The village had been saved.
The cursed tree was gone, the villagers were smiling again, and for the first time since arriving here, the entire place felt alive instead of drained and hopeless.
Children were laughing again.People were cooking food outside their homes.The heavy feeling that had hung over the village was completely gone.
Everything was going well.
Lucas stretched his arms lazily while walking through the village road.
"Man… that fight was crazy."
I nodded.
"Yeah… but we won."
And that feeling—winning while protecting people—was something I couldn't forget.
When we finally decided it was time to leave, the villagers gathered near the entrance of the village. Some of them looked grateful. Some emotional.
One elderly man stepped forward holding something in his hands.
A rolled-up map.
"This… is something we have protected for a long time," he said. "Take it."
Mirei accepted it carefully.
The moment she opened it—
Her eyes widened.
Then her entire face lit up.
Like someone who had been searching for something for years and finally found it.
"…I can't believe it," she whispered.
I leaned over her shoulder.
"What? What is it?"
Lucas also peeked.
"Yeah, what's so special about it?"
Mirei slowly rolled the map back up and looked at us seriously.
"This place… I have been searching for it for years."
"…What place?" I asked.
She pointed at a hidden mark on the map.
"This is a Hidden Kingdom."
Lucas raised an eyebrow.
"…And?"
Mirei smiled slightly.
"In that place, no one cares about what you are."
I blinked.
"What do you mean?"
"It means exactly what I said," she replied calmly. "Whether you are a human, a monster, a demon, or something else entirely… everyone lives there equally."
Lucas whistled.
"That sounds impossible."
Mirei shook her head.
"It exists. And there, fighting is forbidden. Anyone who causes trouble is immediately expelled."
Then she looked directly at us.
"So don't start any stupid fights."
Lucas pointed at me immediately.
"Hey, don't look at me. Zeus is the one who always starts shit."
I turned to him.
"…Excuse me?"
Lucas shrugged.
"I'm just telling the truth."
"THE TRUTH?!"
"Yeah."
"Come here then!"
"You want to go?!"
Mirei grabbed both of us by the collars.
"STOP FIGHTING!"
We froze instantly.
"…Sorry."
She sighed loudly.
"You two are exhausting."
Then she crossed her arms.
"Since we still have a long journey ahead, we will begin training immediately."
I grinned.
"Nice!"
She stared at me.
"…Why are you happy?"
"Training means getting stronger."
She smirked slightly.
"If you're that excited… let's begin today."
She looked around the village.
"Excuse me," she asked one villager politely. "Does anyone have rope?"
A man raised his hand.
"Yes, I have some."
"Can I buy it?"
The villager shook his head.
"I cannot accept money from the people who saved us. Please take it."
Mirei bowed slightly.
"Thank you very much."
Then she turned toward us.
"Zeus. Lucas. Go find large stones."
I nodded immediately.
"Got it."
We ran toward the nearby hills.
The forest there was quiet, but not empty.
After a few minutes, we heard rustling.
A wild boar burst out from the bushes.
Lucas grinned.
"Dinner."
The fight lasted less than a minute.
We killed it quickly and respectfully.
Before touching the body, we both placed our hands together.
"Thank you," I said quietly. "Because of you, we will have food."
Lucas added,
"And thank you to the gods for this meal."
It was something Mirei had taught us.
Never take life without gratitude.
We carried the boar and several huge stones back to the village.
Mirei looked at us.
"Did you find the stones?"
Lucas smiled.
"Yep. And we brought a boar too."
She nodded.
"Good. But you did kill it the proper way, right?"
"Yes," Lucas replied. "Just like you taught us."
Mirei smiled slightly.
"Good."
Then she pointed toward a tall mountain nearby.
"Now listen carefully."
Lucas suddenly felt nervous.
"…Why are you smiling like that?"
"You will carry those stones," she continued calmly, "and climb that mountain."
I blinked.
"…Wait."
Lucas blinked too.
"…Did we hear that correctly?"
"Yes," she replied.
"You heard correctly."
Lucas slowly asked,
"…Can we at least use our powers?"
"Yes."
"But the stone must return without a single scratch."
I frowned.
"…Meaning?"
"You cannot drag it on the ground."
Lucas sighed.
"…This is going to suck."
We lifted the stones.
They were heavy.
Very heavy.
"Alright," I said. "Let's use Acceleration."
Lucas nodded.
"Yeah."
We activated our speed abilities and ran toward the mountain.
At first—
It felt easy.
Too easy.
We climbed quickly, moving faster than normal humans ever could.
But halfway up the mountain—
Our energy collapsed.
Our legs shook.
Our breathing became ragged.
And suddenly—
Everything went black.
When I opened my eyes, Mirei was holding both of us.
Her arms had caught us before we hit the ground.
Lucas groaned.
"…Did we make it?"
"No," Mirei replied calmly.
"We will not leave this place until you climb that mountain and come back down successfully."
I rubbed my head.
"…But why couldn't I do it?"
I had honestly believed it would be easy.
Mirei sat down beside us.
"This training is not about strength."
"…Then what?"
"It is about energy control."
The answer hit me hard.
"…So I'm still too weak to even climb a mountain."
Mirei looked at me seriously.
"You still have a long way to go."
Silence fell.
Then she stood up.
"Rest. Tomorrow we try again."
That night we lay down under the open sky.
Lucas stared at the stars.
I spoke quietly.
"…You know."
"What?"
"It's kind of nice being in this world."
Lucas chuckled.
"Yeah."
"In the old world… we were kind of losers."
I laughed.
"Yeah."
"But here… we're actually living."
Lucas closed his eyes.
"…Let's sleep."
But apparently—
Mirei had heard everything.
The next morning, she woke us up early and brought us deep into the forest.
She looked serious.
"Listen carefully."
Lucas yawned.
"…What's wrong?"
Mirei took a deep breath.
"You two… were reincarnated into this world."
I blinked.
"…Yeah."
"How do you know?"
"I realized yesterday."
Lucas scratched his head.
"…Is that a problem?"
Mirei shook her head.
"But listen carefully."
Her voice became extremely serious.
"You must never tell anyone that."
"Why?"
"Because it is forbidden knowledge."
Lucas and I exchanged looks.
Then we nodded.
"We promise," I said.
"We won't tell anyone."
Mirei relaxed slightly.
"Good."
Then she pointed back toward the mountain.
"Now."
"Training continues."
The rest of the day was hell.
We tried again.
And again.
And again.
Every time we climbed higher—
Our bodies collapsed.
Our legs trembled.
Our lungs burned.
But every time we fell—
We stood up again.
The sun slowly moved across the sky.
Sweat soaked our clothes.
Our muscles screamed in pain.
But we refused to stop.
Because deep down—
We understood something important.
We weren't fighting monsters right now.
We were fighting our own limits.
And those limits were stubborn.
But so were we.
By sunset, we still hadn't succeeded.
But that didn't matter.
Because one thing had become absolutely clear.
We would do it.
No matter how many times we failed.
We would climb that mountain.
We would become stronger.
Because we refused to ever be helpless again.
And tomorrow—
We would try again.
And again.
And again.
Until the day came when nothing in this world could defeat us.
Because we had already decided one thing.
We would never lose again.