After Queen Adelina's desperate plea, Jax stood silent for a long moment, calculating. Finally, he exhaled sharply.

"Fine. I'll get you to safety."

Relief flooded her face. "Thank you—"

"Don't thank me yet." He turned toward the carriage. "How do we ride this thing?"

Her expression fell. "We... we can't. The horses bolted when the bandits attacked. They're long gone."

Jax stared at her. "What?"

"That's why I begged you to accompany me. Please, I—"

"So you're telling me," he interrupted, voice flat with disbelief, "that you want me to walk you all the way to your kingdom?"

Her eyes said everything her mouth couldn't: Yes. Please.

"Tsssk." He turned away, scanning the bodies of the dead bandits. He grabbed a rough wool cloak from one of the corpses and threw it at her. "Wear that."

Adelina caught it, holding the dirty fabric away from herself with distaste. But when she looked down at her own naked body barely covered by torn silk, she swallowed her pride and pulled the cloak on. It smelled of sweat and blood, but it covered her.

They started walking.

After ten minutes of aimless trudging through forest undergrowth, Jax stopped abruptly.

"Wait. I'm just moving in a random direction. I don't actually know the way out."

Silence.

He turned to look at her. "You don't even know the direction?"

Queen Adelina's face flushed red with embarrassment. She looked down, saying nothing.

"Are you serious?" Jax rubbed his temples. "At least tell me the way out. Or the nearest village. Something useful."

"We... we need to clear the forest first," she said quietly. "After that, a couple miles down the main road, there should be settlements. Small villages. We can ask for help there. Get transport to my kingdom."

"Great. And which way is 'out of the forest'?"

She pointed hesitantly to the left. "We were moving left earlier, so maybe—"

Jax sighed and started walking in that direction. Adelina followed a few paces behind, limping slightly.

They walked in silence for nearly twenty minutes before Adelina gathered the courage to speak.

"Um... who are you? And which kingdom did you come from?"

"I came directly from heaven," Jax said without looking back. "The Goddess sent me here."

Adelina actually puffed out a small, disbelieving laugh despite everything. "Tell me the truth, or I—"

"Or you what?" He glanced over his shoulder, one eyebrow raised.

"I... I'm saying the truth. I swear on my sister."

"You must really hate your sister then," she muttered.

"Oh my god." Jax stopped walking and turned to face her fully. "Look. I need you to tell me about this world. Everything. How it works, how powers work here, what dangers exist. All of it."

She looked at him like he was mocking her again.

His expression hardened. "I swear I will leave you here right now if you don't take me seriously."

The threat worked. Her face paled, and she nodded quickly.

For the next three hours, as they navigated through the darkening forest, Queen Adelina explained.

She described the kingdoms: Three human kingdoms—Veldora (her kingdom, centrally located and balanced), Astharion (northern military powerhouse), and Meridax (southern coastal merchant kingdom). Then the non-human realms: Nocturna (vampire dominion shrouded in eternal night), Silvareth (high elf kingdom, ancient and isolationist), Feralund (beastkin territories—once unified but now split between Wolfkin in the north and Catkin in the south after a bloody civil war), Drakenmoor (dragonkin mountain strongholds), Gor'mash (orc tribal lands), Abyssalith (demon realm beyond the southern wastelands), and Luminastra (celestial floating islands, mostly extinct ).

She warned him of threats: Dire Beasts (corrupted animals ten times normal size with purple veins), Riftborn (monsters emerging from tears in reality), Bandit Kingdoms (lawless territories), and the Crimson Accord (assassin guild that answered to no crown).

Then Jax asked about power—how did people fight? What made someone strong?

Adelina slipped into her teaching voice, the same patient tone she used with her children.

"The Heart. They pump blood, yes, but they also contain a Mana Core. It's what allows us to use magic, enhance our bodies, perform impossible feats."

"Mana Core?" Jax pressed.

"There are eight phases, technically seven—the eighth is legend. Phase 1 through Phase 5 are common among trained warriors and mages. Then comes Phase X—extremely rare, only a handful per kingdom. Then Phase Omega—maybe five humans alive in the entire world possess it. And finally, Phase Infinity—which is myth. No confirmed records."

"What determines the phase?"

"Color and density of the core." She counted on her fingers. "Red for Phase 1, Yellow for Phase 2, Green for Phase 3, Blue for Phase 4, Violet for Phase 5, Gold for Phase X, Black-Gold for Phase Omega, and supposedly Aurora for Phase Infinity."

Jax absorbed this, his mind racing. "What phase are you?"

"Phase 2," she admitted. "Most royalty train to at least Phase 2. My husband is Phase 4. My daughter..." Her voice softened with pride. "Seris just reached Phase 4 last year. At nineteen. She's a prodigy."

Jax filed that information away carefully.

A loud growl interrupted the conversation.

Both stopped walking. Jax's hand went to his sword.

Then the sound came again—from Adelina's stomach.

She pressed a hand to her abdomen, embarrassed. "I... I haven't eaten since morning."

Jax realized he was hungry too. "What can we eat out here? Looks like we'll die starving before reaching your kingdom."

As if in answer, they heard it—the distant sound of flowing water.

"A stream," Adelina said, hope in her voice.

They followed the sound until they found it—a wide, clear river cutting through the forest.

Jax looked at her. "At least tell me you know how to cook a fish."

She made an innocent, helpless face.

"Fuck these nobles," he muttered, and started removing his shirt.

"What are you doing?!" Adelina spun around, her face flushing red. "You filthy—"

"What? I'm going to hunt fish. And I only have these clothes, unlike you who probably has an entire castle dedicated as a wardrobe back in your kingdom." He pulled off his pants, standing completely naked. "Why are you even blushing? You saw me naked before. We... well, forget it. I really want to forget that."

She turned back slightly, her expression shifting to something like a scolding teacher. "Then why did you do it?"

He didn't answer. Just grabbed his sword and waded into the river.

The water was cold but refreshing. Jax stood thigh-deep, sword held loosely in his hand.

His S-Rank: Sword King skill activated instinctively. The world sharpened—he could see the faint ripples indicating fish movement beneath the surface, predict their paths, calculate the exact angle and timing needed to strike.

There.

His blade flashed. A fish went flying through the air, landing on the riverbank with a wet slap.

"At least collect them in one place!" he called out. "And bring some dry wood!"

He could hear her moving on the shore, gathering the fish.

As he hunted, his mind drifted back to everything Adelina had told him.

He focused internally. "Status screen."

A translucent interface materialized before his eyes:

[CHAMPION STATUS: JAX RAYNE]

[LEVEL: 2.4 / 50.0]

[EXPERIENCE: 2,847 / 5,000]

[HEALTH: 100 / 100]

[MANA: 50 / 50]

[SKILLS:]

S-Rank: Sword King

Echo Mirror

Soul Thief

He smiled, looking at his level. 'Killing people leveled me up. Now I know the mechanic.'

He thought about Mana Cores. 'Guess I don't have that. Instead this is my power system—experience and levels.'

Another fish. His blade pierced cleanly through it, sending it flying to shore.

He caught a particularly large fish—easily three feet long—and decided that was enough.

Wading back to shore, he looked around. "Queen?"

No response.

"Adelina?"

Silence.

'Shit. Where did this zero-survival doll go now?'

His mind immediately conjured worst-case scenarios: beasts, bandits, another champion.

He quickly pulled on his clothes while still wet—uncomfortable but necessary and started running in the direction he'd last seen her, calling her name.

"ADELINA!"

He found her fifty yards downstream, struggling to drag a massive bundle of logs she'd somehow collected.

She was pulling with both hands, her face red with effort, the bandit cloak slipping off one shoulder. The logs were far too heavy for her.

When she saw him, she stopped and straightened, trying to look dignified despite being caught struggling with firewood.

"I... I gathered wood. Like you said."

Jax just stared at her for a moment. Then he walked over, effortlessly lifted the entire bundle under one arm, and started walking back toward their makeshift camp.

She followed, flustered. "I could have—"

"You couldn't."

"I was managing—"

"You weren't."

Back at the riverbank, he set down the wood and began arranging it efficiently. Within minutes, he had a fire going using friction and dry kindling.

He skewered the fish on branches and set them over the flames, rotating them carefully.

Adelina watched him work with growing fascination. This man who had destroyed her was now... cooking for her? Protecting her? The contradictions were dizzying.

When the fish were done, he gave her the largest portion without comment.

She ate ravenously, too hungry to care about manners.

Jax took a bite of his own fish and immediately sneezed violently.

"Shit. Should've dried myself off first." He sneezed again, then glared at the river like it had personally offended him.

Adelina, despite everything, felt the corner of her mouth twitch. Almost like a smile.

She looked at him—this strange, terrifying, impossible man who claimed to be sent by the Goddess. Who had destroyed her and was now keeping her alive.

"Who are you really?" she asked quietly.

Jax sneezed again before answering.

"A sick person."

"At least for now."

The world blurred and he fainted, collapsing face-first beside the fire.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.