The light from the magic stone lamps hanging from the ceiling shone down, casting shimmering shadows on the travelers' tarnished armor and worn cloaks. The air was thick with the smell of barley beer, strong liquor, and even the smoke of magical cigarettes, making the room seem like it was boiling in a cauldron of boiling oil.
The dry laughter, the clanging of wooden cups, and the off-beat singing of a group of mercenaries in the corner of the room drowned out the young musician's lyre, struggling to keep the melody. Dozens of stained wanted posters and quest notices from the Adventurers' Guild were piled on the dark wooden walls, new papers piled on top of old ones until the bottom layer was yellowed and unreadable.
The warriors who had been busy in the morning, fighting in the dark caves, now huddled together. They poured the spoils and rewards they received after destroying the monsters into gambling and seeking relaxation. There were female magicians sitting busy near the bar, focusing on learning and upgrading magic formations through thick magic books.
The waiters hurriedly ran through the crowd, holding full mugs of barley beer in their hands, ready to become a challenge to defeat the strongest warriors.
Every time the guild door was opened, it would let the North wind in and attack the adventurers. However, they only shouted a few words instead of a friendly greeting. Because they knew that every time the guild door was opened at this hour, it was an announcement to a brother, a friend of theirs that they had safely returned from the expedition.
They were each other's companions. They had laughed together, cried together, were friends who had gone through life and death together. However, every party had to end.
"What? Why do you want to leave?" – the tall and muscular warrior, still carrying two huge maces on his shoulders, excitedly pointed at the small friend in front of him and shouted.
"That's right, aren't we going along well? You suddenly did this… what are we going to do?"
Compared to the agitated warrior, the red-haired mage beside him spoke in a calm voice. But it was hard not to notice her reluctance.
"Come on, you two have to give him time to explain, right? Come on Gray, if you don't give us a satisfactory explanation, it won't work."
This person was Allain, the captain of the adventurer team of the "Silver Wolf" team, and also a swordsman. Seeing that his two teammates, Aras and Selle, seemed a bit agitated, he quickly relieved them and created an opportunity for his juniors.
"I thought I told you guys?"
In response to his friends' fierce reactions, Gray tilted his head in confusion, but his face looked indifferent and unconcerned.
He raised his hand in the air, reached into his Bag, and took out something called "Admission Notice" and placed it in front of everyone.
Gray was just a boy from a remote countryside. He had worked hard, from magic, physical strength, and knowledge, to get a ticket to enter the most famous magic academy on the continent – Arcadian Academy.
Before his fifteenth birthday, he secretly participated in the entrance exam without his family's knowledge and finally succeeded in receiving an admission notice. However, Gray's family did not agree with his decision. They only wanted him to stay and inherit the family in the future, not to go out and make a career.
Finally, unable to bear the family's prohibition, Gray packed up and ran away, heading to the Arcadian Magical Capital.
On the way, he tried to eat sparingly, to the point of almost collapsing from hunger in a small town. There, he met his first friends when he went out - "Silver Wolf".
They were a three-member adventurer group with roles as swordsmen, warriors, and magicians. They were lacking a support character at the time, and coincidentally, Gray had previously studied support magic in depth, so they accepted Gray into the group.
Up to now, the four of them have traveled through more than five towns together in 3 months. Burning Goblin caves, teasing Aligator, almost falling under the stomps of Gorillian,... experiencing many hardships, difficulties, and hardships together, so they have formed a deep bond with each other.
Now, looking at the admission notice that Gray took out again in front of everyone, the whole group was speechless.
How honorable and precious that admission ticket was. That school was a gathering place for important and talented individuals from all over the continent. Studying and graduating there showed that you were a classy person, the most appropriate action to polish your name.
"...Can you not go?"
These words came from the mouth of Aras, the muscular warrior with two huge maces. If these words came from someone else, it would be thought that they were jealous of Gray's talent and opportunity and were trying to stop him. However, these words came from the mouth of Aras – the vanguard of the team, who would be willing to risk his life to fight monsters so that his teammates could retreat – who would not lie.
"Y-yes, we're doing well now, right? Let's adventure together, hunt together, fight together, and we'll also worry about each other… as teammates."
Having been pumped with recklessness by Aras, Selle also spoke up to hold on to Gray, hoping to be able to hold on to her beloved friend.
However, perhaps their wishes were rejected.
"Sorry, I'm really sorry."
Gray bowed down, apologizing profusely.
"To be honest, I don't plan on going to school anymore. It's weird to leave home to go to school and not go to school now, right?" – he scratched his head, trying to clear his head.
"I thought… it would be fine for now. However, our destination is here. It's only about a two-month walk from Arcadian, while the admission ticket is still valid for three months."
Gray paused, gathered his strength, and continued.
"Every time I think about this, I feel like my stomach is being torn apart. 'Is all the hard work I've put in for the past 15 years really going to go to waste?'. I also want to give myself another chance. I know I'm selfish, but I'm truly sorry."
Gray stood up, bowing to the three of them as an apology.
"Gray..."
"..."
"..."
Aras's grinding teeth as he looked at Gray mixed with Selle's sobbing, it seemed like she couldn't accept that she was about to lose a teammate. Captain Allain still sat there, his face expressionless.
The four of them didn't say a word. Finally, Allain had to speak up to quell the chaos.
"Bang!"
A loud sound rang out and emitted, causing everyone to turn around and look at the source of the sound.
"Gray, you're fired!"
Allain slammed his hand on the table, shouting angrily. Everyone was surprised by what Allain said, including Gray.
"You're fired for causing disunity and division within the group. You don't deserve to stay here, understand?"
Allain spoke as if he was giving an order, causing everyone to lower their heads and not dare to look straight. Only Gray still stared at Allain, because he finally understood.
Allain knew that Gray was not what he appeared to be. Gray looked like a gentle and kind person, but Allain knew that he was simply a stubborn wild beast, willing to do whatever he wanted and could. Even if he lowered himself along with his two friends to stop Gray from letting him go, it would only cause more trouble and not change his mind. The only way to stop him was to break his arms and legs. However, he would still recover with his talent for support magic.
So, Allain chose to part ways peacefully, allowing Gray to go first. Although Selle and Aras would resent him and blame him, as long as he was patient and explained to them, they would understand him.
"Well then, goodbye."
Gray stood up and left. He did not need to pack anything. He only had a wand in his hand, and a faded coat that had accompanied him throughout the journey. Most of the other necessary items were stored in his Inventory.
Gray walked back to the counter, leaving 60 silver coins as payment for the farewell party with his first friends in this world. Before turning around to leave, he still did not forget to look back at the people who had left him all this time.
Aras picked up his beer cup, shouted and questioned Allain directly in the face with a voice full of blame and accusation. Meanwhile, Selle just sat silently and lowered her head, not saying a word.
(It seems like I have caused you a lot of harm this time. Sorry, and I hope you will handle it well, Allain.)
Gray pulled up his hood and walked out of the guild without saying another word.
That's right... Gray is a reincarnator.
That was all Gray remembered from when he was a child. He only realized that he was living in a different world from his old world.
A world with a medieval history, but this was a completely different world. Different geography, different history, culture and the existence of creatures that appeared in this world also proved that this was a different world from the previous Earth.
The magic in this world was not an illusion. The elements of geography, history, change of dynasty, difference in distinct culture, climate, etc. were all covered and had an invisible thread connected to magic.
Gray said that he himself was at rock bottom in the old world due to the lack of foundation and thorough preparation when entering society. Therefore, he worked hard in this world since he was young, hoping that his childhood preparation would not be in vain.
He trained physically, participated in hunting activities and practiced based on his parents' connections.
Practicing survival skills or secondary skills such as cooking, sewing, etc., even though he couldn't do them all well, he still did it with the thought that a little bit of everything would make a big difference. He would rather know a little bit of each than not know anything.
And when he realized that magic - which did not exist in the old world - was the key to solving everything in this world, he plunged into researching it.
After many careful studies, Gray thought that "Support magic, or more precisely, healing magic, is the best for me."
The reason was that healing magic was not useless like the anime or light novels in his previous life. He knew that the medical conditions in this world were still rudimentary, the number of doctors or healing magicians was extremely small because it required talent to go into depth.
Therefore, even if Gray accidentally joined a hero party, adventurer party or whatever, even if he was kicked out, he would still survive while adventuring everywhere and saving others. Who would refuse medical care when it only costs a little bit of profit?
And now, Gray has the conditions to go to Arcadian - the magical cradle of geniuses. His purpose of going there is only one: to improve his potential and value in support magic in general and healing magic in particular because coincidentally, Gray is the one who has a talent for support magic.