Chapter five- Reality

The first skill he wanted to try was the wind scythe. It was the only skill he had that could inflict damage on his opponent. Zero thought back to the times he had seen the move used in anime or when he read manga. That's when a surge of information barraged his brain and he suddenly knew how to execute the move. Although he just got the information, it felt like he had always known how to do it.

'This move is more effective with a weapon but it's not impossible without one. Since I don't have a weapon, I'll just use my hand.' Zero took a deep breath then formed a blade with his right hand. He contracted his biceps and pressed his fingers together. Once that was done, he slashed down as hard as he could, this caused a small wind to blow. However, it was nothing supernatural, it was the same amount of wind a person of equal strength would produce.

Seeing that he didn't produce the results he expected, Zero tried it again, then again but to no avail, every time the same result would occur. After his fourth try, he knew that it was impossible for him to do it. Zero thought of two reasons why the move wasn't working. The first being that he couldn't cast magic thus the manipulation of wind was impossible. The second reason was that his strength stat was too low thus the amount of force required wasn't met resulting in a failed move.

Zero didn't which was true but he knew only time would tell so he moved onto the next skill [cloud step] but the same thing occurred. He wasn't able to replicate the move he had in mind. His technique was superb but there was an element that was lacking. Zero sighed and shook his head, 'The same thing happened. This time it's either because my agility stat is too low or it all boils down to magic again...' He sighed, "Well that was a bust. Both of my skills don't work and I can't test weapon transmutation because I don't have a weapon yet."

Zero shook his head then walked back into the cave. As he walked in, he saw Azaleigh sitting upright. Despite being crossed, her beautiful legs shone with inviting gleam. Zero gulped at the sight for a brief moment then he gathered himself and sat down next to her.

As Zero approached her, Azaleigh yawned then shook her head to erase any lingering remnants of fatigue. Then she looked at him as he sat down next to her. Because Zero gave her his shirt, he was topless. Azaleigh looked at his toned body and a familiar yet unfamiliar feeling of lust trickled into her body, 'It must be my human DNA reacting to him because in the past I've never found humans attractive...' Then she shook her head of it, ' I wonder what master is going to need me to do today?'

Once Zero was on the ground, he smiled at Azaleigh, "Good morning, hope you slept well enough. All things considered."

Azaleigh unconsciously returned a smile, "At first it was hard to sleep. I couldn't find my sleeping position, but I eventually fell asleep."

Zero nodded his head, "I'm glad you slept at least. I'm sorry for these conditions, as humans this isn't how we are supposed to sleep but it's how we are going to have to as I don't know-how to build..."

"Master it's okay, I'll sleep in thorns if I had to as long as I by your side. As long as I am of use to ." 'Because I know a man with your skills won't be living that way for long.' She smirked surreptitiously.

Zero laughed then he smiled as her words warmed his heart, "I'd never make you sleep on thorns unless I had too. However, I do know how you can be of use to me. I don't know anything about this world. How much do you know?"

"What do you mean this world? Is master not from this world?" She said raising her left eyebrow.

The fact that she asked whether he was from another world shocked Zero, 'Is it common for people to come from different worlds in this world?' He took a deep breath, "Yes, I am from another world. I was born on the planet of Earth then yesterday I found myself in another world. I don't know how I got here or anything about this place."

Azaleigh nodded her head as she pieced the information together, "That makes sense as to why you have such a strong ability but also why I can't sense any magic coming from you. Every creature born in this world is born with a divine connection to mana. The stronger the connection the more mana you can use. This is something that can't be taught you just have to feel it. That's why you have no magic abilities just like all the other heroes I have met and escaped from in the past."

Zero nodded his head, " So how much do you know about this world?"

Zero grinned proudly, "I know a fair amount. Right now we are in the forest of pantelan which is in the Kingdom of Keshos. There are other Kingdoms namely, Shiyca, Drauton, Escaiya, Strera and Krullox. I've lived in Strera and Drauton before and compared to this Kingdom they are a lot stronger. All the Kingdoms are at war with each other except Keshos. Keshos is a neutral party and doesn't take part in the war. Other Kingdoms don't attack it either because they are considerably weaker than they are and are not seen as a threat. To make sure this happens humans from other Kingdoms cannot move this Kingdom. If they are found trying to escape they are killed. This is enforced by all the other Kingdoms."

Zero shook his head, 'That makes this the safest Kingdom to live in while I get stronger. However, I don't know for how long. Maybe this Kingdom tried to summon me because they are tired of being the weakest. This would explain why I was summoned in the middle of nowhere maybe this was necessary to keep the summoning undetected. Still conjecture but the more I learn the higher the probability becomes...' Zero sighed, "So who and what lives in this forest? What should we watch out for? Just say their race names."

Azaleigh furrowed her brows, "Off my tongue, I can name, ogres, orcs, demons, centaurs, lamias, subterunes and the monpoe. There are still a whole lot more. This forest is basically a home for creatures that just want to live their lives away from human intervention. Humans don't like entering this forest because there are so much of us here versus them."

Zero nodded his head because he understood, the only thing that had him confused was the race, Monpoe and Subterunes. He had never heard of them before, "What are the monpoe and the subterunes?"

"Monpoe are half monkey and half human they own one of the biggest territories within this forest. The subterunes live under the ground. They are gifted when it comes to construction and setting traps. They are a bipedal species that have cat-like ears, thin vertical slit eyes and a lizards tail. Their body is covered in brown fur similar to a mole. They have human-like hands with long white retractable nails."

Zero grinned when he heard there was a race skilled in construction. The ground was hard, he wanted to live properly. However, they were gifted in traps too. This is how they prevented themselves from being used by other races. Zero sighed, 'When I'm strong enough, I'll make a move.' "If we had to rate our combined strength as of now where on the ladder do we stand?"

"My individual strength puts me in the upper-lower half but as a collective, we are at the bottom of the list with the other strays."

Zero gulped deeply. This meant he was at the mercy of almost all the creatures in this forest. The only good thing that he got from this was that there were stray groups. Meaning he could collect DNA, skills and titles from them without having to fight a big group of people, "One step at a time, then this forest will be under my rule."