4 Fang Village

Despite his expectations for physical activity to be a decrease in his stamina bar, Jun felt immense fatigue and pain from running for a few hours. His muscles felt as if they were being ripped apart, his breaths long and heavy, his eyes drooping from a lack of oxygen to the brain, his heart beating out of his chest, and enough agony and tiredness to bring him to the brink of passing out from exhaustion. He cursed the System for being so damn underwhelming, making the difference between having a System and not having the system identical.

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Although he was not the most physically fit guy out there, Jun always assumed he was at least average or mediocre at worst. Pushing himself to take additional steps, he trudged his way until he finally saw a few simple shacks. At this point, the sun was setting and the sky turned into a beautiful shade of dark blue hued clouds with a few stars peeping from the edges of the clouds.

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With renewed vigor, he quickly shuffled over to the nearest shack and knocked as lightly as he could, to prevent his subconscious instinct to smash the door down and sleep. A rugged middle aged man opened the door and scowled at the disturbance. He had broad shoulders and was well-built. Although he was bold, his face was covered in a thick brown beard and reminded Jun of the portrayals of Nordic peoples and Vikings. His outfit was a simple, ragged shirt with brown leather pants. He admonished Jun:

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"What are you doing at this hour?!"

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Jun took a few deep gasps of air, clutching the doorway and replied shakily:

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"My apologies, I got attacked by bandits and they killed my family, could I please just get some help?"

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The man flinched upon the mention of bandits and his eyes were filled with melancholy, sadly recalling the death of his own father. He looked at Jun with suspicion but shook his head.

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"Sorry kid, I can't let you stay here as my wife is inside. Go to the town center and speak with the village head. I will meet you there after I find my brother to look over my wife."

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The man pointed toward a slightly larger shack that had a wide banner adorned next to its door. The banner was the same material as the man's shirt: a rough, browning white textile made out of coarse plant fibers. On the banner, there was a grey half circle in the center with a dot above it.

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As Jun walked toward the village head's shack, an older man with a large brown mane with grey strands walked out from the door. The man scrutinized Jun from head to toe before looking at the prior man who was now approaching for more information.

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The younger man shrugged and restated what Jun had said.

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"Stripped naked by bandits and he wandered on over here. Up to you."

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The old man stared Jun fiercely. The air became heavier and gloomier, making Jun's breathing more laborious. Gravity felt as if it multiplied by two, but Jun simply dug his feet into the ground and raised his head higher, as if defying the pressure.

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The old man and Jun engaged in a staring contest for a few moments before the old man broke the eye contact and chuckled.

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"At least he got heart. Although he has the thin scent of blood on his body, he is still innocent."

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Jun looked at the old man with confusion, before looking back at the young man. The young man looked back at Jun with equal confusion and asked cautiously.

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"Did those bandits...smack your head super hard or something?"

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Dark lines instantly formed on Jun's face and he immediately scowled back.

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"No, did you get your head smacked though? I see a huge bald spot on the top of your head, and it can't be due to old age, because that village elder over is clearly older and not as bald as you."

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The man furiously looked at Jun, clenching his fists but looking back meekly at the village elder as he realized he was still here. The old man chuckled and waved the man down.

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"There there Thomas. He's still a kid. Now, my name is George and I'm the head of Fang Village. What is yours little one?"

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"My name is Jon. How did you do all that and know all of that?"

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"Hmm, well, all the children throughout the lands should be taught this. I simply used some skills, although I am only a common-rated Footsoldier."

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"What? Could you explain what these skills are and what exactly a common-rated Footsoldier is?"

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George, the village head of Fang Village, scratched his head, obviously a bit bewildered by Jun's absolute lack of knowledge.

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"Well, come in for now and I will explain the basics before we get some sleep. We can sort out the rest tomorrow. Thomas, I'll take care of Jon, you can return home now."

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Thomas simply nodded and glared angrily at Jun one last time before hurrying over to his home. George opened the door and ushered Jun inside. The room had a small firepit surrounded by a few mats; on the other side, there was a table, a few chairs, and a door leading to the rest of the shack. George motioned toward the table, which had a few scrolls, a quill, some ink, a flask and a cup on top, for Jun to take a seat. Taking a seat in one of the chairs, George poured some water from the flask into the cup and passed it to Jun.

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"Here, you must thirsty, drink slowly, you don't want to choke after getting all the way here."

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As Jun took a few large gulps of the water, George poured Jun another cup of water and explained.

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"So, there is not really a good way of explaining skills, but they are the world's acknowledgement of a certain ability. Gaining a skill requires the world's acknowledgement, making it difficult to get skills and furthermore, improve them further. Classes are a way for people to gain skills more easily, and they are divided into various ranks depending on their rarity. Each class has its own set of skills that its holder can more easily get, and the rarity of the class in most, if not all, cases corresponds to the strength and most often, quantity, of skills. For example, my class is common ranked and is a Footsoldier. Footsoldier is a derivative warrior class and is one of the most common classes, often filling the ranks of most armies in our area. Different areas have different kinds of classes, but I don't know anymore than that."

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Jun slowly processed the information and nodded. George got up and pointed to one of the mats next to the firepit.

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"You can sleep there tonight. Rest up as tomorrow, you will be answering my questions. Oh, and if you try to steal anything and run or go through this door to my private residence, I will kill you."

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Taking a gulp of air, Jun tensed up and look at George with hesitation and caution. George laughed and said, "Ease up kid, just don't do anything stupid and go to sleep."

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Before Jun could say or ask anything, George immediately left the room and left Jun to his own devices. Looking at the smoldering embers of the firepit emitting a bit of warmth and light, Jun used the cloak as a blanket and laid on the ground. Before he knew it, Jun instantly knocked out due to his fatigue and George stepped out from the doorway.

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"Hah, I guess he's just a normal scared kid."

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George gave Jun one more hard look, causing him to unconsciously shiver and turn away from him. Laughing, George set down a folded set of pants and a shirt next to him.

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"See you tomorrow kid."