Eliam glanced at Nemina, a look of confusion on his face. “We can handle these guys?”

  She nodded. “Yes, they’re just kobolds. Nothing compared to those yeti freaks we were fighting earlier.”

  I guess it makes sense. We are much closer to Denovere, so the people there must kill anything too dangerous quickly.

  Both Nemina and Eliam quickly engaged in the stampede, chasing the man. Once he ran past them, they got right in the stampede's way. Eliam was a little hesitant, but he trusted Nemina’s judgement.

  The stampede rushed toward them, seemingly unstoppable. That was until they actually got within Eliam’s aura.

  The first kobold to do so was immediately ripped into shreds. From then on, a mess of chaos, flesh, and destruction started.

  Eliam drew Frostlight from its sheath and started to attack every enemy in sight. Nemina did the same. Within a matter of minutes, the stampede was clearing out. In the midst of the chaos, another kobold appeared. This one seemed to be a little stronger than the rest, as it didn’t immediately die to Eliam’s aura.

  It growled as its companions lost their lives. It raised its scythe at Eliam and charged, desperate to avenge the fallen warriors. Eliam blocked its initial strike and swung back. The kobold dashed backward. It probably used some sort of skill.

  Unfortunately, Nemina was already on it. She swung at it, clashing swords. As soon as they maintained contact for over half a second, the kobold started to freeze over. It panicked as it let out a growl. A force emanated from it as a rapid look entered its eyes.

  Nemina jumped backward as the kobold rapidly went into a frenzy, throwing its weapon around like it weighed nothing. She proceeded to dodge another attack and stab into it. It didn’t stop the kobold at all.

  Eliam jumped into the fray and slashed off one of its arms. Nemina did the same to the other. Still, the kobold continued to fight. It scooped its fallen scythe into its mouth and charged. Whatever it did to itself made it senseless, almost like some sort of berserk skill.

  Eliam dodged another strike and finally, slashed the kobold horizontally across its waist. It froze, a saddened look in its eyes as it glanced and him. Seconds later, its top half slid off, and it died.

  “Thank you guys so much!” the man said as he walked up from behind them. Upon seeing Eliam, he gave him a slightly odd look, but quickly resumed his original friendly expression.

  All of the kobolds had been cleared, so the man assumed it to be safe. A little cocky of him to be so bright after completely leaving Nemina and Eliam to their own devices, but he wouldn’t have been much help anyway.

  Nemina scoffed as she turned toward the man. “Yeah, whatever.”

  She turned back and started walking away, clearly intent on ignoring him. The guy seemed annoying, but he wasn’t going to ignore him. He wanted more information. There were still too many things he wasn’t sure about.

  “It was no problem.” Eliam smiled. “What’s your name?” Eliam asked.

  “Jared Smith,” Jared said.

  Nemina turned and glared at Eliam; however, he didn’t care.

  Jared Smith? That almost sounded like a name from Earth.

  “Jared, huh?” Eliam thought aloud. “Say… do you know of a place called Earth?”

  Jared froze. “Yeah? Are you a hero too?”

  Nemina narrowed her eyes, confused at the situation unfolding in front of her.

  “A hero?” Eliam asked. “What classifies someone as a hero?”

  “You don’t know? Basically anyone who comes from Earth,” Jared explained.

  That actually made sense. So, that man Adrian must have been from Earth along with that purple-haired girl. I think her name was Zoey. If that’s true and she recognized me, then I could be in trouble. It’s too early to tell.

  “I see… then yeah, I guess I’m a hero,” Eliam said.

  Jared nodded. “Ah, that’s nice to hear. The people here are so interesting… I guess it makes sense. They’re world is so much worse than ours…”

  Nemina scoffed, reminding Eliam and Jared that she was there. Eliam was sure she had many questions. He would answer them later.

  “You’re so strong, too,” Jared said. “How did you manage that?”

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  “Strong?” Eliam asked in confusion. He had definitely leveled up quite a bit during his runs in the cathedral, but he certainly didn’t consider himself strong. He couldn’t, especially not after witnessing the battle between the Nircozonian and Lemania. That was true strength.

  “Yeah, like way strong. Most of the heroes, let alone the civilians of this world, would have struggled to take something like that horde on. Very few could have done it,” Jared said.

  “Just sounds like everyone’s weak,” Nemina muttered.

  Eliam ignored her and replied, “I’m sure you’re exaggerating. I’m really not strong. Anyways, we should probably get to the city before any other stampedes come.”

  Jared looked like he still didn’t buy that Eliam wasn’t strong, but thankfully, he let it go and nodded. “Yes, let’s. I was a fool to come out here alone. I should have listened to the heroes guild.”

  “The what guild?” Eliam asked.

  “The heroes guild? How can you not have heard of them? Everyone who first appears in the city is instructed to immediately go to them to learn about this world,” Jared explained.

  Eliam paled. “What about the people who don’t start in the city?”

  “What?” Jared asked. He had a confused look on his face. “Is that even possible?”

  Why is he acting so surprised? Don’t tell me that everyone is supposed to start in Denovere.

  “Uh, is that even possible?” Jared asked.

  “I think…” Eliam said.

  Obviously it was possible, I didn’t start in Denovere!

  Thankfully, Jared brushed it off and turned toward Nemina. Something told Eliam this wasn’t going to end well for Jared.

  “And are you from Earth, too?” He asked with a smile.

  She glared at him, quickly wiping away his friendly face. “I’m from Denovere, like every other person here. I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about with this Earth stuff.”

  She’s from Denovere? I had assumed she had been born in the cathedral, but now that I think about it, being born in Denovere makes more sense.

  Jared turned back toward Eliam. “She’s not from Earth? She’s from Lemineria?”

  “Lemineria?” Eliam asked.

  “An old name for our world,” Nemina said. “I didn’t think anyone still knew it.”

  “Oh, everyone knows it,” Jared said. “It's what the heroes guild teaches everyone to call this place.”

  “I see,” Eliam said.

  “I have a lot of questions for you… But let’s get to the city first. It isn’t safe out here, no matter how strong you are,” Jared said.

  Eliam nodded. “Let’s,”

  “One last thing, though, what are your guys’ names?” Jared asked.

  Should I tell him? He seems like a genuine person, and he has been very useful, but it seems risky. I know there are plenty of ways to find where people lived solely based on their name. I’m just hoping no more freak encounters happen like with that purple-haired woman, Zoey.

  “Eliam,” he responded.

  Jared gave him a curious look as if something just clicked in his head. He didn’t say what he was thinking aloud. Instead, he glanced at Nemina as if expecting her to answer.

  She sighed as she said, “That’s not important for you to know, not is it?”

  Eliam rolled his eyes, but didn’t speak up for her. If she didn’t want him to know, then he wouldn’t go against her wishes.

  Jared shrugged at Nemina’s response and motioned toward the city. “Let’s get out of here.”

  They walked in silence, eventually coming up to a large wall, similar in size to Fantamaia. That was where the similarities ended. The wall looked much more decrepit. It was clear that Fantamaia had been much better taken care of.

  “Wow, this place looks like shit,” Nemina said.

  Jared gave her an uncomfortable look, but didn’t respond. Eliam rolled his eyes, amused. He had grown comfortable with Nemina’s remarks.

  They went up to the gate, and the guards easily let them in. The inside of the city was somehow worse than the state of the walls. The entire place looked like a slum.

  Shady people were walking around everywhere. Mixed in were adventurers, civilians, and the occasional rich-looking dude.

  “What a shithole,” Nemina said.

  “Yeah, it’s really kinda way different from any Earth cities, but it's pretty safe if you’re a hero. Nobody wants to mess with them out of fear of the government retaliating.

  “What about normal people?” Eliam asked.

  Jared shrugged. “I don’t know. Judging by the city, it’s probably not so good.”

  Eliam shrugged it off. There was nothing he could do as he was. What he could do was find this hero's guild. It will be there that he can find out more about this world and what is going on.

  “Jared, can you take me to this hero’s guild. I have a lot of questions,” Eliam said.

  Jared nodded. “Yeah, of course. I have a few questions for you.”

  Nemina scoffed. “Don’t expect answers.”

  “Is she always like this?” Jared asked.

  “Yeah, I guess.” Eliam chuckled.

  Nemina shrank back, looking slightly hurt. “I am not,” she muttered under her breath.

  Eliam felt a little bad, but Jared was already directing them to the guild, and he didn’t want to miss his instructions. He would ensure he spoke with Nemina later to inform her of whatever she wanted to know. She was kind of his partner.

  “Yeah, well, I wasn’t just talking about your whole odd situation… I was also curious. Do you know anyone named Samantha Edward?” Jared asked as they walked.

  Eliam stopped dead in his tracks and gaped at Jared. “How the hell do you know that name?”