Chapter 3: Ron

Arthur turned to move around the house, searching for food. He noticed his senses from his other life were still his, at least he could sense the food from far and figure out if it was useful to him or not.

After walking around for some time, and meeting bunch of servants and family members concerned about his health, Arthur reached a conclusion.

There was nothing here that could help his body to grow.

He now understood why this miserable child had this unfortunate fate, he and the other clansmen too. Without proper food and the needed nutrients, the body grew weak like mortals.

To gain extraordinary power, the body had to depend on special nutrients; food with much strength and energy stored in it.

Energy had to come from the source, and the most common basic source for children was always from the food.

In his eyes, this body was suffering from malnutrition, so he had to fix this before planning for anything else.

As the house was void from any suitable nutrients, he had no other choice but to leave and seek for suitable sources of food.

To do that, he had to use the help of one servant in the house. Willy was the son of the clan master, so he had a servant dedicated to helping him in his daily needs.

That servant always showed up in the memories of Willy, as he was a friend more than a servant. A boy the same age as Willy lived with him, so it was natural for the two to become friends.

Arthur didn't need to seek for him at all, as he pumped into Ron's big body and bulging muscles on his tour inside the house. Arthur had to come up with any excuse to let Ron go with him to the outside world.

"You are mysterious today, why the hell do you want to move outside in the situation you are at," Ron said with an obvious disapproval from Arthur's decision.

For Willy, Ron wasn't just a servant or a friend, he was trusted to speak with him casually like this and give him advice as well. In Arthur's opinion, Willy couldn't reach this far inside the clan without the aid and advice of Ron.

For the newcomer in this world, Arthur planned to raise his power and help this friend as well. More friends were always a good thing.

"Just keep up with me," Arthur said.

"Can you at least tell me where are we going?"

This was a question that kept rolling in Arthur's mind without rest. Willy wasn't that active youth who liked to go out and roam the world, so the memories Arthur got from him about the external world were all limited.

Arthur needed more info so he could decide, and the most suitable one to do this task was the bigger youth next to him.

"Tell me, Ron, is there a place where a special environment exists with plants and animals?" Arthur asked.

"Special environment? What do you mean by that?" Ron replied with an absent look over his face.

"Like halos or lights appearing from time to time there, rumors about strange things happening, or the fame of being so dangerous need a place like this," Arthur replied.

"Well, if you want something like that, then I know a place, and you too know it," Ron replied with more loss and confusion.

"I know it too, that's weird why I couldn't remember it? It must be because of the disease that caught me, which made me lose my focus," Arthur said to him.

"That's for sure the reason behind forgetting simple things, even your simple habits. C'mon, you are a turtle, a lazy person who doesn't like to go outside his bedroom.

Here you are, roaming the world outside the clan head house and asking about the well-known demon forest nearby as if you intend to really go there," Ron replied.

The words of Ron were spontaneous, but they caught the attention of Arthur at once. Yes, he had a good deal of information about that forest, although Willy didn't visit it before in the flesh.

Maybe that was why Arthur didn't pay attention to it when he was looking for such a place. When he thought about it, this forest was part of the great demon forest, the forest which extended east and west in this world covering a huge stretched distance.

This forest was like an ocean, filled with trees and monsters everywhere. Some even said no one ever reached the depth of this forest, but that wasn't what made Arthur so interested in it.

He understood something. The only source of energy here wasn't in the normal plants or animals, but in the trees and monsters inside this forest and any forest like it.

If he wanted to grow stronger, he had to hunt down monsters and cook their meat himself. To actually do so wasn't a straightforward task. The power of the weakest monsters out there would be enough to kill him and Ron.

He knew he couldn't cultivate, and he couldn't train using this world's powers yet. Everything depended on this opportunity. If he lost it, then he would live the rest of his life a weak coward, living on the mercy of his enemies' swords.

He would never let his life be tainted like this, so he went there and hunt down monsters. This decision wasn't rash, as he took it with a calm mind and careful thinking.

His powers right now were null, but he had his memories and experiences from his past life. If his strength couldn't help him, then he would prefer to use the tricks he knew from before as a cultivator here.

And so he needed to change his current weapon. When he sneaked out the house with Ron, he got his sword, or Willy's sword from one servant there.

Using a sword wasn't an issue for Arthur, but he knew the best choice for his current weak state of power was the bow and arrows.

Archery was something he loved to use in his earlier life, although he was well known as a sword cultivator, he was a jack of all trades. In fact, archery was the closest way of fighting to his heart.

And yet archery would save him here. The issue was neither he nor Ron had a bow, and he also needed many special arrows, ones that could inflict substantial damage with the slightest strength used.

If he had the time, he would prefer to make his own bow and forge his own arrows, but he didn't have the luxury to waste time like this. The only solution he had right now was to use the identity of the body he was using right now, the son of the head of the golden lion clan.

"Is there a place where we can get a decent bow and good arrows?" Arthur asked as he stopped in his tracks.

He was now far away from the house he started his journey from there. Ron looked suspiciously at him as he replied:

"What's wrong with you today? Suddenly you became bossy and have a mind of your own. That hit seemed to cause significant damage, or maybe some good. Anyway, if you want to get a decent bow, then you can ask your uncle, Tridor, he has a nice bow," Ron replied.

For Arthur, the name of Tridor was well known to him, as the name was repeated many times in the memories of that poor youth, with very few appearances of the actual person in them.

For Arthur, that uncle was eyeing the position of the head of the clan. He considered himself better than Willy's father, and his son was better than Willy. Arthur agreed with him on a single point, as Willy was terrible in comparison with that cousin of his.

But this world wasn't built on personal power only, but on blood relation as well. Tridor was second in line after his brother, which made his son the fourth in line considering Willy's presence.

That mysterious accident which happened to that poor youth showed its secrets to Arthur. Everything was linked to that uncle, as after the disposal of the son, he could get rid of the father smoother than before.

The road for him to wield the power of the clan would be straight with no more obstacles.

Arthur wasn't much concerned with this weak clan, but he knew he couldn't just roam the world with no roots.

This world wasn't like the cultivation world, as rogue mages here were considered outlaws and had a terrible reputation.

He knew that wicked man had a nice bow, but he wouldn't ask him for that. That bow was the personal property and the pride of his uncle, so Ron asked this meant only one thing.

Ron suspected him, and this was a tricky question to judge if he was Willy or not.

"C'mon, don't be ridiculous, my uncle would rather see me dead than give his beloved bow to me," Arthur answered in a way to expose his knowledge of the tense relation between him and his uncle.

"Phew, ok that was my bad. To get a nice bow, buy it then. I think grandpa Regil's weaponry shop might have bows and arrows, why don't we check it?"

The face of Ron relaxed as he realized his worries were groundless. As for Arthur, he hoped Ron would get used to his new self, as he would be like this from now on.

"Lead the way then, I have never been to that shop before," Arthur replied.

"You never go out in the first place, so everything here is new to you," Ron said as he moved, changing their direction towards the west. Arthur followed his steps as he joked:

"I know the road to the big market, that's a place, isn't it?"

Ron just glanced over at him, then he returned to walk again. Arthur followed him as during the way both youths spoke with each other. Ron was a friendly person, as his strongest trait being so loyal to Arthur, or Willy.