章 5: Awakening; Krose Village
[Rentaro, your body's reconstruction has finally finished. Within the next few moments, you'll awaken.] Wilhelm laughed out, eager for the future that awaited them.
'Wilhelm, what about you?' Rentaro asked in worry, fearful of losing his companion.
[Remember, I've been binded to your soul. Anytime you need me, just do what you're doing now. And please, don't ask me questions by speaking aloud! Just think inside of your mind when you speak with me.]
[Otherwise, people would think you're crazy if you go around mumbling questions to yourself in public.] Wilhelm laughed, perhaps imagining Rentaro doing such a thing.
[Well, here it comes. Make sure you adjust to your body first, then we'll talk.]
'Huh? Agh!' Rentaro was suddenly overcome by a feeling of nausea, as if his entire world had been turned upside down, and his being thrown back-in-forth repeatedly.
And then it suddenly stopped—as if the world itself came to a halt—while a feeling of relief washed over him before his consciousness slipped away.
***
A pair of eyes opened as Rentaro awoke from his slumber, only for a blinding light to flash across his pupils, traveling to his retinae.
"Ugh, Why is it so bright?" Rentaro's voice sounded out unconsciously as he lifted his right arm to cover his squinted eyes from the light, which was far too intense for his newly-formed eyes to be acquainted with.
Only then did Rentaro realize, "Eh? I can speak once again? Haha!"
"Huh... I never thought I'd get so excited just from being able to speak. My first step will be to adjust my eyes to the lighting here." He spoke.
Rentaro prepared to sit under a nearby tree and give time for his eyes to adjust to the surrounding light, when he suddenly heard a voice.
"Hey! Your appearance is really strange... What are you doing here?" A young boy's voice questioned.
Momentarily surprised, he decided to brush off the part about his appearance and responded in the most casual manner he could muster, "Huh? Oh, uh.... Well, I really don't know. I honestly have no clue about my current location, actually."
Still blinded by the shining light, he turned towards the voice's location with his arm still shielding his eyes.
"Hehe, You... don't know where you are? Who stumbles into a forest without knowing where they are going? That's kind of stupid.” The child giggled as he spoke.
"Well, you can follow me back to the village, our elders are really smart!" The child continued to mock before grabbing Rentaro's left arm, guiding him to the supposed village.
"Oh, okay. My name is Rentaro, what's your name?" Rentaro asked as he was helplessly pulled along by the child.
"Oh, just call me Icrin!" The boy laughed, continuing to guide Rentaro.
"The village isn't too far in the forest, as strong beasts inhabit the deepest parts of the forest. If you entered blindly, you could've endangered yourself, y'know? I'm kind of like your savior now, huh?"
"Ah-hah... Yeah, I guess so." Rentaro laughed awkwardly.
After what seemed to be five-or-so minutes, "Uh-huh! There's the village!"
Icrin sped up in excitement, his casual speed alone was already pushing Rentaro's newly-formed body to its limits.
"O-okay, slow down a little, will you? Uh-Ahh!" Rentaro cursed, only to stumble on a small tree root, almost tripping.
"Wow, you're really clumsy. Your coordination and physical body are pathetic as well. Why would you ever enter a forest filled with beasts at such a level?" Catching Rentaro, the boy voiced out with a tone of suspicion.
"Whatever, we've finally arrived. Elders! I'm back and I found a stranger! He's really weak and strange!" Icrin voiced out in a playful manner, one expected of a child.
"Icrin," an old voice sounded in warmth, "I've told you to quiet down today. You know that our village's hunters are trying to rest after their last hunt in the third Forest Zone."
Footsteps followed after the old voice, slowly closing in on Rentaro's position, revealing an old man in what Rentaro could vaguely make out as a grey robe.
"Oh! Sorry Gramps." The boy spoke apologetically, admitting his wrongdoings while looking at the ground and fumbling his hands together.
"Hah. No harm done. Now, who's this stranger you're talking about—" Suddenly, the old man's eyes widened as he rebuked the boy, "Icrin, you misfit, you didn't steal the man's clothing, did you?!"
'Huh, Wilhelm, what's going on?" Shocked by the elder's sudden outburst, Rentaro realized something was off.
Wilhelm coughed, [Rentaro... I forgot to mention that while your body has been reconstructed, it was only your body. Naturally, no clothing was reformed or brought with you while you transmigrated into this realm.]
Rentaro's confusion was answered, but at what cost?
His face burned brighter than the light's intensity as he blushed and felt as if he were in an even stranger situation than when his body was reconstructing.
"Wait! Gramps, I found him like this in the 1st Forest Zone. I swear I didn't do anything wrong, I'm innocent!" Icrin screamed, his bearing portraying an expression of being wronged.
"You... whatever! I'll find out what happened," the old man moved closer to Rentaro. "Still covering your eyes, they hurt or something? As long as it's a simple problem, I can heal it." The old man questioned as he moved his hands towards Rentaro's face.
'Huh, Wilhelm, what—' Before Rentaro could even consider his current situation of not wearing any clothing, he fell into panic once again, immediately calling to Wilhelm only to be interrupted.
[Don't worry, the old man is gathering an energy with the healing attribute. Move your arm and let him examine your eyes.] Wilhelm spoke naturally.
Rentaro moved his arm from his eyes, allowing the elder to easily apply treatment. A strange warmth flowed from the elder's palm into Rentaro's eyes.
His eyes slowly closed as he basked in the strange feeling, while time around him continued to pass on before everything descended into silence.
***
"Huh, what is this place? Every time I close my eyes, I find myself in a different place, like a dream or hallucination." Opening his eyes, Rentaro found himself in an unrecognizable room, laying on a small bed and covered in a clean sheet.
Looking to his right, he saw a small wooden desk and atop of it lay a set of simple, red-colored clothing.
Taking a closer look, the clothing seemed to be fit for his size.
It seemed someone had taken the initiative to prepare a room and clothing for him.
Standing up and stretching, Rentaro put on the old set of clothing before walking across the old wooden floor, hearing an occasional creak from the weathered crooked floor boards.
He opened the door only to be greeted by the sight of an old stone pavement that connected to dozens of wooden homes, old and new.
The wooden homes were surrounded by a lush forest.
Wilhelm analyzed that the average tree was at least 50 meters tall; each one was covered in an array of colors, their leaves varying in green, yellow, red, and orange colors.
Walking down the stone path towards the far end of the village, a building that was significantly larger than the rest stood.
In front of the building were five beautifully carved life-like statues. The statues were exquisitely detailed, clearly representing a bird, fox, serpent, wolf, and bear in that order. They seemed to be lined up in a specific order, each having a reason for their placement.
'Is there any meaning behind the statues?' Rentaro asked in wonder.
[Well, the elder from earlier mentioned something about a third forest zone. From that, I infer that each statue represents a different tier of the forest zones. The bird, being the first in line, seems to represent the first and safest forest zone. While the bear, being the fifth in line, seems to represent the fifth and most dangerous forest zone.] Wilhelm voiced out his inference based on their current situation.
'Ah, I see. Let's find out about the current situation before we make any further plans.' Rentaro made up his mind while Wilhelm silently agreed with Rentaro's decision.
Continuing down the stone path, Rentaro noticed several figures that seemed to be training in a small field.
Some of the smaller figures held wooden weapons, such as swords and rods, practicing different stances. The taller figures were training with one another, also using wooden weapons, but any clashes they had were done slowly and without any power.
[In case you're curious, the reason behind their clashes being done slowly with one another is to strengthen their control and the proficiency in their techniques. This manner of training is rather common among cultivators who need to slowly shape their skills.]
[Only after their skill is shaped will they put more power into their duel to pressure one another and hone their skills.] Wilhelm advised as Rentaro briefly watched the duels before carrying on.
Continuing his walk, Rentaro saw what appeared to be a crystal-clear lake accompanied by a flourishing garden; the plants growing inside were really strange however.
Very few of the plants growing there were reminiscent of plants grown in a garden on Earth.
"There you are. Rentaro, right?" A voice suddenly appeared behind Rentaro, startling him. "Oh, didn't mean to make you jump. Hahaha, young ones these days."
Laughter soon followed as the grey-robed elder once again made an appearance.
The old man's face was wrinkled with a ruddy tint, his eyes sunken, paired with ice-blue irises and a deep gaze showing the accumulated wisdom throughout his life. His grey hair was untamed with a long and unkempt whiskered beard, giving him an easy-going appearance.
"Huh, oh yeah. Uh, Senior... where is this place?" Getting his bearings together, Rentaro spoke the question that had been bothering him.
"Ohoho, This village is known as Krose Village. Named after Nento Krose, who set this village up 852 years ago."
"Oh, alright, but like... who's the ruler of this land...?" Rentaro wasn't too interested in delving deeply into the topic of the village's origins at the moment, desiring to learn more about the broader location in general.
"Hehe. Seems like Icrin is right about you suffering from amnesia if you don't even know that. In short, we're currently located in the Argent Plateau, a location under the direct control of the Argent Kingdom, which in turn is under the Silver Moon Empire.”
“Many locations under the Silver Moon Empire are dense in energy. During the night, one's view would be blocked by masses of mist, an accumulation of the energy in the atmosphere, hence the name."
Rentaro rubbed his nose, "Oh, uhh, thanks a lot, Senior."
"No problem, kiddo! You can just call me Elder Astrona in the future. The building you woke up in is one of our guest houses by the way, so feel free to stick around in the village if you need."
The old man said as he turned in the direction of the field where the kids were busy training, before walking off in that direction.
"Uh-Alright, I'll have to take you up on that. Thank you, Elder Astrona." Rentaro remarked quickly as Elder Astrona left, returning to the building he woke up in.
[Once you get back, check out my system functions for yourself. Don't forget, the inventory function has a system welcome gift inside it. I also added a personal gift, but it's not as grand. Sadly, I only have so much control over the system interface as I was created to be more of a guide, while the creator set up automatic functions and processes.]
Wilhelm spoke in an impatient and somewhat displeased voice over not being able to help Rentaro as much as he'd like to.
"Even if it's not as grand, it's still a personal gift and holds more value as it comes from you of your own volition." Rentaro smiled and felt warm from Wilhelm's gesture, not even realizing he had spoken aloud in his happiness.
Elder Astrona wasn't very far away and could hear even a whisper clearly, "Hoh? Talking to himself? This kiddo has more than just amnesia, huh?"
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