Chapter 4: New Life

Before I could take a closer glance at Kar'npaul's information, the system window blinked out of existence, leaving me grasping at fragments of what I'd seen. Warlord. Vitality. Skills—familiar words, but too quick to read.

"What was that Jorr?" Kar'npaul said, his body and face leaning more towards me, his foul breath showering at my nose again, I slowly mustered my words again but with more confidence to ask them.

"Like I said," I began, this time trying harder to speak louder, "I'm not familiar with Egaria. I was suddenly transported here, and…" I cleared my throat. "Can you tell me more about this world?"

The group exchanged looks at each other, their eyes transferring from one to the other as though silently communicating. Kar'npaul's brow furrowed, and the hybrid creature raised an eyebrow, a expression of uncertainty crossing his face. It was as if they were trying to decide on what to tell or not.

After a moment of silence, the hybrid creature reached into his cloak and pulled out a worn scroll, something resembling ancient papyrus. He tossed it to Kar'npaul with no problem, Kar'npaul catching it effortlessly and looked at the others, a silent understanding passing between them before he spread the map wide.

Kar'npaul unfolded the papyrus carefully, his thick fingers surprisingly gentle with the delicate material. He glanced up at me, catching my eye for a second before laying it flat on the table. The group's attention shifted toward me as if they were watching for my reaction. I leaned forward and caught sight of the bold marking in the corner - EGARIA.

My eyes focused on the map. The rest of the landscape filled with rivers, mountains and strange symbols. Where in the world had I landed?

"Egaria is divided into four continents," Kar'npaul began, pointing at the western edge of the map. "We're here, on the western continent—the Great Warfainds."

I leaned in, my eyes tracing the jagged coastline that marked the boundaries of the forest surrounding Windfall.

"This is Windfall," he continued, "a place surrounded by forests, with a lake just outside this tavern." He hesitated for a moment, then added, "The rest of the continents... aren't your concern right now. For your safety, it's best you stick to what you know."

He paused, his eyes shifted toward the center of the map, where a dark forest was drawn. His finger pointed over the shaded area. "Here, in the middle of Egaria, lies a place no one has ever returned from."

A shiver ran down my spine as I stared at the heart of the continent. "What's in there?" I asked, my voice filled with curiousity.

"No one knows." Kar'npaul's voice dropped to a small voice. "Not even the strongest warriors have returned to tell the tale. It's a place filled with creatures even I can't handle. So, take my advice—stay in Windfall until you know your way around."

His serious expression made me certain that I should follow what he says "I'm telling you this because you're new, Jorr. Outsiders don't last long here unless they learn more about this place."

Suddenly, a faint voice cut through the conversation. "Now that's done, let me explain the basics of surviving in Egaria." Lythael spoke with a practiced ease, her tone suggesting she had done this many times before.

Lythael's gaze settled on me as she adjusted her silver hair. "I believe I haven't introduced myself formally. My name is Lythael," she said, her eyes looking at me. "I'm from the southern woods of Windfall. I'm quite familiar with this area, and I'm here with Kar'npaul to complete a commission near Windfall." Her presence and personality reminded me of someone I once cared about back on Earth, making my heart race a bit.

"The person next to me is Nereus," she said with a soft laugh, looking at the quiet figure beside her. "He's a bit shy, but he'll open up soon enough."

Lythael's smile took on a teasing personality as she turned her attention back to me. "You don't seem like a fighter, do you?" she said, her eyes sparkling like she was making fun of me." To become stronger in Egaria, you first need to gain a class," Lythael said, her tone serious. "This process, called awakening, happens when you push yourself to your absolute limits. It's like a surge of power that indicates you're ready for a new role. The Adventurer Society can help you with this by doing an aptitude test to identify what field you are good at.

She paused, making sure I understood all the information. "Once you have a class, you'll want to focus on learning skills. The more skills you have, the more options you'll have in a fight. Skills can be learned by practicing or by using runes."

As Lythael spoke, I could feel a mix of anxiety and fear building up inside me. Her guidance felt like a great help in this unfamiliar world, and I stood to her words, trying to absorb every information I could get.

"I must say, you don't look like a warrior yourself" Nereus suddenly cutting her words as he is unsure of me. "Let's test that out" as he suddenly grabbed something out of his pouch, and what seems like a rough rock with a dim light, a small sword engraved on the middle of it, the symbol blinking weakly like it was running out of energy. 

"What I have here is a lesser rune, once you break it, the knowledge from the rune will surge into your mind and spirit, giving you the ability to use it." Nereus said as he reached out the rune, signaling me to take it, as I grabbed the rune from his hands, I felt a surge of energy running thru my fingers, like a small surge of electricity going back and forth from my hand to the rune.

"That is a basic sword technique rune, it will give you the basic knowledge on how to handle any 1 handed sword", I looked confused as what to do, "So how do I use this?" I calmly asked him, examining the rune side by side. "First you must channel your spirit and mana in to the rune, close your eyes and feel the rune with every nerve ending that you have in your fingers" Nereus calmly explained while I tried to do what he was saying.

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and gently let my hand feel the rune with every surge of energy it pulsated. Suddenly a faint white light appeared in my eyes even though I could not see, the white light barely formed the shape of the rune. "Once you have focused all your spirit and mana, crush the rune with all of your might in your hand" Nereus said as I gripped the rune with all my strength.

I gathered all of my strength into my arms and gripped the rune as tightly as I could, sweat pouring down my face... It did not budge even a tiny bit. I opened my eyes again and saw the group having a confused look. "So you really are not fitted to be a warrior" Kar'npaul muttered as Nereus took back the rune he gave me.

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NAME: Justin Joe HP: 100/100

CLASS: Botanist MP: 100/100

LEVEL: 1 STATUS: Normal

SKILLS:

Examine - LVL 1

Harvest - LVL 1

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