to drive the carriage herself or that someone would be waiting to take them... but to his surprise, the driver was basically a mannequin in disguise. A golem. He had read about this kind of construct in the novel but didn’t expect to see one this soon.
It seemed the cult had really taken precautions to ensure as few people as possible knew about their presence here. Though Ethan wasn’t sure if that was to protect him... or to make it easier to get rid of him later.
Despite the carriage having space for more passengers, only Ethan and Aeris were riding. Even so, he chose to sit right next to her. Without warning, he casually wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
Aeris froze. Her face immediately started turning red, like all the heat in her body rushed straight to her cheeks. Despite the obvious surprise, she didn’t pull away. Her gaze shifted, and her fingers started nervously playing with the edge of her dress. There was shyness in every little gesture, but no rejection.
Ethan smiled, satisfied. At the very least, Aeris didn’t seem like she wanted to kill him. But he still couldn’t rule out the possibility.
As the wheels creaked along the road, Ethan leaned back and let his thoughts wander. Now that he had a decent grasp of his abilities, it was time to plan his next steps. He knew his existence wasn’t part of this world’s script, which meant freedom... but also responsibility.
’The cults in the novel fought for power whenever they had the chance... They won’t accept a new Herald just popping out of nowhere,’ he thought. ’I need to get stronger before the world even notices I’m here.’
He closed his eyes for a moment, mentally cross-referencing his memories of the story. Places where he could train, hidden artifacts, potential allies... everything needed to be calculated. But before any big plans, he needed levels.
A good old-fashioned forest fire should solve that.
He opened his eyes and turned toward Aeris. "There are a lot of monsters in that forest, right?"