Chapter 2: Han And The Herbalist

A body was floating in a lake. People just walked by ignoring the body even if they saw it. They did not try to help or find out what happened.

The body was of a young man, around 16-17 years old. He had light brown hair and eyes. He wore a brown colored torn shirt and pants.

After an hour, the body suddenly started moving. People walking past the lake did not care for this abnormality and ignored it yet again.

The young man gasped as life came back into him.

Seo Jun realized that he had transmigrated over to Arcancia as it was promised by the grey blob. He looked around at his surroundings. He realized that he was soaking wet since he was sitting in the lake.

Looking at the lake, Seo Jun saw an image of his face. 'Is this how I look now? Disappointed since I wanted to look hot, but I guess being on the cute side is fine too', he thought feeling his face.

As Seo Jun tried standing up, a painful headache hit him. It made him dizzy for a few seconds. 'W-what is this? Are these the memories of the predecessor?' thought Seo Jun. All the memories of the original body owner came pouring into Seo Jun's mind.

The name of this body was Han. He was an orphan; his parents were brutally killed in front of the young child's eyes. The child was a beggar in the city for a few months before an herbalist took him in.

The herbalist brought Han to his herb shop in the forest, which was a weird spot for a store. Han was a servant for a few months before the herbalist took pity on the child and decided to help by making him his assistant.

Han was glad to have this opportunity and was finally looking forward to his future. Time passed by and he loved working for the herbalist, he had no complaints. He wished his parents could see him like that.

One day, the herbalist sends Han to the nearby village which was 1 hour walk away to buy some items. The herbalist also gave him a few silver coins since he had to buy items.

Han waved goodbye to the herbalist and went his way toward the village.

After an hour, Han arrived at the village.

The village residents knew that the herb store's assistant was Han, and they could recognize him anywhere. A group of men with bad intentions had their eye on Han or more specifically the pouch he had attached around his waist.

Han was approached by these men with bad intentions. Sensing trouble from the men Han tried running back to the forest. But it was too late the men grabbed Han's neck from the back and forced it into the lake. The men kept drowning Han in the lake until he was dead.

'Now I see why I ended up in the lake. Anyways, I should go back to the herbalist since I have no other place to go to,' thought Seo J…Han. He was being cautious of the herbalist as well since who would take in a beggar as an assistant, this must be a scheme.

Groaning Han, walked back to the forest in his soaking-wet clothes. The path back home was imprinted in his mind.

After an hour, Han arrived at a cabin that was in the middle of nowhere.

'Is this supposed to be an herb store? Does this place even have customers?' thought Han.

He sighed and walked inside the cabin.

As soon as Han closed the front door, he heard a voice greeting him. "Welcome back, Han. Did you bring the items I requested of you?" asked the herbalist smiling. He held a bowl of minced herbs in his hands.

"About that, I was ambushed by a few men in the village before I could reach the destination. I at once ran back towards the forest. Thankfully, I made it back alive. Though I am sorry, Master I could not complete the task," said Han.

"Oh, I see. Then, how about the money I gave you for the purchase? Can I get them back?" asked the herbalist smiling.

"About that, unfortunately, the men who ambushed me took it," said Han apologetically.

"Is that so…Han, I am indeed disappointed in you since this is the first time you could not complete my given task. For punishment, you will not be getting any meals for a day. Is that clear?" said the herbalist as he put the bowl of minced herbs on the receptionist's counter.

Han nodded and sullenly walked back to his room. A Few Minutes Later, Han stood before his room.

"Are you kidding me? Can this even be called a room, it is a damn storage room," whined Han as he opened the door of his room.

The room had several boxes, stands, and shelves with items on them. There was a lot of dust as well which made it unbearable to stay in the room. In the middle, a sheet was layed with a little hay on top of it. Underneath the shelves, there was one stand that had Han's belongings in it.

"I have to get out of here as soon as possible," said Han as he sat on the sheet. He touched the Hay, "Is this supposed to be a pillow, how creative. Anyways, what do I do now." He looked around the room bored.

"Let's go through my memories one more time in more detail maybe there's something that could help me in my current condition," said Han. He went through the memories remembering the smallest of details.

Han remembered the sweet times he had with his parents. The time when the bandits barged into his house and killed his parents in front of him. Then he ran out of the house to the streets trying to save himself. How he felt when he became a beggar on the streets and the places, he begged for money just to stay alive. How he felt the day his master, the herbalist took him in.

"I guess the begging days do help me remember the layout of the Laden City. The predecessor also has a memory of the village layouts since it is near it is the most helpful. I want to escape from here. It is best if I get a ride on one of the merchant carriages that come into the village to rest. Other than that, there is nothing much in his memories. But what's this feeling on my face," Han touched his face to find tears on his cheeks and his eyes were red.

"Maybe remembering the hard times made this body cry," said Han chuckling to himself as he wiped his tears.

**Knock**Knock**

"Can I come in, Han? I felt like I was too harsh on you, so I brought you a tea brewed from my favorite tea leaves. I know you wanted to try it before but did not get a chance," said the Herbalist standing outside the door holding 2 different cups of tea in his hands.

"Yes, please come in master," said Han. 'I cannot say no. He will get suspicious,' he thought anxiously.

The door creaked open and a man holding 2 cups of tea came inside and closed the door behind him using his body.

The Herbalist sat down in front of Han and gave him a cup of tea.

"I am sorry I was harsh on you, but I do expect more. I know you had your tough times, but it is time to step up and take more responsibility for your actions." said the Herbalist as he sipped his tea.

The herbalist did not hear anything in reply. "Is it clear?"

"Yes," said Han nodding.

"Why aren't you drinking tea? It is very delightful," said the Herbalist.

'Did he put something in this?' Han looked at the Herbalist's smile and reevaluated him.

Usually, Han would not have reevaluated someone this easily but just recently he felt the feelings of the predecessor through his memories. So, he thought just this once he would try trusting the predecessor's master.

'He is the predecessor's master he would not do anything to his disciple. All right let us just take a sip,' Han picked up the teacup and took a sip, but he did not notice the massive grin on the herbalist's face.