NOVEL NEXT Chapter 2 – In A Village
It was dark…and cold--my ears hurt, my eyes hurt.
Soon the freezing cold and darkness faded and I felt a sensation similar to when swimming up through water.
I woke up.
It seems I had fallen asleep, and I was sleeping on…straw?
How do I know it was straw, well, my grandparents had a farm with straw on it; I wouldn’t forget that scratchy feeling, or sweet smell.
Looking around, I realized that I was currently in a shed, which had straw bales and a layer on the floor, and I was asleep there.
The only place I knew of with straw would be my grandparent’s farm--but I have no idea why I would be there.
Come to think of it, what was I doing before I woke up here?
If I remember correctly, I was about to start playing a fun-seeming net game…then, my computer made a strange noise, and I don’t remember what happened after that--my next memory was waking up on this straw.
Did I get kidnapped?
Unlikely, unless it was the government using sleeping gas--which was unlikely, since neither I nor my family would be any interest to the government.
Just as I was thinking, I suddenly heard the sound a horse neighing; which is a sound I could never mistake…but it made me jump. It looks like I’m not the only living thing inside the shed.
I found it very quickly, in a stall next to me, was a horse.
Hmm?
Information about the horse suddenly popped into my head.
Well, there was no doubt that it was a horse.
I decide to approach the horse, and see that he is a large beast. Muscular instead of the horse which my grandparents had, which was rather fat…but I don’t know what kind of horse it was.
Turning my attention from the horse, I look around more intently--outside the window, there was a faint window.
Was it sunset?
Sunrise?
There didn’t seem to be signs of anyone in the surroundings.
The window didn’t move, and the glass was strangely cloudy and granular--like the sand used to make it didn’t get hot enough to melt thoroughly.
When I look at something, namely the horse, and wish for more information--it appears inside my head--and then appears as a partially-transparent window floating in front of me.
I recalled that a Skill I selected ‘Appraisal’.
So, I think about wanting more information about myself, and the window changes and shows my information.
Name: Alex Conner
Age: 17
Sex: Male
Class: Villager
Level: 1
Oooh.
Well, my name is definitely Alex Conner, and I am 17.
I wonder if I am in a Virtual Reality game?
But how?
And why am I wearing the same clothing that I was before I passed out at my computer--a normal black t-shirt and black cargo-pants…and I didn’t get to select a Character Name, though that may be why my real name is in the information.
Plus, I’m barefoot.
Though, I don’t feel hot or cold--it may be a problem to go outside barefoot.
Oh?
It seems that the light outside was dawn, because it now seems a bit brighter than before.
Looking around the barn, near the entrance, I found a pair of sandals, the lace-up kind. So I walked over and put them on, strangely they fit very well; looking at them, I wanted information and it appeared in my mind:
Equipment - Feet: Sandals
Owner: Alex Conner
I am their owner?
Well, who or whatever put me here seems to have given me shoes, so I quickly tie the strings.
By the way, my normal clothing wasn’t counted as equipment for some reason--maybe because brought them from outside the game?
Shouldn’t there be my Bonus Equipment around here somewhere; with that thought in mind, I see an overly-shiny sword laying on the floor next to the straw.
Equipment - Weapon: Excalibur
Weapon-Type: Sword (2-Handed)
Skills: Attack Damage X5, HP Absorption (Moderate), MP Absorption (Moderate), Interrupt Magic, Physical / Magic Defence Bypass (45%)
Wow, those are some rather overpowered skills, as could be expected of a Bonus Equipment named after a legendary sword.
Next to the sword is a ring.
Equipment - Ring: Tester Bonus
Special: Soul Bound, Returning
Skills: Increase Physical Attack (30%), Physical Strength (50%) - Non-Combat, Spacial Storage (5x5x5 Meters)
‘Tester Bonus’?
Am I some kind of tester for this Virtual Reality Game--at least they were nice enough to give me a bonus ring, which seems to have a storage function as well.
Putting the ring on my right hand index finger--it fits perfectly.
I pick up the sword, and decide to see how the storage works. Just as I think of storing it, the sword vanishes in a strange ‘Foop’; I then think of taking it out again, and it appears with a ‘Poof’--so simple.
Suddenly a floating message appears in front of me.
‘Second Class Automatically Set: Thief.’
Uhh…That can’t be good.
Why would it set to Thief?
Well, I don’t know how to change it--no matter how many times I think about it; trying mental or verbal commands.
So, I quickly stored Excalibur and decided to leave the stable.
It will probably be bad if someone finds out that my second class is Thief, but it is a Bonus Skill--so maybe it will be more difficult to find out than normal.
With this thought in mind, I looked around and realized that the surrounding scenery is like a medieval village. There are several houses made from wood, with roofs made of straw, and gardens.
There are fields extending to the east, and to the north, there is a massive forest--I can guess the direction from the rising sun; though this VR game could do with a mini-map.
The villagers have already started doing their jobs--but they seemed very advanced for NPCs, talking to each other, with realistic expressions and look; differing voices and a noticeable smell.
There are two people walking along the road, so I quickly and carefully moved to the back of the stable, to hide--I don’t know why I would need to hide, but it was an instinctive reaction; I had been taught, with my martial arts, to think strategically in any new situation and to be on the lookout for any sources of danger.
It is likely, going by everything I have seen, that this is a VR Game--but it’s best to act cautiously.
From my cover, I mentally activate Appraisal and look at the two approaching people.
The first man.
Name: Zaiyan
Age: 38
Sex: Male
Class: Villager
Level: 8
The second man.
Name: Ganakku
Age: 35
Sex: Male
Class: Villager
Level: 8
Well, they don’t seem to have normal names, so they don’t seem to be Players. They’re not high level, so this seems to be some kind of starting town.
I duck back behind the barn and quickly enter the forest a short distance behind it--I can run faster than before. I’m going to go look through the forest, and use it as cover to inspect the rest of the town for more information.
The village extends even more towards the South-West.
There are 3 buildings that seem to be shops, or stores, and around 40 private homes--that last one was a guess, but what the design suggests to me.
In the center of the village there is a building that is two stories, and one that is three stories.
I observe the people leaving the houses.
Villager - Lv11
Villager - Lv4
Farmer - Lv5
Oh?
That person isn’t a villager.
There is a female, who is a level 6 villager; the first female I have seen so far.
I wonder what the difference between a Farmer and Villager is.
There is one thing that Fantasy books taught me, if you suddenly appear somewhere that seems like a game, treat it as seriously as you would real life--
Unfortunately, while the game is good, there is no tutorial; without Appraisal, I wouldn’t know anything.
Farmer - Lv2
Villager - Lv7
Villager - Lv25
Oh?
That middle-aged man has the highest level.
So, if I were to talk to someone, should it be the highest level, or lowest? Since I am only level 1 myself, so higher level quests would be un-do-able.
Village Chief - Lv8
I wonder why the Village Chief is so low leveled?
He is 68 years old.
Merchant Lv6
I wonder if there is a shop in this village?
Merchant Lv3
This time, it’s a woman--they seem to be a couple; I wonder if the three-story building they left is a shop.
While I was considering the possibilities, and still looking around, someone shouts from outside the village.