Verse Mage

The sun shone brightly, illuminating the quiet Destri village.

Early morning— Roosters crowing loudly, acting like an everyday alarm for the villagers.

Zeno woke up with itch permeating all over his body. It was indeed uncomfortable to sleep atop haystacks. Even more so when your roommates snore very loudly. Noise coming from farm animals in the barn made his sleeping experience, overall, extremely unpleasant.

"I have to get used to this," Zeno muttered.

He then stood up, properly folded the rugged sheet he placed atop the haystack, and proceeded to grab a pail situated near the barn's door. After fetching a bucket of water from the local deep well, he then returned to the barn. With a shovel and a rake, Zeno proceeded to do his morning duties— cleaning the farm animal's stable.

"Goodmorning Zeno! How was your sleep?"

Suddenly, a voice resounded outside the barn, startling Zeno who was focusing on his work. A woman, who was around the age of 25 or so, was standing at the barn's entrance, hands clasped with eyes full of excitement.

"Oh? It's you, Jenn. You're up early?" Zeno, who had turned his head and halted what he was doing, immediately recognized the woman.

She was the first person he met when he arrived. The unconscious him, who was somehow lying on a jungle in the middle of nowhere, would've died a second time around if not for Jenn rescuing him.

Placing down the bucket and shovel, Zeno grabbed a towel hanging on one of the stable doors and thoroughly wiped his damp hands. He then proceeded to walk towards the barn's entrance and properly greeted Jenn. Although he was accustomed to calling her without honorifics, she was someone he had to address with utmost respect. The eldest daughter of an adjacent city's city lord, in short, she would become a governess in no time. As such, Zeno would not fail to offend her in any way, especially so when—

Transmigrator: Zeno Rinshu (Chaotic Alignment) — (0/1000 exp)

Title: None — Gain titles through actions against creatures good and evil alignment

Class: None — Acquire a class through slaying creatures of good and evil alignment.

Level: 0 — Earn exp. points through slaying creatures of good and evil alignment.

Special Skill: Monkey See, Monkey Do— Accurately mimic any farm animals for 25 sec.

He was extremely weak. When he first woke up after arriving, the pathetic skill panel that appeared within his consciousness heavily appalled him. Zeno could not decide whether to laugh or cry. 'What the hell was with this 'special skill'? It's utterly useless' He angrily retorted back then. But after a month of spending time learning everything that he had to know to fit in, he finally found his "true calling" —

… And it begins by taking care of these farm animals.

"Our Vestra City is having the annual harvest festival. Will you be willing to come with me? It would be really fun!" With a beaming smile, Jenn cheerily invited the still kowtowing Zeno. She then beckoned for him to end the honorific and asked one more time.

"Come with you to the city?" Although Zeno heard her clearly the second time around, he was still slightly hesitant. He could not even picture a farm boy suddenly barging inside a festival with a future governess, how much more a pathetic person like him, far worse than a local farm boy, to be escorting such an esteemed and extremely beautiful person…

"You know what, sure. Why would I not?"

Taking time considering such a generous offer and letting a beauty wait… is just stupid and wasteful. The 37-year-old virgin Zeno back on Earth would never waste a second thinking that much. 'Ah! I promised myself to not act all pathetic in front of ladies anymore! Although I am pretty much useless in terms of strength, this new body of mine is not too bad in terms of appearance.' He thought.

It was the truth, compared to his fatty body when he was still the average worker on Earth, the one he had now was much more appealing. The muscles he had were slightly toned, ever more so after Zeno worked earnestly for the past month. His body had grown quite muscular. His face, although average, was not drenched in excess oil and unwanted acne. It was smooth and fair.

"Yes, I'm glad you'd come! Phew, for a moment there, I thought that you'd say no." Jenn giggled, she added, "See you then! I have to return home for now. You know the direction of the city. I trust that you won't get lost."

"Sure thing. See you" Zeno replied, his face flashed an awkward smile. Jenn wasn't in the least bit funny. She did not have the knack to make any jokes. The figure of a woman happily skipping and hopping away from the barnyard soon vanished. "What a carefree woman."

…

Late in the afternoon. The sun was slowly setting in the horizon.

"Don't worry, young lad. You look fine on whatever."

An old man, the village chief of Destri, cheered the anxious Zeno. "My son's robes would not fit you just right but you have to be proud of your toned body once in a while," The village chief jeered, a smile reaching his ears. Zeno's face flushed red in embarrassment.

He didn't think everything through when he accepted the invitation. He didn't have a single pair of acceptable clothes to wear! Visiting the city with rugged clothes would only be acceptable for other purposes, but this time, it was different. A lot different. "Don't you think, it's a bit tight?" Zeno inquired, throwing his gaze towards the other villagers who were gathered around him.

Although they were unanimously nodding, agreeing that it might be indeed a bit tight for Zeno, they all had ecstatic expressions. It was truly rare to have an ordinary person in their village be invited to the harvest festival. It was an honor that the entire village could be proud of.

"I could try and find a few clothes in my son's closet, but I doubt any of the villagers here have clothes that would fit you lad." A villager proposed.

Giving up on the thought that he'd find better clothes, Zeno nodded in reply. He was just going with what he was wearing right now. After glancing at it repeatedly, the tight robe did not seem too bad to look at. It also had a pleasing tone of black and white, a much better shade than the brown robe he was wearing almost every day. After saying his farewell to the villagers, Zeno then rode off towards the Vestra City in a mule, which he borrowed from the village chief. The festival would only last for two nights and a day, including tonight, so it would not take long for Zeno to return.

…

The path that leads toward the Vestra City from Destri Village was quite crude.

It was nothing but partially cleared dirt roads. Often times, travelers would have a hard time passing through even the wild grasses; as they sometimes grow at a height that would rival that of humans.

It wasn't Zeno's first time traveling the same road, though. Back then, he routed his own path, decreasing his travel time while maintaining almost the same distance covered. 'If I remember correctly, it should be around here somewhere… Ah! There, right there.'

A tree, which he marked around a week ago, served as his reminder as to where he would turn. "Eh? Who's there?" Noticing a rustling near the thickets, Zeno cautiously moved back as he squinted, keenly observing from a distance.

A group of men cloaked in bright red robes suddenly appeared from the hiding.

"Young man, we have been searching for you. We could sense that you're… one of those special people. A transmigrator, perhaps? Anyways. Come, come with us."