The Sickness in Gaia

About an hour passed in total and after I offered to heal all of Gaia's sick people, Henry walked in with a ton of children of all ages, along with some older folks as well. "H-Hello everybody!" I said. I was entirely nervous about facing this many people, but my skills couldn't go to waste, no matter how scary it was.

"Old-Man Henry, this guy is a healer?" One of the younger kids asked. I answered his question with a nod and held out my left hand towards his head.

"[Heal 2]" I said out loud. Blue smoke wrapped around his entire body like a suit and then tightened until it vanished under his skin. I had the whole tent gasping in surprise, with more than a few people volunteering to be healed next.

I took my time in healing all of them, waiting for my mana to charge, but by the end of the session, I healed about 36 people in total. They all thanked me profusely, even offering to give me money. I refused.

"My name is Anima. Please, remember it." I said. I looked over to Henry, and as if he read my mind, he shook his head. I wanted to tell them I was a Hero, but if Henry and how often he overshared hasn't, maybe it was a good idea that I didn't.

"You want us to remember your name when you performed such a great service to those in need? Of course, we'll remember and chant your name, Anima!" One of the older folk said. That made me happen, but I wasn't exactly looking to be a celebrity either.

"We also have a few more sick in our houses, if you'd want to follow us, Mr. Anima." One of the younger kids told me. I agreed to their terms and followed them around the city. I learned more about the simplistic layout and learned about the houses, and some of their family lives as well. Most of the older people in Gaia were refugees from other cities, and Gaia was the only city as close to Sieve as any other. It was also relatively new, being only two years old.

Time was passing pretty fast and my second day in Gaia was uneventful. Eventually, it was night, but I was offered a room at Jerry's house instead of having to go to the Inn again. I thanked Jerry for the hospitality and entered his house.

"Hey, Albert. Hey Claire. How was your day today?" I asked them both.

"Pretty good. I helped Dad with the farm we have," Albert explained. Claire seemed pretty happy to tell me her story next.

"Today, I helped the kids on the other farm decide a game to play, and then I made a doll, and then I had lunch that was really good!" Claire said. She seemed really exciting. It didn't sound fun to me, but I didn't want to ruin her fun.

"That's pretty awesome!" I told her. I kept forgetting Claire was only six as well. She looked to be at least a little older. For such a young girl, she did a good job with her hair every day. She had orange braids along with her head and a small ponytail on the back of her head. I hadn't seen orange hair too often, but within Jerry's family, it was pretty common. Jerry had brown hair and brown eyes, so the orange hair should've come from Claire and Albert's mother.

"So, did you end up eating dinner Anima?" Jerry had asked me. I ate while over at another sick person's house and after I healed them they cooked me something I have never seen before. Nonetheless, it still tasted amazing. I declined Jerry's offer of food and he showed me to my room.

Jerry's house was a farmhouse in my world, except it was organized a lot better and was... better than most. It just had a certain aura around it that made me want to stay. Had I not been a Hero and the world was better, I would've gladly stayed in this house.

"Your room is right here. If you need anything, Albert and Claire are next door and down the hall. They'll use one of their bells to come to get me." Jerry explained. It seemed that Albert and Claire had bells that when rung, made a noise in Jerry's room that woke him up. What a cool system...

I set my staff down on the bed and sprawled out, stretching a little bit before standing back up and wiping a tear out of my eye. Prolonged usage of mana made me exceptionally tired. I was ready to go to bed right now even when the sun was still up.

I wanted to make more progress as fast as possible, but I really can't learn anything else here. Material crafting and alchemy weren't prevalent here, nor did anybody know how to do them, but Zyphilia was a three-day journey, more than double the length I've been here.

This world has been surprising to me. Some things I thought to be here weren't, and other things I didn't know about were here. Learning the rules of this world was a fresh experience for me, but I almost missed how simple things were on Earth. Here, people had magic and mana, on Earth, people didn't have those things. It was so much more simple when I didn't have to level up... oh, that reminds me.

"Claire! Is Jerry already gone?" I shouted from the hall. Claire came running with a light tapping on the floor, shaking her head. Jerry was in her room for a little to move her bed to the other side.

"Jerry. How do I increase my level?" I asked him. Jerry went on to explain that by killing several monsters and animals in the forest on my way to Zyphilia, I would rank up a lot and my stats would increase by one as I went up in level. I nodded and after hearing that explanation, I headed back to my room.

I analyzed my level. I was only level two, while Fuki was at least level 8, maybe even 9 now. I was way too far behind in level, so I needed to go through that forest and kill as many things as possible. The higher I get in level, the easier I can do my job as a Hero. I held up the staff I received yesterday in my room. It didn't change at all, but something about it was different. I wondered if the blue orb looked different for some reason. Maybe when the proficiency improved, the look changed?

It was about time I get a companion as well, but who would be cut out for the job of ditching their home life and traveling with some random guy? It made no sense to want to follow me around, especially if I didn't reveal my identity of being a Hero.

Maybe it was better if I traveled alone. I didn't want to disrupt anybody's life or have to worry about others, I just wanted to keep myself safe and do my Hero duties.