[Settlement]

As Claude's consciousness fluttered back, he found himself in a large white tent whilst the bed he rested on seemed to be made of straw. 

'An actual bed!?' Claude thought to himself as he briefly considered going back to sleep and enjoying this comfortable rest which he hadn't had for quite a while.

However, thinking of his current situation, he couldn't find in him to rest any longer as he thought back to yesterday.

'That's right yesterday!' Sitting up, Claude stretched a bit as he tried to sift through his memories- attempting to remember what had happened yesterday.

He arrived in a strange world, fought a venomous snake, faked being a divine emissary and entered a village. Then there was the mention of ruins and some sort of monsters.

Massaging his brows, he couldn't help but wonder how his life had suddenly turned so... colourful?

Nevertheless, the only thing that served as consolation was the fact his mental energy had recovered to its peak during his sleep.

Getting up, his eyes adjusted to the dim light provided by the softly glowing lanterns.

He noticed the thick, black rugs that covered the floor, made from the furs of animals unknown to Claude. 

A wooden desk, where Raymond's diary lay, and its accompanying chair sat in the corner of the tent, offering a place for him to write and review his knowledge. 

Previously, his understanding of surface tension had saved his life, he certainly wanted to make sure he understood all the knowledge relevant to his spells.

Furthermore, he wanted to try and learn the other spells in the book. In the apprentice section of the diary, there had only been three spells recorded in it.

He hoped to master all of them as soon as possible so that he could improve his fighting strength. That was the only he could find any sense of security in this foreign world.

Shaking off his contemplations, Claude got up and placed the garland that hung from his neck onto the desk alongside his diary.

Exiting the tent, he cast his gaze upward, pondering a single thought that drifted through his mind.

'It's still night...' At this point, he could all but confirm this peculiar feature of this world, a world of eternal night.

He only hoped that other worlds if he ever visited them, would at least offer a more familiar cycle of day and night.

Looking away from the sky and around at the settlement, Claude found himself at the heart of a bustling scene.

Tents were scattered about everywhere in his vision, people busily going about their days, children playing.

However, seeing Claude, they all secretly peeked at him from time to time.

Sensing this attention, Claude could only complain to himself secretly. After all, this was due to his actions.

Soon, a young woman walked up to him attracting his attention.

She was similar to everyone else with her sickly pale skin and straight brown hair, her eyes filled with curiosity and awe whenever she looked at Claude.

"Great Emissary, Miss Agnes has blessed me with the honour of summoning you upon your awakening," she said, her voice trembling slightly with the excitement at being able to receive this task.

She bowed deeply, her gaze never quite meeting Claude's. "She awaits your presence in her tent. Please, follow me."

Seeing Claude nod in acceptance, the village woman's face briefly lit up with relief. She respectfully bowed her head once more before turning to lead the way.

The path they took wound through the camp, gradually veering away from the more densely populated centre.

As they walked, the woman subtly glanced back at Claude from time to time, ensuring he was following.

Finally, they arrived at a particularly remote part of the settlement, marked by a lone tent that stood apart from the others.

The woman stopped a few feet away from the tent and turned to Claude, her voice low. "This is where Miss Agnes spends much of her time caring for those in need," She explained as she pulled open the tent flaps, motioning Claude to go inside.

Claude stepped into the tent, where the pungent aroma of herbs filled the air, mingling with the earthy scent of smoke from the fire pit.

The interior was simple but organized, with various herbs hanging from the tent's supports to dry, contributing to the thick, medicinal aroma that filled the air.

The tent was furnished with a bed made of tightly bound straw covered with a thin, worn blanket.

Nearby, sat a sturdy wooden stool and a small table cluttered with various vials, dried plants, and a cauldron.

An open area within the tent was clearly dedicated to Agnes' work, dominated by a large cauldron where she brewed her medicines.

This makeshift kitchen area included basic utensils hung neatly on the side walls and a fire pit that was carefully managed to provide heat without risk to the canvas above.

Within the tent, Agnes was seated on the sturdy wooden stool as she prepared some sort of concoction in the cauldron that rested on the table.

"Oh! Emissary, you're here. Come, I've prepared your breakfast for you here." Beside her, Agnes brought out a bowl of pottage and handed it to Claude.

"Thank you, Agnes. But Claude will do just fine" He replied to her before sitting down on a nearby stool and munching down on the food he had been handed.

Whilst he ate Agnes continued with her tasks, the tent descending into a respectful silence.

After Agnes finished making her concoction, a strange earthy, brown liquid, she turned to Claude who had just finished eating.

"...Claude?" She said, still not used to calling him by his name, "I'm sorry for the quiet. I've been making something to help those from the village guard recover from their training."

Claude shook his head as he replied. "No need for apologies. Perhaps, after this, you could show me around the camp?"

"Wonderful! I can also deliver this to the guards and show you their training on the way." Agnes gestured to the mixture which she had poured into a large bowl now.

"That would be fine," Claude answered. He didn't have much to do right now. As much as he wanted to train, he felt ill at ease practising his spells in everyone's view. 

Attracting so much attention wasn't a horrible thing for Claude, but he would much rather practice later in the day... later in the night...

Whilst everyone else had gone to rest for the day. This also meant he could exhaust his mental energy and recover by sleeping right away.

Getting up from his stool, Claude went over to help Agnes carry some smaller bowls in a sack he lugged it with him as the duo left the tent.

Whilst making their way to the training grounds, Claude couldn't help but note something. 'Have I gotten stronger?'

He wasn't talking about his powers as a mage, no, he was talking about his physical strength.

Though it hadn't reached a supernatural level, he realised he was at ease in carrying the sack with him.

Something he would have at least found physically taxing in the past. Yet, here he was, doing just that without sweating a bit.

'What caused this? Mental energy?' He recorded the phenomena in the back of his head for future investigation.

Trying to clear his mind, Claude turned to Agnes before asking "Is Karl still in the village?"

"No. He and some others have gone to investigate some ruins that might have appeared over in the Northern Ridge." Agnes replied.

'Ruins...?' Hearing this familiar term, Claude pondered for a moment. He seemed to have underestimated the importance of these ruins for everyone here.

It was so important to them that they gave themselves no moment of respite and immediately continued searching for it today.

They walked through the village, with Agnes introducing some people to Claude and explaining to him the overall situation of the camp.

It didn't take long for Claude to understand that these people all come from different villages, however, their homes were destroyed decades ago due to an attack.

Karl was the one who banded everyone together so they could survive, ever since then they have been hopping from place to place in hopes of finding a true home.

'I see.' Claude's eyes narrowed. 'That would explain their obsession with the ruins somewhat. And the things that caused them to leave their homes were probably those blood-sucking fiends and traitors that Karl mentioned yesterday...'

"We're here." Agnes' words snapped Claude out of his thinking as they arrived before a large field.