Chapter 2 - A New World

Jeremy woke up, confused as to why he wasn't dead. People were scuttling about in frantic hurry, tending to others who seemed in critical condition. He saw people with missing limbs, some bandaged across their entire body, and he was sure some of the bodies weren't breathing. He tried to push up onto his elbows, but the world began to rapidly spin, and he laid back down on the bed.

"What happened?" he weekly asked, to no one in particular.

At the sound of his voice, a woman dressed in a simple dress with an apron covered in medicine and blood turned towards him. Words left her lips, but he didn't understand a single thing she said. He looked at her in confusion, wondering if the concussion he acquired messed up his language interpretation.

She quickly motioned for another nurse to come to her aide and help lift Jeremy off the bed. He groaned in pain as they moved him above the bed to change the sheets. The nurses skillfully moved and soon put him back on the mattress with ease. They didn't look like much, but they were strong.

His vision completely adjusted to the bright light around him, and all he saw was color around the nurses. They ranged from white to red to yellow to blue and everything mixed between them. One lady had a mix of three colors: yellow, white, and a deep ocean blue. Jeremy had no idea what it could mean. He stretched his arm out and saw no color, but something else instead.

It was a scarred hand. Working scars, to be exact, almost like a farmer or laborer. He felt his face and could feel more scars. One scar stood out: a deep, wounded scar that ran down from his forehead, through his left eyelid, and curved just under his lower lip. He instinctively shut his right eye, still able to see.

He let loose a breath of air he didn't realize he was holding. He could still see. Somehow. He was unsure as to what happened, but he knew he was no longer his former self.

The nurses still scattered around to prepare medical supplies for whatever they needed. A few still tended to him, others watched in fascinated horror. He still couldn't understand a single word they were saying. Then a strange thing happened. A blue, transparent screen appeared before him out of thin air.

World Quest:

1. Discover what happened to you (0/1)

2. Discover who you are (0/1)

Jeremy rubbed his eyes, his aching body protesting at the slightest movement on its own. He looked out again, making sure he wasn't hallucinating. Nope. It was still there. A status screen, like a game.

"New Quest," he mumbled. "Find out what happened to you. Yeah, I'd like to know that as well."

Jeremy forced himself to sit up, a small groan of pain escaping his lips. The nurses watched in awe and wonder. The one who had the multiple colors surrounding her approached, making a calm shushing noise. She placed a soft, gentle hand on his shoulder to help steady him.

She was a bit shorter than the other nurses, and had a plump, motherly look to her. She had slightly pointed ears, like an elf from games Jeremy had played. Her short, dark hair framed her face in an appealing way, almost as if it took little effort to do it. Her eyes had a hazel hue and sparkled as bright as the smile on her face.

She spoke the same language as the other nurses, and frowned when Jeremy was confused with her language. Her lips pulled to the side of her mouth in thought, trying to remember something.

"You not from here?" she asked in broken English.

"That's correct," Jeremy replied, as if it was obvious.

"What happened?" she asked.

"I have no clue," he shook his head.

The nurse tried to remember other words, needing answers to better help Jeremy, but he didn't know what he would be able to tell her. He didn't know himself. He couldn't really remember anything. How he got the scars and been beaten so badly was a mystery to him as well.

"'Aly'nya," the head nurse said, placing her hand on her chest.

"Jeremy," he told her, mirroring her motions.

She gave a smile, pleased that he understood her hand gesture. With a small nod, she let another nurse begin to examine Jeremy for internal injuries. The stethoscope looked weird, as did the ear examination tool. They measured his heartbeat, flipped his hands and arms, and made sure he had most of his range of movement.

As he moved, his sore body began to relax and not be so tense. The status window popped back up, but it was a basic outline of his body. It showed some blue spots, where he assumed his body was fine, and some slightly yellowish and red spots, others where he figured most of the damage was. The diagram even showed where all his new scars were.

"Interesting," he thought aloud.

The nurse that was examining him glanced up with a questioning look, then returned to doing her examination when Jeremy shook his head. He tried to mentally swipe the screen away, but it wouldn't disappear. He subtly moved his head to one side, and still nothing. He couldn't try a hand movement, as that would just look weird.

The last nurse approached with some papers for him to sign with a quill. It had a metal tip on it, but no ink. She held it out to him, and he looked at her with confusion on his face. She frowned, then made an ah-ha expression. She went to a table, grabbed a spare sheet of paper, and showed Jeremy the magical wonders of an inkless quill. It needed no inkwell, just the ability to write.

When Jeremy picked the quill up, it was heavier than a normal quill. That could be caused by the tip, maybe. He also saw some sort of magical rune written on the metal tip. He stared a little too long, and the nurse sort of chuckled at his amusement. With a sheepish grin, he signed the paper and was soon off.

Aly'nya gave him simple garb: tan cotton shirt, wool pants, a thin treated cloak to ward off weather, and simple leather boots that went up to his midcalf. He looked at himself in the mirror in the bathroom, taking in his features.

He looked like himself, but barely. He had battle worn with scars and calluses. His hair was long, almost able to be pulled back in a ponytail. A scraggly beard had grown a few inches. His eyes had that blank look, like he'd witness a tragedy of insurmountable measure.

Jeremy left the clinic and stepped into a completely unfamiliar world. He would have it pegged as a world that was somewhat modern but still stuck in a fantasy setting. He hadn't realized until now, but the clinic had electricity in it. Now why would a fantasy world need electricity? How was it powered? Gas? Water? Air?

The village he was in was quaint. The sound of hammering on metal rang out, thudding of arrows on straw dummies, the crackling of magic filled the air, and the bustling of people going about their day completed the background noise. Then a tree fell in the distance. There had to be a lumber mill around here, which might double as a hydro-electric dam. Maybe.

Jeremy walked down the stone street, noticing a lot of the buildings had a somewhat sleek modern look, but able to stay a bit rustic as well. The brick buildings had tiled roofs, instead of shingles like his world. The doors were intricately carved, and somewhat matched, as if they were made in mass.

A few people were walking around the village. Some had faint auras around them of pale colors, and most others had nothing to show. He wondered what it could mean. All the ladies in the clinic had one, albeit some stronger than others. He looked at his hand, wondering if he had no aura or couldn't see his own. Someone then bumped into him.

A girl around his age who looked like she was up to no good. She was in the same pants and leather boots he wore, but her shirt was a forest green material. A string laced the collar around her neck loosely and her sleeves were rolled, revealing a strange tattoo on her forearm. He could barely see it peeking out where it ended on her collarbone.

Her red eyes stared at him with confusion. Her slender fingers rubbed together, as if they were supposed to be holding something. He'd been pickpocketed before in the bustling city he grew up in, and he knew she was just trying to do the same. Before she could move, something inside him stirred.

The subtle movement of her feet caused him to suddenly reach out and grab her wrist. She was thin and weighed about nothing, and he managed an armlock on her. He had a fistful of her short, silver hair as he pressed her against the ground. The movement startled him, and he quickly stood up.

"Uh, sorry. I don't know what came over me," he said.

The girl stood up quickly, getting into a defensive stance as her feet hit the ground. She watched closely, trying to determine his next move.

Jeremy was standing there, trying to figure out what he was going to do next. Cogs spun as he tried to gather his thoughts. He realized he was doing movements that would cover whatever she moved to do. It kind of scared him to know that he might've been trained at some point to predict a person's movement.

She did a one-eighty on her heels and suddenly took off. She was fast, but he was faster. He was right on her heels in the chase down the streets. People quickly moved away from the chase, not wanting to be caught between the cat and mouse.

The woman was nimble, jumping over fences and climbing walls with ease. Jeremy was athletic, doing the same thing nearly as easy, but with less grace. The chase was more like cat and dog. He was unaware of any inborn skill of parkour. His movements also didn't feel like his own, and how skillfully he maneuvered each obstacle was exhilarating for him. Off the motorcycle, he might as well have two left feet when it came to anything faster than a jog. On the motorcycle, he was pulling stoppies and wheelies and one-eighties and all sorts of tricks. This gave him that same sense of skill as he chased the girl down the alleyways.

Eventually, he was able to kick her feet, causing her to tumble into a stall. The merchant began shouting in some language Jeremy couldn't understand yet again. He approached the girl and hauled her to her feet. Then he tossed her on his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. She kicked and screamed, but no one wanted anything to do with the sight.

Hidden objective discovered:

Gather information from the captured rogue (0/1) (0.0%)

There was the blue status screen again. The game window disappeared when Jeremy waved it away in annoyance. The girl kept struggling to get free, but Jeremy held tight. He kept walking down the streets and out of a gate. Once he was several dozen feet away, he tossed the girl on the ground.

"Talk. What's your name?" he asked.

"Piss off," she said.

"Fine, I'll just give you to the guards," he told her.

"Lilah," she quickly said. "Please, just don't give me to the guards."

Her voice was low and somewhat meek. She was answering just to avoid the guards.

"Why'd you try to pickpocket me?" he asked.

"You were an easy mark. I have a skill that lets me highlight unaware people," she explained.

"What do you mean by skill?" Jeremy asked with confusion in his voice.

"You know, I unlocked a skill related to my class," she said, looking up at him. "Do you not know what I'm talking about?"

All Jeremy could do was shake his head. It had only been about fifteen minutes since he woke up in this new world. He was heavily confused about anything and everything. Skills? Classes? This strange window system? It was like he's in a game. Which is something he could get behind. He hadn't really played games since he was a child, but he remembered how happy they made him. Maybe he did die and go to heaven.

"What can you tell me about classes?" Jeremy asked.

"Wow, you really don't know anything. You live under a rock?" Lilah laughed.

"Something like that," he said.

"Classes are something most people pick in their childhood years. Usually, it's related to how they grew up. Other times it how they want to spend the rest of their lives. Take me, for example. I grew up on the streets, so I took a class and a few skills related to selfishly surviving. I took an agility subclass, Rogue."

Hidden Objective Update:

Gather information from the captive rogue (0/1) (15%)

"Agility? What do you mean?" Jeremy asked.

"It's one of the main skills that determines how we do in everyday situations. They are strength, agility, endurance, and mind. Do those need explaining as well?" she asked snarkily.

"Those are pretty self-explanatory, thief," he said.

"Don't call me that," she yelled.

"I will call you as I see you. You tried to pickpocket me, and the skills you described to me basically told me that's all you're good at," Jeremy glared.

Lilah went to respond, but quickly shut her mouth. She knew he had her there. She really was no more than a common thief, when she thought about it. It hurt her pride more than she's willing to admit. She thought she'd have made a local legend for herself by now, since she hadn't been caught before. But here she was, a girl in her early twenties still roaming around the same small town with nothing to show. She had a meager shack with the bare minimum to live in.

She had a mattress, no frame or sheets. A wood burning stove with barely enough room to put a pan on to cook. The hard dirt floor was coming loose in several places.

"I'll tell you more if you take me wherever you go," she suddenly said.

Party Invite:

Lilah the White Fox has requested to join your party (Y/N)

Jeremy stared at the screen that appeared before him. He couldn't help but chuckle. He recognized it as a party screen. He'd be able to see at least her health, mana, and whatever status condition affecting her, such as a regeneration buff or a paralyzing debuff. He knew that much from his childhood.

"Do you see this?" he asked, waving at the screen.

"You waving? Yes? I'm not blind, you know," she answered.

Well, that answers his most pressing question. He was the only one able to see the game screens. He wondered if that was intentional, or if he had some control over it. He doubted the latter, as he wouldn't even know how to hide it if that was the case. He gave the mental consent to let Lilah join the party.

Lilah the Silver Fox has joined the party.

Please Select the experience allocation.

0-100% Allocation

Experience allocation? Maybe this was his ticket to getting stronger. He didn't know leveling was a thing. Or was it just him? He selected fifty percent allocation.

Allocation set at 50%

Please select the party role.

1. Damage

2. Tank

3. Healer

If she's a rogue, of course she'd be a damage dealer. He could imagine now all the poisons and special blades she could use. She could even be a sniper for them, someone who deals damage from a distance. Wait, she said she was a thief. She might not have access to all those things. She might be better at sneaking and causing distractions. She could probably even gather items they needed to survive.

You have selected Damage

Lilah the White Fox will take a Damage role

"What-" she barely managed before a soft blue light surrounded her.

She looked at her hands as the blue light enveloped her. She began to look around, almost as if she was beginning to see the same blue screens Jeremy was. She fell back on her hands, scooting back a few inches as more screens began to swarm her. She promptly passed out, likely from the overload of new senses.

"Well, that's not good," Jeremy sighed.

He scooped her up in his arms and began to head back inside the town. He asked around for an inn of some sort and worked out a deal with the owner. He'd come back and work in the kitchen to pay for the room. Once Lilah was settled and dealt with, Jeremy noticed an icon by her status window in the upper left corner of his vision. A couple of Zs were there to show she was sleeping. He also noticed shackles.

"Strange," he muttered. "Is she bound to someone?"

He'd have to deal with that later. Now, he was off to do some cooking in this strange new world.