Exploration

A light, chilly breeze hits my feet and then travels up my body the more I'm swallowed by the vortex. When it finally reaches my chin I take a deep breath and close my eyes. As the rest of me sinks down I feel something brittle crunch beneath my feet. My toes curl crushing whatever it is even more, relishing in the fact that I can once again feel things. A quick exhale followed by a deep breath provides me with the freshest air I've ever been around. Sweet, yet cool and refreshing. I'm brought out of my musings by the shouting of someone in the distance.

"We got a live one folks!"

I slowly open my eyes and am met with the view of a sunrise barely poking over a canopy of trees. Wisps of smoke catch my attention and I look down to see a tiny, developing village. A decently sized mountain lodge sits at the far end with a well in the center. A few crafting huts such as a blacksmith and butchers are visible around a road running vertically through the fountain. And lined up on both sides of a well-traveled dirt path headed towards me are small cottages. Following the road, it winds a bit before coming up the small hill to where I'm standing.

Looking around the vicinity it seemed to just be a grassy hill with an arch behind me where vines have tangled themselves around the base. It was at this point I noticed that familiar flashing in the corner of my eye. Swiping my hand from the corner of my vision to in front of me a few screens began to pop up and I closed out of them after reading the info on each.

*~~*

[Welcome to Te'luna!]

*~~*

[New Feat Acquired!]

The first of your kind +250 Fame, Title: The First

(Adam 2.0 in the House!)

*~~*

[Title Gained!]

The First: +1 to all stats

*~~*

[New Feat Acquired!]

Starting in the Frontier +50 Fame

(While others seek the comfort of a large city you brave the unexplored)

*~~*

[New Feat Acquired!]

5th Rare Race Born +50 Fame

(Could I get that rare please?)

*~~*

[New Feat Acquired!]

Haven Oaks Waystone Found +25 Fame

(Nice a Shortcut!)

*~~*

[Class Gained!]

Adventurer +25 HP, +5 Wisdom

*~~*

Nice a Title and a bunch of Feats which are kind of like Achievements it looks like. As the last popup disappeared I noticed a group of people nearly at the top of the hill. Seemed to be two men and a woman. The first man was a bit on the massive side with a shaved head and wearing a mixture of what looked to be a fur cloak and leather armors plus a medium sized axe on his belt. The second was a bit more average in size, had shoulder-length hair but equipped with heavy iron armors, shield and a longsword.

The woman at first glance seemed rather normal in your everyday dress with no visible armors or weapons. But something about her gait just let you know she was the real boss here. If I had to guess they were all early to mid-30s, so not much older than me. I know I was given a Halfling race but this is quite strange looking up to people when my old 190cm frame towered over people. Definitely going to take some getting use to.

"Hey there partner, you might want to open your inventory and put some clothes on before Jensen here starts getting a chub" greets the massive man causing me to glance down at myself and noticed that yes I am in fact sporting a lovely birthday suit.

"Please, I'm far from interested in his little twig and berries" responded the one I'm assuming is Jensen in some kind of posh accent.

Between being exposed to people, cold and a tad embarrassed I once again let my military mouth that normally got my ass in trouble do the talking.

"Little? How about you come kneel over here and I can plop them in your mouth so you can discover I'm a grower, not a shower?" I quipped back which was met with a loud guffaw, small snort and an angry face. Aren't I just the greatest at making friends?

"How do I access the inventory anyways?" I asked immediately afterwards as I began randomly swiping in front of me, attempting to get something to appear.

"What kind of an idiot…" I cut him off before things go from annoyance to hostile

"Look you seem like a decent enough guy to sit here and play verbal tennis with but as you so graciously insinuated it's cold and I'm naked. How do I access my inventory?"

"You just think the command 'open inventory' and it should appear, from there select the item you want and a small menu will pop up next to it showing you what you can do with it" answers the woman.

I quickly follow her words and think about opening my inventory and sure enough, a small boxed screen materializes.

*~~*

[Inventory: Carry Weight 12/175]

*~~*

Cotton Pants

Cotton Shirt

Leather Shoes

Rations x3

Small Tent

Canteen

Crude Knife

*~~*

Let's go ahead and select the pants… there is the drop-down menu and… equip! The pants are just suddenly there around my waist and the warmth is a welcomed feeling. I toss the shirt on next and wield the dagger which places it on my hip inside a small leather belt sheath. Last but not least the shoes that look more like moccasins but are rather comfortable if I'm being honest.

"Still a newbie but least you're decent now, names Hershel and the angry man next to me is Jensen…"

"And I am Marie Stapleton the Duchess of this region, welcome" interjects the woman

Did I call it or what?

"I like to come and greet all newcomers who have chosen to settle here. Hershel is the Captain of the Guards and Jensen is my personal Knight. This is a very new Village, barely two weeks old but we have some very talented people who were able to see the benefits of this little plot of land"

"Should you wish to join the Village officially we provide a free house that will be given to you after you show me your Status Card and we get you settled in with a job based on your Skill choices. We also will provide great benefits on a first come first serve basis for any who make the transition to a Crafting Class as they are highly sought after right now" Marie finished with a warm smile

Show my Status Card? Settle down? My helper was in a rush to ditch me but even she stressed the importance of not showing my card to anyone. I wonder if it is because of my rare race or if it was just a general thing, food for thought. And secondly, I have no intentions of settling down anywhere, a new chance at life in a brand new world that's just begging to be explored?

"Thanks for the offer but I'm gonna go ahead and pass on that. Just isn't in my blood to settle down in one spot for too long and being a full-time Crafter just doesn't seem like my cup of tea" I can see the flash of irritation in her eyes at my words but it vanishes quickly, guess she isn't use to being told no.

"I see, in that case, good luck to you…?"

"Reginald" and at that she turns and begins the trek back down to the Village with Jensen hot on her tail.

"You can find lodging, food and whatever other needs you might have near the center of town. Also near the well is the Adventurers Guild Board, it provides people with Quests from System that will help you get started. If you run into any trouble feel free to come find me or one of the Guards, there's only four of us but we spend most days in the training grounds" says Hershel before giving me a small salute and heading down himself.

I watch them all leave for a minute as I begin to formulate a plan. The first thing I need to do is check out that board. If I plan on exploring this new world I'm first gonna have to gain some strength. Which just like any RPG game means grinding out some levels. Better not forget about that Title either, don't know how good it is but more stats compared to none is a no-brainer.

With a bit of trial and error, I was finally able to figure out how to equip my title and watched as my stats all rose by one. I really wish my helper would have stayed longer so I could have asked about some things like help on leveling.

Beep.

*~~*

[Help Leveling]

*~~*

(Upon each successful level up you will be provided with:)

*One free stat point to spend

*A set amount of HP and Stamina based on your Constitution

~ If Con is 0 - 19 = 1*Con

~ If Con is 20 - 29 = 2*Con

~ Continues in increments of 10

*A set amount of Mana based on your Magic

~ Same formula as above

*Rank Breakthrough Point every 5th Level

*Full restoration of Health, Stamina and Mana

*~~*

Oh, there are help files. Well that just took a load of worry off my mind. I think about and read through a few others as I walk down to the Village to fill in the blanks. Some of it makes sense, most of it doesn't. Best to just jump right in and learn the hard way it looks like. As I pass through the entrance of the Village the first thing I come upon is the houses. They look rather well made to be honest, someone with a carpentry history must be here. I notice a few people going about their business, some pause their work to get a good look at me and I nod politely getting a nod in return.

As I come up to the well the area becomes a bit more populated. The clang of metal to metal, squealing hogs, hollering and laughter all mixes together with the normal chatter of a few people near an old rickety looking board with parchment nailed to it. That must be the Board Hershel was talking about. I'll have to check it out in a bit, there is a small wall that runs around this little roundabout that I plop myself on as I rest for a moment.

A small blinking catches the corner of my eye, must be something from System. A quick swipe like I've previously done and a set of small bars fade into view. There is a red, green and one that is greyed out which must be health, stamina and mana that I don't have access to. Below them is what's blinking though let's see… a picture of a drumstick? Gotta be hunger, I suppose I am a bit hungry. The water drop next to it has to then be my thirst levels though it seems to be a bit brighter than the drumstick and obviously not flashing. Telling how full or empty you are on either must be based on how bright or solid the picture looks.

Opening up my inventory I select the rations which appear before me wrapped in a piece of burlap and then the canteen which is just a hunk of metal with a cork in the top. I set the container to the side and unwrap my meal to find a small piece of unknown dried meat and some hard flatbread. Don't knock it until you try it I suppose. I make myself a mini half bread sandwich and chow down. It's not horrible, I've had worse to be honest but it's pretty bland yet filling. The dry bread sucks up all the moisture in my mouth with the last bite and I instantly pop the cork on the canteen as the hiccups hit me. I don't bother to test what's inside and take a big gulp to wash everything down. Just water, cool and refreshing water though.

*~~*

[Fresh Spring Water Consumed! 50% EXP Gain for 2 Hours]

*~~*

Well, that's a nice little bonus, seems like certain foods and drinks can provide bonuses. I bet Chefs will be in high demand, good thing I took cooking. I place the canteen back into my inventory and stand up to stretch before flopping my arms down and walking over towards this so called Adventurers Board. A group of three grabs one of the notes posted and begin walking away as I approach. I overhear part of their conversation which just seems to be talking about a goblin camp to the northeast, something to keep in mind.

The old run down board isn't much to look at and not quite what I was expecting. It looks like it's about to fall over at any time with pieces of parchment nailed all over it. There appear to be words and pictures on the parchments but everything seems blurry. I squint my eyes a bit and focus on the board, hoping that my eyesight hasn't gone to shit when a menu pops up.

*~~*

[Haven Oaks Adventurer's Board]

(* Available at this time)

*~~*

[E Ranked Quest] *

[D Ranked Quest] *

[C Ranked Quest]

[B Ranked Quest] *

[A Ranked Quest]

[Legacy Quest] *

*~~*

Seems pretty straightforward, E Ranked are the lowest and progressively get harder while Legacy must be special quests. I pull the Legacy up out of sheer curiosity but there seems to only be one.

*~~*

[Legacy Quest: Rise of Haven Oaks]

*Raise Haven Oaks from a tiny little Fort to a giant Fortress by doing tasks or supplying them with resources to grow in return for reputation. This quest is only available while the town is in the Fort stage.

*~~*

Reputation Earned - 0/1,000,000

Reward ?

Failure ?

*~~*

[Accept] [Decline]

*~~*

Sure why not, I mean basically all I have to do is help people and gather resources. It doesn't sound hard, but I bet it will just take forever. Accepting the quest provides me with a glowing sheet of parchment on the board. I grab it and it disappears as soon as I remove it from the board. Strange, suppose I should start with the simple ones to get a few quests that I can actually complete sometime soon. I pull up the E Ranked Quests and am given a much larger list.

*~~*

[Delivery: Farm Supplies]

[Delivery: Outpost Supplies]

[Gathering: Fish]

[Gathering: Ores]

[Gathering: Wood]

[Kill: Imps]

[Kill: Jackalopes]

*~~*

I browse through the offered quests and find two right away that suit my needs. What's nice is they are both in the same area, lets me kill two birds with one stone.

*~~*

[Delivery: Outpost Supplies]

*To the south just beyond the fields lies a small Guards Outpost. They are running low on supplies and could use a care package.

*~~*

Reward 100 Exp, +5 Reputation with Haven Oaks

Failure results in -10 Reputation with Haven Oaks

*~~*

[Accept] [Decline]

*~~*

[Kill: Jackalopes]

*In the southern fields, a group of Jackalopes have decided to wreak havoc. Go and take care of the pesky field destroyers.

*~~*

Jackalopes Killed - 0/20

Reward 250 Exp, +5 Reputation with Haven Oaks

~ Bonus ?

Failure results in -10 Reputation with Haven Oaks

*~~*

[Accept] [Decline]

*~~*

I accept both and snag the offered pieces as they too start to disappear like before. The exception being this time one of the scrolls is replaced with a medium sized box. I pick it up and a box pops up asking if I would like to store the item in my inventory. This must be the supplies, a quick press on the yes button and it to disappears.

I wonder where those scrolls go exactly. Help Quests?

*~~*

[Quest Help]

*~~*

(Quests that are accepted can be found in your Quest Journal. You can see all active quests listed and browse through any completed or failed. Note that you can only have five active quests at one time! So choose wisely.)

*~~*

Well shit, that kind of sucks that there is a limit as to how many active quests you can have at one time. Not to mention that I'll be down to only being able to have four since that Legacy Quest is taking up a spot. Ah well, I'll just have to make due but the Legacy should definitely be worth it in the end as they are ranked the highest. Let's check out that Quest Journal though.

*~~*

[Quest Journal]

*~~*

[Active] 3

[Completed] 0

[Failed] 0

*~~*

Neat little recording feature, least I know where to check and see how far I've progressed in a quest. Time to get started on these though and not burn daylight sitting around in town. With some rations and my canteen I should be just fine for food and water, it's not like I'll be gone for days… I hope.

As I head south on this dusty little road towards the gates looming in the in the background I can't help but whistle a merry little tune. So far this second chance at life has been quite interesting with all kinds of new and exciting things to do and learn.

*~~*

Name: Reginald

Race: Wyldling

Level: 1

Class: Adventurer

Title: The First

Wealth: 0

Health: 75

Stamina: 50

Mana: N/A

Exp TNL: 500

Points Available: 0

Strength: 26

Dexterity: 41

Constitution: 26

Magic: N/A

Wisdom: 36

Fame: 375

Traits:

[Perception]

[Pinpoint]

[Ecologist]

[Racial: Mask of the Wyld]

[Empty]

[Empty]

*~~*

Main Skills:

[Dodge] Novice 1/10

[Knives] Novice 1/10

[Light Armor] Novice 1/10

[Lockpicking] Novice 1/10

[Sneak/Hide] Novice 1/10

[Empty] N/A 0/10

[Empty] N/A 0/10

[Empty] N/A 0/10

[Empty] N/A 0/10

[Empty] N/A 0/10

*~~*

Crafting Skills:

[Alchemy] Novice 1/10

[Cooking] Novice 1/10

[Herbalism] Novice 1/10

[Hunting] Novice 1/10

[Empty] N/A 0/10

*~~*