Finisrepo

'Looks like it is a village of fewer than 500 houses. There is a wall that is well made, seemingly to ward off monsters. Well, they are close to the forest after all. It looks like no one can get in or out unless you go through the gates that are on the east, west, and north side, but one can always fly in, hahaha... The south side is covered by small hills and I can make out a single house. Wonder who stays there? Must be a loner.'

Sheyken was standing on a hill scouting out the village. It seemed to be decent and still developing as he could see other unfinished houses around but they seemed to be old. They looked like the owner of the buildings had given up on them for some reason. He could see a river running through the village continuing as far as the eye could see.

'Seems like they don't need to go and hunt as they have livestock and they can have fish from the river too. It is a well-off village, but what is up with the security? No one is mending the gates.'

It was something to take note of. They were near a forest that had all kinds of monsters and no one was guarding the posts. He changed his clothes and put on the other set Zararloch had made for him when they first met. They were not that much worn out as he would wear them on the days he was not training.

'I look like an assassin in these all-black outfit and at most I look like a rich noble. I don't want them to take me as either of the two. I will sleep here for the night since it has gotten late and go check the village town in the morning.'

He finished changing his clothes and laid down near a tree to take a rest.

"If I was reading my own story right now, I think I would be already put off by it due to the fact that I seemingly came out of an impossible situation unscathed. Well, Sanguis would have something to say about that and Tenebris..... That BITCH!..... Fuck!..... Each time I think about her my hair stands up. I think she left an emotional scar on me just with one proposal. Thinking about the five, I think out of all of them, even though Cumfureres did whatever she did to my soul at that time, I would never in my life want to face Sanguis. Just thinking about how to fight him gives me headaches. Maybe after seeing all of them fight I might change my mind but let's hope I never see any of them again, especially Tenebris."

He closed his eyes and fell half asleep, still with his guard up like he was awake. It was time for all the training to start paying its due.

'If all those books I read were not presented as fiction, I would have already changed my mind and started praising the characters for their escapes from death all the time but now that I know what it is like to escape death and to leave with it for two years, I fail to think of any way I would have survived if I never asked for a birthmark. I wonder how the other nine would have fared.'

After those last thoughts, he rested his head and woke up the next morning with the sun about to rise. He freshened up and went to scout the village again. The people were already up and about. They seemed to be early rises and some had already started going to the market square with their goods.

"Think this is good a time as ever and no guards are mending the gates still."

He went down the hill and started walking towards the gates. As he passed, he could see a rune that was visibly marked on both sides of the gate.

'That is strange. When I was at the valley, the only time I could see a rune was when it was flickering or taking a hit from something. Maybe this one is for a different purpose. This goes to show that those Undead bustards were stingy. How can you only teach a kid how to fight for two years and nothing about this would, let alone reading and writing. Well, if Zararloch was my master and Arloch who is a Lich was teaching me about magic, I am sure I would be unstoppable. Starting to think even if this is real life, being overpowered would still not be enough in this world.'

He had passed through the gate and was now almost by the market square, He saw his first human being of Uros and just could not help but smile. The human was an old lady fixing her stall and already had some apples and other vegetables on it. They all seemed to be familiar to him which pleasantly surprised him as he was not keen on trying food he did not know at the moment. He would try different foods of this world but only when he was safe. An upset stomach would make anyone doing reconnaissance falter. He waved at the lady who had a scary face.

'Damn lady.... with a face like that, people would think you never smile. They might even mistake you for a Witch.'

He thought.

The lady just looked at him, then continued with her work. Not wanting to let a chance of getting information slip away, he concluded that he rather risk offending her than just pass by as she looked offended by the world already.

He came close and pointed at the apples as to ask how much they were. The lady stopped what she was doing and finally smiled, showing her brown teeth.

'Fuck!..... I haven't been brushing my teeth as I should be. Apophis will surely spank me.'

Sheyken thought while looking at the old lady's teeth.

"5 copper coins."

The lady finally answered. Sheyken rejoiced inwardly for finally cracking her shell. hearing her three words, he was relieved. This was because he could understand her and she spoke the same language as that of Arloch and the other Undead. He also got the basis of how much an apple in the village was and could guess how much the other things around him were by using the pricing method of Earth and putting copper coins for their monetary value.

"Sorry but I don't have any money. Can you show me where I can sell a copse of a creature I killed?"

The lady went back to her offended face again. Seeing him not even carrying anything she got angry at the kid that was wasting her time. She pointed up the street to no certain place. There were shops and other buildings with each having a sign and some writing under each of the door signs. He took a look around him and several people had guarded around them trying to listen in their conversation. He quickly moved on to where the lady pointed. He was not trying to be the center of attention.

Going up the street he was thanking Apophis.

'This is what being a Guardians son truly means.....Hahahahaha. I am sorry to have doubted you, if anything, I will never curse at you ever again. This is just amazing.'

He was beaming with a smile. As he looked at each sign, he found out that he could read each and every one of them. The letters were almost like that of South Korean but mixed with other symbols too. He could also spot some English letters now and then.

Ever since he was in the valley, he was worried he would be considered illiterate since no one wanted to teach him how to read and write. He was thanking his now all so great father in his eyes for taking it into consideration that he would face such a challenge. If he was born into this world by normal means, he would have to learn a different language, read and write from scratch like so many other characters he knew from his books. He did not mind this cheat.

'Did he plant this in my mind or memory before I came here? I wonder how he did it because I do not remember the letters or this language but when I read and speak it, it just comes naturally to me like it is something I learned long ago. It comes naturally but it isn't perfect all the time. Sometimes I really needed to concentrate in order to say the words I wanted to say but I had gotten better through the years. I guess Zararloch took it as memory loss. Right now I still need to concentrate hard in order to read. I should keep at it and I would get used to it in no time. Wonder if I can read and speak different languages.'

As he was lost in thought ,he almost passed by the shop he was looking for. It was in a two-story building, the same as the other buildings in the street. He looked at the sign that had a single arrow shorting upwards on a wooden plank above the door. Underneath It it read 'Hunter Ningal's beast meat'. By that time the sun had already risen. He took one last look at the words to make sure he read them right, then knocked on the door and stepped in. He had taken out the Tasmanian devil-looking monster he had killed two years ago. It still looked fresh, like he had just killed it.

Stepping in, a bell rang, and over the counter he heard footsteps quickly rushing up from below. A lady came up wearing a hunter's outfit.

"Who said you can come in?"

She asked out of breath. From where she was, she could only see Sheyken's head and shoulders. She was surprised to see a child in her store.

"The doors were not locked and this is a shop. I am sorry, I did knock. I thought you had already opened."

Sheyken said looking at the woman. He did not yet know the customs of this world. After leaving Earth and staying with Zararloch for two years he did not know how to act, but if a shop was opened, to him it meant anyone can come in and do business so he saw nothing wrong with him coming in.

"What are you doing here? Don't you know it is dangerous for a kid here? Get out and leave this place now, I do not even sell meat anymore."

She said pointing at the door with frustration visible on her face.

"Ok, I will go. Just thought I could sell this beast meat to you."

Sheyken said showing her the creature he was carrying and then turning to the door. The lady seemed disheartened for some reason and he did not want to ruin her day any further. It was still morning but she was visible shaken for some reason. When the lady saw what Sheyken was carrying, her eyebrows twitched.

"Wait!..... who are you? I have not seen you around here before."

Sheyken inwardly smiled and turned around.

"My name is Sheyken and I am not from around here. I am passing through and just arrived here this morning."

The lady shed a tear after hearing those words but quickly gathered herself. She could not start to imagine how the child's journey was for him to arrive at such a place.

"'Sheyken', That is quite a name. Sorry for earlier, just that we do not get any guests coming in the store so you startled me."

Sheyken was trying to do his best version of puppy eyes at that point, failing miserably.

"Since you new here, and with the hope that you will not be staying for long, let me be the first one to welcome you. So, Sheyken, my name is Ningal. Welcome to Finisrepo, The snake's end."

Sheyken did not know what to say. He had never had a person welcome him like that before.