Chapter 10: Touching Some Grass

Chapter 10: Touching Some Grass

Noah’s eyes fluttered open, and he found himself lying in a bed. A thin white sheet was the only thing covering his body. The robes he’d been wearing were gone, and he was completely naked. Curiously, he sniffed his body once, and gagged.

Aurelia stepped into the room, glancing at him. “Ah, you’re awake. How’re you feeling?”

“I feel like if I don’t take a shower right now, I’m going to die,” Noah replied.

“I figured as much. I burnt the robes you’d been wearing, there was no salvaging those. There’s a shower attached to his chamber, and I’ve started the mana script so it’s going to have warm water.”

“Thanks,” Noah replied, getting up from the bed.

Taking the sheet covering him, he wrapped it around his waist like some kind of Greek skirt, and made his way to the shower room. Stepping in, Noah found the chamber to be surprisingly similar to what he’d expect a modern shower room to look like. The room was made of carved stone slabs, with a metal shower that had a flat head with no holes, and a rune carved into it. And instead of a tap, there was another rune down below with the same symbol as the shower.

Walking under the showerhead, Noah sent a pulse of mana as water began to rain from above him.

“Fuck, that’s cold!”

“The rune on the right controls the warm water!” Aurelia’s voice came from outside, and Noah tapped the rune on the right side, and the water began to turn warm.

He let the sensation of the water pouring over him soak him, his muscles relaxing. Sighing in contentment, Noah let the shower wash away all the filth and grime from his body.

After a few minutes of soaking, Noah tapped the water rune, turning it off. Just as he was about to leave, a bright light flashed beneath his feet, and he noticed a glowing rune light up under him. The light engulfed him, and Noah felt an oddly cleansing sensation cover him from head to toe.

You’ve been inflicted with [Cleanse]!

You feel cleaner than ever.

You feel relaxed after a nice shower!

[Exhaustion] has been removed.

Noah inspected his body and found that every ounce of dirt and grime had been removed. Even the dirt under his nails was no longer stubbornly there. “This just made the entire day of almost dying worth it.”

Stepping outside the shower, he found a pair of white robes were neatly folded within a wardrobe. Noah picked one up, putting it on, and looked at himself in the mirror.

A pink scar covered his chest where he’d been stabbed. Similar scars were all over his body, little pink gashes that’d healed rapidly from the many cuts and bruises he’d received.

“Just yesterday I was at work, and now I can absorb blood and pull things out of nowhere,” Noah said.

Now that he finally had some time to himself, Noah had the time to look around for what exactly happened with that strange vision. Reaching out to his menu, he opened his overlay.

Name: Noah Brown

Race: Human (Modified)

Rank: F

Paths:

Exsanguinator - level 11

Astralwalker - level 9

Void Hunter - level 9

Attributes:

Power: 32

Agility: 23

Constitution: 26

Mystic: 36

Attribute points: 30

An uneasy feeling filled Noah’s gut at the thought that he may not even be human anymore with all the genetic tampering and whatnot that was mentioned, but lingering on the thought wouldn’t help him, and so he moved on.

Noah noticed his Attributes had all increased by 5. A significant jump, which essentially gave him nearly 6 levels worth of Attribute Points all across. His Constitution especially had skyrocketed, and Noah could feel the difference in his body. It was almost as if he was more alive. His body felt more energetic, more sensitive to sensations, and he just felt better overall.

“Alright, I’ll admit, that’s convenient,” Noah said.

“One of the Perks of fire abilities. Another is that winter basically isn’t a concern for me. Which is such a relief. I think that’s a fairly big part of why I picked my Paths too,” Aurelia said, small flames dancing across her knuckles.

“Really? You dislike winter?” Noah asked. “I love winter. Freedom from dreadful heat, and snow fights are some of the peaks of my childhood.”

Aurelia grimaced, scrunching up her face in disgust. “I despise the cold. I’d rather be warm and cozy forever.”

“Understandable. I wonder if you’ll enjoy ice cream. Honestly, I’d hate summers, but ice cream makes up for it. You can eat them in winter too, but it’s not the same.”

“Ice cream?” Aurelia asked.

“It’s a dessert made of milk, a fuck-ton of sugar, and it’s one of the best things humanity has created in my world. Right after pizza,” Noah said.

“I can’t tell if I don’t understand you because whatever spell is translating isn’t working, or if you’re just being weird.”

“Who knows,” Noah said with a smile.

“Let’s head out. I don’t want to stay a second longer in this place,” Aurelia said.

“Me neither,” Noah replied.

It took a while for them to make their way through the underground caverns. After walking for half an hour, they noticed light streaming in from the outside. Noah rushed ahead, pushing through overgrown vines and plants at the entrance. He wiggled his bare feet, feeling the grass against his skin. He looked up at the sky, momentarily blinded by the light of the sun. As his vision adjusted, he saw two bright balls glowing in the bright blue sky.

“You guys have two suns?” he said, looking at Aurelia in surprise.

“You don’t? That’s so weird,” she replied.

“It really isn’t. How do you calculate day and night?”

“What do you mean? When the suns go down, it’s night. When they come out, it’s day. Though sometimes in winter it’s still too dark after first dawn, so the day really only begins after both the suns are out.”

“First dawn... huh?” Noah murmured, watching the suns hanging in the sky. He looked behind him and found two shadows that overlapped each other.

“This is so weird,” he murmured again, looking ahead to the landscape. The grass, the trees, the little insects that flew around felt both familiar and alien at the same time. He really was in a brand new world of magic.

Quest: Run! Run! Run! Complete.

Reward: [Map] system, unlocked.

A mini-map appeared at the corner of his vision, where he could see his current location. Every other place was dark and invisible, except for the cultist base that he’d already explored.

“Would be more useful if it wasn’t all blank,” Noah said. “Did you find the thing you were looking for?”

Aurelia nodded, a necklace appearing in her hand. “It’s a protective charm. Given to children to ward off evil spirits. Not really magical in any way. I found it in one of the prison cells.”

A sombre realisation settled on Noah.

New Quest obtained!

Quest: Lost Remembrance

You’ve found a necklace belonging to someone in Layfar Village. Find them and return the item.

Difficult: Easy.

Reward: Experience Points.

“Guess that makes it official. I just got a Quest to go to Layfar Village,” Noah said. He saw a little marker on his map, showing the location. “Let’s head out, shall we?”

Aurelia nodded. “We’ll set up camp, the suns will be down in a few hours. I suppose this’ll be your first adventuring Quest, so I better show you the ropes as your senior.”

“I’ll be looking forward to learning from you, senpai,” Noah said, bowing his head.

“I feel like you’re making fun of me, but I can’t tell why.”

“I wouldn’t dare.”

Aurelia rolled her eyes, walking away. Noah chuckled to himself as the two of them made their way into the forest.