I opened my eyes after closing them for what seemed like an eternity. It appeared that I’m laying on my back on top of a wooden cart. My head throbbed in pain. My eyes slowly adjusted to the radiant sunlight under the blue cloudless sky. For somebody who only goes outdoors to reenact WWII battles because the sky in the 21st century was often covered in smog, this was truly a rare and beautiful sight. I died. I know I died. I was shot twice in the chest and thrown out of the window in my office. So where am I?Was this the Afterlife? If so, it smelled like… spiced rum?I got up and looked around. I was laying on top of a pile of busted rum barrels, soaked in said rum. Oh, that might explain the mother of all headaches that I was experiencing. Did I land on this cart? If so, where did I come from? I looked 15 meters ahead of me and saw a crowd of people standing next to a stage in a bustling city square pointing and laughing at me. Hmm, that was odd. I looked down at myself, and then

Wow, couldn’t believe it’d been half a year already since I transmigrated. As I suspected, I had a much better knack for ranged combat than I do melee. I’d also become a much more capable outdoorsman. And thanks to my “superpower” of >, I had fully committed to memory the “Poisoned- Do NOT eat” list and the “OK to eat” list. And I’d improved so much while staying under the radar- I didn’t make friends (Roshan is an exception), I didn’t try to stand out, and I didn't make trouble. Things were scary at first, but I finally felt like I had my legs under me. I had a much deeper understanding of my new home world after chatting with Roshan and cross-checking these facts with other sources. For example, I surmised that the Holy Artorian Empire had an agrarian-based economy, with an emerging artisan and service industry in cities. Its unit of currency is the crown. One copper coin is worth 1 crown. One silver coin is worth 100 crowns. One gold coin is worth 10000 crowns. Ty

“You… you’re not seriously considering going after it? Are you?” One of the deadweights asked, completely forgetting his decorum in front of his commanding officer.“Of course we are! We have to track it and evacuate any settlements this monster approaches! Have you forgotten your duties as a Ranger?!?” For the first time in this 2-week patrol, Vinnick showed a displeased scowl. “Ser! No I have not! I… I was merely pointing out that it is better to rush back to the castle for reinforcement!” The deadweight replied in defense, with a slightly higher pitch.“There are dozens of settlers in the Northwestern Settlement and the Logging Camp, and they are doomed if we don’t warn them in time. Do I look like a coward pretending to be a Ranger to you, Mitt?” Vinnick stared down the deadweight with the intensity of a midday sun. “No ser!” The deadweight’s pitch went an octave higher. “I was thinking maybe we should send the trainees back as messengers to the Legate. They’d be useless in a fi

After a brief nap, I woke up mildly refreshed and resumed my pursuit. The goal today was to stay around 250 meters away this time. There would be no crystal harvesting this time- after all, I was sure whatever crazy shit I’d see today would be more valuable than mere crystals.How did I know? Because they’d arrived at the east bank of the Acheron River. Vinnick once told me that even if you were strong enough to swim across this torrential river roughly 1-2 klicks wide, the mana-beasts in the river would never turn down a free meal. Fighting aquatic mana-beasts in the water was a fool’s errand. These Witches had to have come here specifically due to some intel, and I doubt that their source was capable of surviving past the Acheron. So most likely, whatever they’re after is somewhere nearby, at the east bank of the river. I put on a sound bootie made of bear furs on my boots to further reduce the noise level. Slowly, but surely, I followed the tracks of the Witches. I was about 400 m

“Honestly, how do they expect me to swing a hammer all day after eating this slop?” I finished my tasteless wheat porridge in frustration. I couldn’t believe I’m saying this, but I missed risking my life in that death jungle- at least I got to eat meat when I killed things. Looking back, the poor kid’s body was pretty malnourished when I landed in it. Thanks to 3 years of constant hunting in the Wild as a Ranger, I was able to fill up my boney frame with some honest-to-goodness muscles. Heck, there were days when I felt like my mana reserve grew to unimaginable heights. I know that’s not physically possible, but it sure felt like it. “It’s not so bad, friend Rummy. I kinda like the simplicity of porridge. Besides, it’s better than nothing!” Roshan, the ever-friendly doormat, cheerfully replied as he got up. We’re just about to be done with lunch in the mess hall. Time to head back to the forge on that 72 hour work-week grind (Can somebody invent Saturday yet?).It had been a quiet 3