"You alright there, pal?" asked the same voice, sounding a little closer after the few sparse seconds following his rather impressed-sounding previous words.

  "I'm going to explode!" Theo screamed, finding the paralytic poison of the squirrel no longer affecting him. He ignored the block of text and it whisked itself away to the corner of his vision, reducing itself to three simple dots.

  "Oof, that doesn't sound positive," said the man, squatting down in front of Theo. He seemed to look Theo over thoughtfully. "You know, I've never seen anyone be affected by Forest Squirrel venom before. I thought the venom was more... theoretical."

  "Is that monster dead?" Theo screamed, suddenly remembering the vicious beast. He sat up thunderingly fast to eye the direction it had been sent flying moments before.

  "What, the poor squirrel? You must've really played with its nuts if it was that upset with you," said the man with a gentle, graceful laugh.

  "No, it just attacked me!"

  "Okay, okay, it attacked you," he answered, clearly not believing a word of it. Still, he was graceful enough to offer to help Theo up, and Theo was a bit too shaken to reject the man.

  Theo saw the menacing monster climb up the stairs just as he got up on his own two feet again, screaming in response to the horrific sight.

  The squirrel's tail was slightly crooked, a bend visible just below the middle section of it. That didn't stop it from spontaneously growing sharp needles from it, however.

  "No!" Theo screamed, hiding between his own arms and the statue, now definitely not glowing anymore.

  "Wow, you must've really gobbled its nuts," said the man, stepping forward toward the monster.

  Theo, heroic as he was, reached for the man to pull him into his defensive embrace. With a flick of his hand, a bright, orange light flickered. A small circle formed of that very light just around the moving hand, filled with moving script Theo didn't recognise. A petite ball of shiny flame was conjured in the man's hand and it was flung toward the red rodent.

  In an instant, and in a rather anticlimactic one at that, the squirrel burned and entirely vanished. It left nothing but a handful of ashen dust behind, which flew off in the gentle rush of air created from the very same flame.

  Theo ogled the man's hand where the radiant circle flashed out of existence as well as the site of total rodent destruction. He noticed that for just the slightest of moments, transparent, blue-hued symbols flickered where the circle had once been. He was almost certain he'd just imagined it when he saw the same phenomenon where the squirrel died.

  "You're quite the oddball," said the man with a brilliant smile as he stretched out his hand invitingly toward Theo. "I'm Chaste. Never thought I'd say this, but I'm always happy to help protect someone from a small Forest Squirrel."

  "Is that a name or a virtue?" Theo asked, still looking toward the barest black mark where that spiteful creature had been vanquished too easily. This man was probably super-strong, and was that some kind of magic spell? This world truly was different. Wait, what had he just said?

  The man laughed stoically, placing his hands at his hips and puffing his chest out as he did to empower the gusts of vocally charged air. "And funny! I must admit I've never heard that one before. What can I say, me and my siblings are our mother's innocent children even now."

  What had he said? Theo couldn't quite remember as he hadn't been paying any attention to the man. Still, asking him now was sure to cause some drama or other. Better to let it be. Luckily, the man was pretty talkative, changing the topic himself rather instantly.

  "Never seen anyone other than small children scared of a Forest Squirrel before. It's a zero-level creature, after all. You seem of age, you must be a third-level in something, right?"

  The man smiled as if Theo was supposed to know what he was talking about. Theo was pretty sure that he certainly wasn't a third-level anything.

  "S-sure," Theo lied.

  "Are you?" the man then asked, squinting as he leaned in closer.

  "No," Theo sighed. "I don't even know what that means."

  "Truly?"

  The man mused.

  "Will you accept an ‘Inspection’?" he asked a few long moments later.

  "Sure?"

  Warning! You are under the scrutiny of an Inspection.

  Theo gulped.

  "Well, I say... A zero-level person. Today's a day full of surprises! First a blessing of the old hag, then a zero-level man? What will they think of next?"

  "Can you tell me what's happening?" Theo asked after having shifted his gaze upward towards the sky in complete and utter terror as there could only be one 'old hag' he was talking about. The sky didn't shatter and rain hellfire down upon them. For now.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  "Will you tell me your story, fellow traveller? I suspect it is a most intriguing one if you are a zero-level even at your age."

  Theo considered this. The man seemed rather chaste, all things considered. Perhaps he was trustworthy. Besides, the man seemed to have an inkling already, and who else did Theo have to tell him about this new world he found himself in? Arcana's book was of no help, though that particular object he decided to keep to himself. It was his 'cheat', after all.

  "Sure," Theo said, nodding a friendly nod to the man. "I'm Theo. What's your name?"

  "Very well. I'm Chaste," he said, eyeing Theo curiously.

  "Is that a name or a virtue," Theo asked.

  After reintroducing himself, Chaste, which was really his name, climbed down the stairs at the side of the temple where he'd appeared from, signalling Theo to join him. There was a horse there carrying travelling gear and provisions in side-mounted sacks. Chaste found a brownish brick in one of the sacks and placed it on the ground, igniting it with a similar circle as earlier. Again, the same symbols lingered the shortest amount after the flame-conjuring circle vanished.

  "What is that?" Theo asked. "That circle, I mean."

  "A rather common magic circle. The spell is simply called 'Fireball'."

  "What language is that script in? I can't read it."

  Chaste chuckled. "The language of magic. No one can read it, not anymore. Luckily, the glyph is all that's necessary to learn and cast the spell. The circle itself, script and all, is a natural phenomenon, much like the wind itself. No one really thinks much of it, I think."

  If it was just a visual side effect, Theo could understand if the people of this world didn't think about it much. If it was anything like seeing the dust on the ground being lifted and carried away by a stronger gust of wind, Theo wouldn't have given it a second thought either.

  "And those other symbols that remain behind for just a moment longer?" he then asked.

  "Which ones? There's no such thing."

  The brown brick on the ground burned like a stack of firewood, providing a comfortable warmth despite not turning a shade darker from the fire. Theo gazed down at the orange, flickering light.

  "Can you do it again?" Theo asked. He was certain he'd seen it.

  "Of course," Chaste obliged. He cast 'Fireball' again, once more targeting the flaming brick.

  Observing it from closer this time, Theo noticed the slightest of transparent symbols even while the circle was hanging in the air. When it vanished, it was simply easier to see them before they, too, disappeared.

  "You might be hallucinating. That Boon you're affected by mentions that might be the case. I don't suppose you have any affinity for magic?"

  "Not at all," Theo said, then started explaining how he had come to be where he was.

  Chaste listened intently, offering simple, friendly comments about certain events, like how he was sorry for the sickness he had suffered through and his eventual death. He somehow didn't question it, though he certainly did show some interest when Theo mentioned seeing Arcana in the flesh within her own domain. The story ended with Theo meeting Chaste, and there was little reason to continue from that point forward.

  "Another world. One without any magic. And here I thought we had it bad after losing our Divine magic."

  "You lost it? Isn't that what's running through me right now, threatening to explode me at any moment?"

  "Well, that certainly seems to be the case, but it hasn't been seen in forever. That's why I'm travelling, actually. That's why I went here, to this temple."

  "You're some kind of researcher? Historian?"

  "Something like that. Archaeologist, maybe. I just do what I please, really. Now, about that ticking time bomb you have coursing inside of you... When I asked earlier if you had an affinity for magic, there was a reason for it. It's impossible to know just how much magic you have to expend to get it off, but expending mana is a sure way of getting rid of it faster."

  "Can I learn magic? Can you teach me 'Fireball'?" Theo asked, propping himself up enthusiastically.

  "No. It's a first-level Fire spell, but you still need a first-level Fire affinity to cast it. You, my dear friend, have nothing."

  Theo grimaced, but felt a slight tug at his heartstrings from being called a friend to this man. Then he remembered that yes, he could definitely see how much mana he had to expend. The Boon had said how much mana there was lingering inside him, hadn't it?

  Theo remembered that the 'system', which was likely the odd messages he received, was also a gift from Arcana. Chaste must not have it, then. That also meant that the 'Inspection' wasn't exactly the same as the system.

  Theo eyed the three dots the previous messages had turned into earlier, still sitting neatly in the corner of his vision. They expanded as if responding to his request. He eyed the information about the Boon for just a moment before noticing the slightly off-coloured text asking him if he wanted to see the calculation of the 'Critical Success' of the 'God-touched Healing'. He eyed it intently, and as he expected it to, it expanded.

  God-touched Healing (Instant) Critical Success! See calculation?

  Critical Success calculation:

  Health (old/new): 34%/100% (+66% delta)

  Stamina (old/new): 89%/100% (+11% delta)

  Mana (old/new): 100%/100% (No change)

  Energy dissipation factor unmet: Mana. Overload triggered.

  Mana Overload (1000 Mana): 100x Maximum value / 0 delta. Divide by zero incalculable. Artificially increasing Energy dissipation factor.

  Determining safest energy dissipation method. Method determined: Lingering Magic (Boon) applied.

  Theo wasn't half-bad at maths. In fact, as he was mostly bedridden due to his sickness, he'd gone through several schoolbooks several times, even those of a higher grade than his. While he hadn't been taught by anyone for several years, he assumed to be a bit more knowledgeable than the rest of his peers. Most of them anyway. At only 18, he knew there was much yet to learn, in any case. Now he just had to do that in another world.

  While maths were fine, the rather meta-magical hoodoo that followed the three deltas were beyond him. As far as he could tell, because his mana levels were already full, the energy from 'God-touched Healing' couldn't find a way to leave his body, somehow dividing by zero because of the 0% increase in Mana. As such, the spell applied a lasting effect on him so the overabundance of mana could dissipate without probably exploding him. There was still a chance that would happen, though.

  Next, he eyed the long list of potential effects the so-called 'Boon' could have, like instant death, explosion, hallucinations and an immediate rise, then prompt removal of 'Luck'. At the bottom he found what he was looking for.

  Lingering mana remaining: 997.

  How long had it been since he received the boon? An hour, maybe two? If it had only fallen two more points since last time, it was maybe 1 point per hour? A thousand hours was... 41 days. More, even. Each day with an increasing chance of instant death? He had to find a way to spend his Mana, and quickly.