Ondun had barely cleared the forest when he got the call from Dr. Wusiji.

  "Ondun, my boy! I just heard the news from the Guardian herself. When I sent you into the forest for a survey, I never guessed you'd find something like what you found. She also told me she's sending you onwards to Xinling a little bit early, so I think we can call your job done...and then some! I've added a little bonus to the payout."

  Ondun heard a chime and pulled his phone from his ear. Sure enough, he saw a message of some kind—he still couldn't read this world's language—that was presumably confirmation of the completed transaction.

  "Thank you, Doctor," Ondun said. "I appreciate it. Can you tell me anything about this 'Xinling City' I'm going to be challenging"?

  There was a pause. "Well, the city itself has an academic focus. There's a prestigious university there, though your circumstances may not warrant worrying too much about that. The leader of the city, Lowell, is a psychic. I think in a monster battle, he'll be a very tricky first opponent for you!"

  Ondun frowned at that. His Wayfarer's Brand gave him very limited precognition in fights, allowing him to 'see' an attack that an enemy was aiming at him. In his nearly two years of testing, Ondun believed that emotion and intent played a key role—an enemy could fake him out if they tried hard enough or were keeping sufficiently calm, like the former Princeps of Ahn Mexol, before the Knowing Circle—at the Alliance's behest—had helped rally the various resistance cells into a more cohesive force and made the push that retook the occupied city-state.

  Someone who could do what he could do would be difficult to face; Ondun didn't have an immediate answer for how to strategize, at least not yet. My first order of business will be to learn about this Lowell fellow—understand how he battles, what his limits are, and then get sufficiently creative.

  The adventurer returned his attention to the conversation. "That sounds a little vexing...but I'll figure out something. Strudel, too." The Aquepup gave a happy "Aque!" in response.

  "That's very good. Oh, and on the way, you may want to try to recruit a second Mon to your team. Even if you're a strategic genius, having one Mon against a City Leader is just planning for failure. I personally recommend not facing him until you have a team of three. Anyways...I've got to go; there's more testing to be done! Remember, keep scanning stuff with your phone, especially battles, if you can. I need more data for my new thesis on the polarity of Mon moves!"

  Ondun sighed. The odd doctor heard it. "Don't worry, I'm no plagiarist. You'll receive credit too when I go public. I'm crazy, not mean!"

  "Alright, Doctor. If there's any other research tasks while I'm in or around Xinling, just give me a call."

  "Will do - remember, I want a thorough energy scan of a monster battle with your team. Also, it just occurred to me. Can you actually read our world's language?"

  Ondun sighed again. I was wondering when he would notice. "Nope. If Xinling is a more academically focused city, as you said, I was hoping I could find some material there to learn the written language. My...my ability to speak any language has its limits."

  The doctor let out a very loud "HUMMMM!" After a moment he coughed. "I mean...that's interesting; something like a status condition is responsible for you being a polyglot. Something that wide-reaching could have a number of possible causes...and a number of possible effects. I'll have to sleep on the implications of that. Anyway, lad, I've got science, and you've got travel. We'd best get to it! Bye!"

  The call ended, and Ondun pocketed his phone before kneeling with Strudel. "So. We've got a journey ahead of us. Let's use this to work on your stamina. We built up your agility in the forest, and we'll keep on that. Your water has gotten strong since I showed you the Shinobi jutsu. I'm going to look for a second ally to join us in our journey. Is that okay with you?"

  "Aquepup!" I can handle it!

  Ondun gave his friend a quick pat. "Alright. It'll be good for you too, since we can do mock battles. When I started my adventuring career, I actually joined a Spearman's Guild in Elfidia. We did some mock sparring, and it did help. Anyways...whenever our new ally joins us, we'll have to get to them first. Shall we, my friend?"

  "Pup!"

  The journey along Route 41 wasn't difficult for Ondun at all. Unlike on Arcanis, where only major highways between city-states had anything resembling a road, the dark, stone-like path he walked on was generally very smooth, with little in the way of stumbling hazards. There were lights periodically to ensure that people didn't get lost or stray from the path, and every once in a while, there was a small homestead that made a little income by renting rooms or camping space out to travelers.

  Ondun had never had a trip so easy.

  As for Strudel, the young Mon was having it a little rough. While the water canine did have a formidable amount of physical stamina, the mental aspect of stamina is another matter entirely. About every fifteen minutes, Strudel would get bored, which would lead to Ondun having to chase his erstwhile monster puppy as he chased after some smaller Mon, the very rare wild animal, or simply marked sufficiently welcoming trees or stones with his "scent."

  Occasionally, Ondun and Strudel would pass other humans. He'd give them a polite nod while taking in the journey. Ondun didn't pay the humans he passed too much mind—while he did note the shock at his Draconian features, he wasn't paying attention to them so much as the land he was traveling through. If Ondun didn't know better, he was basically back in Xin-xia, except for the lack of other "Civil Folk," as the various peoples who bought into the shared, civilized customs were known. The mesas looked the same, the trees were the same, there was bamboo, periodic waterfalls...even the land felt familiar.

  Ondun had never felt so odd about something in all his short life. Part of his mind wanted to believe he was in Xin-xia and not Kongming Province. It was disconcerting in a way that led to him bumping into another young monster coach.

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  "I'm sorry."

  The young woman narrowed her eyes. "The hell you are."

  Ondun wasn't prepared for the ferocity of the young woman, who was striking a defiant pose. He sighed. "I really am. I was caught in a moment of reverie. This place looks like some place I know. Please, forgive this offense," he added with an Eastern bow.

  The young woman, her sandy blonde hair, just narrowed her eyes. "Sure, I will...but I think I'll need to test that resolve. You have a Mon with you; that means you're a monster coach, just like me!" She slammed one fist into another. "I think we should have a battle!"

  Ondun looked down at Aquepup, but the young monster was practically vibrating with excitement. "Alright. If I win, you accept my apology. If you win?"

  The woman tapped her lip. "If I win, you transfer me enough to cover dinner, and you also tell me why you look like that."

  Ondun sighed. "I mean...all you have to do is ask. I'm not from around here. But...if it's a battle you want, well, this will be my first one. How do we do this?" Dr. Wusiji had taught Ondun about the general rules of Mon battling, but the man was also eccentric to the point that Ondun felt he should corroborate the information. It was very rare for academics to be skilled warriors.

  She gestured to a flat area of wild land off the path, but still within sight of it. "We choose a spot where no one will get caught by our Mons' moves. We've already declared the conditions of victory, but the rules of engagement also need to be said. One-on-one, we fight until either our Mon or us chooses not to continue." Ondun nodded. This wasn't actually all that different from a duel back home. "I accept those conditions."

  The woman extended a hand that the Draconian shook. Then, the two walked to the soon-to-be battleground. She turned on one heel and walked back fifty paces before turning. "Why are you still there? The general rule is fifty feet, at least at our level." Ondun nodded. He turned and did the same thing. "Aquepup, this is your first fight. Remember what we've worked on, and show her all your very best!"

  The young monster gave a quick bark, then rushed in front of Ondun. The woman pulled a capture capsule off her belt. "Maggy, I choose you! Let's show this dragon guy why he should pay more attention!" A flash of light, and at the woman's side, a bird had appeared. Its feathers had an odd zig-zag pattern of dark gold on white, with accents of black. It took to the air and let out a loud chirp of "Fledgelev!"

  Ondun noted the enemy was a flier. "Right, Strudel, light on your feet. You'll have to use your water to extinguish our foe. They'll probably stay at range."

  "Aquepup!" The canine monster began lightly hopping on its paws, similarly to how Ondun had done when he'd demonstrated the way he used his shouken as a Shinobi. The adventurer felt a swell of pride already in his monster ally.

  "Well, as the challenger here, I think it's on me to greet you. Maggy, Divebomb!"

  The bird swept into an arc before diving down on Strudel with incredible speed. Strudel barely managed to dodge the initial impact before a blast of wind tore into the canine. Strudel, for his part, managed to take the hit relatively well, with only a slightly startled yelp, before blasting the bird with a pulse of the water he controlled. The bird, however, nimbly dodged the burst and took back to the skies.

  "Not bad, Scales," the woman said with a grin. "The other kids' Mons typically get taken down with that one."

  Ondun couldn't resist a bit of trash talk in response to a comment like that. "Huh, you must be a mage. I thought you summoned a bird, but if it's a one-trick pony...Strudel! Remember why I taught you to dodge like I did!"

  Strudel nodded with acknowledgment, still lightly hopping, carefully repositioning itself. Eventually, Maggie the Fledgelev began flapping her wings, as if to prove Ondun wrong, releasing a blade of air straight at Strudel. He let out another blast of water in response, which tore the wave of air apart and slammed into the bird with a satisfying splash.

  Ondun gave the woman a cocky grin. "Nice move there."

  "Thanks, that's Wind Blade. How is your Aquepup able to overpower it?" The adventurer grinned in response but said nothing. The young woman was getting a little more respectful now. Ondun knew the type.

  "Strudel, she's wet. Follow up!"

  With a bark, Aquepup flashed forward with impossible speed, ramming the struggling bird with a jumping charge. "Huh, that was Agile Strike! I didn't know an Aquepup could learn that!" As Maggie fell from the skies, Ondun cried, "Now, before it can take wing! Give it one more blast of your water!"

  Strudel did, and this time Maggie wasn't fast enough to evade. With a weak chirp, Maggie looked to her coach, and without any hesitation, the woman yelled, "We concede. I accept your apology."

  Strudel disengaged immediately and returned to Ondun's side as the woman rushed to check on her defeated bird ally. At a look from Strudel, Ondun reached up and pulled upon the power of the Medicus, manifesting the blue-and-silver robes. He activated the Spellliths and went to the young woman, who was cradling and comforting her beaten Mon ally. "Here..." He held out his hand, and with the help of the four Spellliths, began channeling healing energy straight into Maggie.

  The woman's mouth was hanging wide open. "You...how...what...gabluh!?"

  "I'm a healer."

  The woman looked down at Maggie, still in her arms, as the bird flapped its wings to try to get some of the water off, then back at Ondun. "I'm Sylvie Lee. Just who are you?" she asked.

  "Just an adventurer. Also a monster coach. That was actually pretty fun, thanks!" Sylvie just stared at the scaled, robed man as he continued nursing her first friend back to health. Ondun could tell she had so many questions. He had a few of his own as well.

  Once Maggie the Fledgelev was fully healed, Ondun returned to his more 'casual' attire. Strudel had already joined the two humans and was staring intently as Ondun channeled the healing magicks into the tiny bird. Ondun didn't know what to make of that but made a mental note to ask either the doctor, Alice, or someone in Xinling as soon as he could.

  "So, you had questions. We can journey together a ways, if that helps. I'm not sure how dangerous the roads are here, but where I'm from...we only journey alone if we're strong enough." Ondun decided for now to not tell her that his world had a number of titles for him that would make even the hardest bandits darken their pants.

  "I...see. There's a nice campground about two hours from here. It'll be dusk, so we can break camp then," Sylvie explained. Ondun nodded. "Then, by all means, lead the way."

  She did just that but didn't wait. "So...who are you? Really? Adventurers are only a thing in video games."

  Ondun tried to take in that question. He had no idea what a video game was. "Well, my name is Ondun. I'm Draconian. I'm also an adventurer by trade. I don't know what a video game is, but the best way to think of us is as a hired helper. Sometimes we cull monsters; sometimes we fight bandits. Other times we act as couriers, or people pay us to investigate odd goings-on. The monsters here are all much friendlier than I'm used to. Normally, people don't coach monsters...they flee them."

  Sylvie couldn't help but give Ondun an incredulous look. "That's exactly what video game characters say. Still...it's weird meeting a boy who doesn't know what video games are..."

  Ondun shrugged. "Anyways, since I came here, I've been working with a doctor in a nearby town who has contracted me for a scientific study. It's actually not too far off from what I did before I came here. My friends..." he chose to ignore the pang of worry and fear, if only for now, "...my friends are some very smart people who figure out very vexing problems."

  Sylvie raised an eyebrow as the two continued to walk. "So...how does one become an adventurer, anyways?" she asked. Ondun grinned because that was his favorite question.