Chapter 1: Drifter (Revised)

A/N: Chapter edited by Absolute-Melody. It is revised by me (the promised revisions during the break).

******

Rays of sunlight cascade over the blistering desert sand. Loose, full-body clothes would be worn whenever one crosses such terrain, but there were some exceptions.

One such exception could be seen here, a mere speck in the vast expanse of sand. The miniature silhouette was draped in only a tattered black robe to protect themselves from the elements.

What was more unusual was the complete lack of sand on their person. Nearly invisible to the naked eye, a transparent spherical barrier allowed him to safely traverse this expansive space without proper equipment.

"Where was I heading again?"

The cloaked figure paused as he reached past the folds of his tattered black robe, revealing an immaculate white robe beneath. That was right, he was wearing two cloaks in such a hot desert!

Pulling out a map, he cursed.

"My damned memory. It has even affected my sense of direction!"

Based on the map in his possession, he was currently in a desert region populated by many nations. The hegemonic power of the zone, the Sargon Empire, had the most extensive reach compared to their neighbors due to their foundation dating back to the Era of the Golden Empress—the peak of their prosperity.

There were also many other countries on this planet called Terra. But an extensive portion of the land remained unexplored.

After examining the map for quite some time, he determined his location should be near the Sargon Rainforest. A cluster of tribes occupied the area, still living a backward lifestyle.

"I've heard from some helpful guys that they are not amiable to modern people."

Well, those 'helpful' guys were scattered into ashes a few days ago after attempting to rob him.

It was also through hunting those— bandits and criminals—that he acquired this nifty map, which also illustrated the aggressive expansion of foreign powers into the territory of the Sargon Empire.

When he first arrived in this world, his mind was blank. He could not remember anything except some basic knowledge and some technical details regarding swords and magic. His own name was an enigma.

Confusion, disarray, and anxiety flooded his mind. After finding his bearings, he maintained vigilance as he began exploring as an amnesiac in an unknown land.

"Damn, I really look good."

For the nth time, he praised his appearance as he gazed into a water mirror condensed by his magic power. Black-silver hair, a cute face, and a pair of deep orange eyes would surely mesmerize anyone, right?

After drinking the water from the mirror, he continued walking while viewing his status.

[ (???) ]

Realm: 2nd Rank Rune Magician (+)/ 3rd Rank Aura Knight (+)

Soul Points: 799

Attributes:

Physique: 8

Dexterity: 9

Wisdom: 12

Unlocked Special Attributes:

Aura: 13

Mana: 15

Originum: 14

Charm: 100 (MAX)

Luck: 89

Control: 100 (MAX)

Willpower: 100 (MAX)

Acquired Masteries:

Arts Masteries (Beginner--58%), Gun Mastery (Proficient--77%), Apothecary (Beginner--26%), Riding (Proficient--89%)

Apart from some absurd attributes, everything else was relatively normal. As for the acquired masteries, these were the experiences obtained through killing some bloodthirsty bandits in self-defense.

Strangely, he was void of any emotions when he reaped their lives...

"Tsk, tsk. The vehicles just had to break after I finished."

BOOM-!

He was about to regulate the temperature around him when he heard an explosion nearby.

Using his mental power fortified by his max-level willpower, he peered into the distance, seeing more than a dozen large transport vehicles exploding successively.

'Vehicles!'

His eyes gleamed as he started running in the direction of the explosions. Dashing faster than any Olympic athlete, he drew a beautiful rune in the air, materializing wind to propel him forward at an even higher velocity.

"Stop!"

He drew another rune in the air, forming a protective sand dome, sparing one of the vehicles from an attack.

Bam-!

The sand dome barely obstructed the attack before it broke. Still, it had done its job.

"Please! Wait a minute!"

"..."

The assailant silently stared at him with vigilant eyes.

Strange.

How could he feel the aura of the sea in this desert?

"I don't care about these guys, but please leave this vehicle intact. It's so tiring to walk every day!"

He spoke his heartfelt intentions hoping his emotions would reach the assailant. To prove himself further, he drew a complicated rune, transforming the ambient sand into spikes, impaling some of the bandit-looking fellows on the ground.

[Soul Points +89]

[Soul Points +34]

[Acquired Mastery chance gained.]

...

He dismissed the notices, maintaining eye contact with the girl in front of him. Even when he demonstrated his power, she was expressionless, as if she wanted to push everyone away from her.

"Fine."

She turned her back to him as she continued killing the bandits. If only he knew he had his max-level charm to thank for this situation.

"Phew... My luck finally triggered."

He entered the truck and tested its functionality. Not only was it road-ready, the fuel bar had not hit the red zone yet. What luck!

Boom-!

Explosions rang out again, but he had wrapped a preemptive protective water shield around his truck. The water attribute counteracted kinetic forces better, so it withstood and lasted much longer than the sand dome.

As for the girl, she continued blowing up vehicles with each hit of her greatsword.

Meanwhile, he scanned the bed of his new truck with his mental power to check for loot.

"Guns.. guns... A blade? Wait, this is..."

He manipulated a metal box to fly over to his hand before opening it. There, he saw orange-black crystals scattered all over. He touched one with his bare hands, making him feel a strange sensation all over his body.

More than that...

[Originum +1]

[Originum +1]

[Originum +1]

His 'Originum' attribute grew just by touching this thing. Not only that, he could feel his mana and aura growing stronger. After the prompts stopped showing up, the crystal turned into ashes.

He saw these stats when he woke up, but this was the first time they had changed.

===

Unlocked Special Attributes:

Aura: 13 + 3= 16

Mana: 15 + 3= 18

===

He smiled as he felt his strength increase just by touching these crystals. Moreover, he discerned no detrimental side effects. Well, there was one: black crystals sprouting from his left arm. Those leftover crystal residues were inconsequential as he could quickly absorb them as energy to make them disappear.

[Originum +1]

"It took more than half a minute before I absorbed one crystal completely. What if I just ate one orally?"

Praising himself for his genius idea, he grabbed the 3 remaining crystals before stuffing them inside his mouth.

[Originum +1]

[Originum +1]

[Originum +1]

In less than 10 seconds, he gained 3 more points. This had proven his previous conjuncture.

"It has been less than 3 days since I woke up, but I am already comparable to 5th Rank Rune Magicians and 5th Rank Aura Knights? This world is something else!"

Thanks to the common sense ingrained into his mind, he knew that advancing from 1st to 9th Rank of the respective power systems requires a year at the very least. High talent increasing the limits of a person was also taken into account when devising this conjecture of his.

[Ding!]

[Hidden Quest Completed--Reach 20 Originum Attributes through oral consumption. Reward settlement...]

[Top-Grade Originum Fluid +1]

A small vial filled with glowing orange fluid appeared in his hands. He looked at it closer, wanting to examine it in more detail.

"Mn. This is just a fluid filled with high-density energy."

He dilly-dallied no longer and twisted off the metallic screw cap, drinking the strange liquid as if he was drinking water. The moment it entered his mouth, he tasted something similar to sweetened carbonated water. Although he was an amnesiac, he was blessed to learn the taste from his spoils of bandit hunting.

"This..!"

As time passed, he felt a strange kind of power entering his body, something destructive. The feeling faded just a few seconds later, but the memory of the sensation remained with him.

[Originum +1, +1, +1, +1...]

'What a lucky day...'

Just as he finished drinking it, he found the girl from before staring at him with a dumbfounded expression. She asked, "Do you want to die?"

"Excuse me?"

"Do you know what you did just now?"

Him: ???

Hearing his confused voice, she came to a realization.

"Wait... You really don't know what you just drank?!"

"Uhh, no?"

He replied as black crystals rapidly proliferated across his body. The crystals were mostly hidden under his two robes, but the stranger could still see partially make out the ones jutting out from his face.

"You're beyond sav-"

She began with a helpless tone before her countenance quickly distorted when she saw the crystals slowly shrink until they were no longer visible.

"What were you saying?"

"..."

The girl was stunned by the turn of events occurring in those 10 seconds.

*****

The robed man slowly listened as she explained what he had just consumed.

"Originum is a mineral used as fuel to generate power comparable to nuclear reactors."

"Yep, I understand that it is full of energy."

"But... Once someone directly touches it, they are guaranteed to catch oripathy."

"Oripathy?"

He learned that Oripathy was a disease unique to this world. With advanced technology eradicating nearly all other ailments, this was the only illness people still feared contracting.

Once contracted, those affected will die a slow and painful death. The only way to live with it was to inhibit the originum in the body using specialized drugs.

At the same time, the guns of this world also used those originum crystals as gunpowder. The robed man knew how intricate and unique these guns were, yet he was still but a novice.

The more he listened, the more interested he became.

To him, whether a society was advanced depended on the quality of life for its citizens. The more convenient life was for the populace, the greater the extent of advancement. Only one disease worthy of concern indicated how advanced this world was.

"Will my life magic be able to contend against it?"

"Excuse me?"

The girl misunderstood his murmurs and thought that he was talking to her.

"Nothing. Oh yeah, we still haven't introduced each other. What's your name?"

The girl fell silent for a while. She thought of running away from him due to her circumstances, but she felt that sharing her name was acceptable.

"Skadi. You can call me Skadi."

"Hello, Skadi. I'm..."

The man pondered over a name that could serve as his identity in this world. He did not bother thinking about this topic days before, but now it was a matter of extreme significance to him.

An abrupt, unfamiliar name suddenly popped up inside his mind, causing him to subconsciously blurt it out.

"Shiro."

*****

While driving, Shiro contemplated the event from only a couple of hours ago.

"This name... Why did it randomly appear in my head? Does it have something to do with my past self?"

The concept of a name establishing existence came as a part of his 'innate' common sense. Although the way learned his name was bizarre, he was delighted he remembered it.

His mulling was cut short after he glimpsed at the backlog of a prompt from hours ago.

[Hidden Quest Completed. Remember your true name and introduce it to a person. Reward settlement...]

[Acquired Mastery Upgrader +1]

The reward Shiro received was very straightforward. He could permanently raise an acquired mastery to a corresponding higher level. His [Riding (Proficient--89%)] could upgrade to Expert-level and beyond. There were no theoretical limits on how high he could go, which was a terrifying concept.

He chose to hold onto the upgrade point for now.

[Acquired Mastery Selection: Please select 3 masteries from the following...]

A short list appeared in his side vision. There, to his surprise, was an Expert-level mastery.

"Cooking? Interesting. I'll choose that, and these two."

[Gained Acquired Masteries: Cooking (Expert--45%), Blade Mastery (Proficient--9%), Tech Master (Beginner--98%)]

Shiro felt this new knowledge materializing within his mind, leaving him in a momentary stupor. After sorting his thoughts, he completely integrated this foreign knowledge and muscle memory as a part of his own experience.

"My originum attribute should have increased. Let me check."

[ Shiro ]

Realm: 2nd Rank Rune Magician (+)/ 3rd Rank Aura Knight (+)

Soul Points: 1499

Attributes:

Physique: 8

Dexterity: 9

Wisdom: 12

Unlocked Special Attributes:

Aura: 16+12=28

Mana: 18+12=30

Originum: 18+12=30

Charm: 100 (MAX)

Luck: 89

Control: 100 (MAX)

Willpower: 100 (MAX)

Acquired Masteries:

Arts Masteries (Beginner--58%), Gun Mastery (Proficient--77%), Apothecary (Beginner--26%), Riding (Proficient--89%), Cooking (Expert--45%), Blade Mastery (Proficient--9%), Tech Master (Beginner--98%)

Shiro was surprised that his Originum attribute managed to snag first place in his attribute panel. Moreover, his attribute panel appeared abnormal for his level, as only a 9th Rank Rune Magician could achieve a mana value of 30.

He wondered if his level-ups would expand his mana pool even further. With that in mind, he increased his Rune Magician rank from the 2nd Rank to the 3rd Rank.

[Mana: 30 + 1= 31]

"Sigh... Is it that the higher the attribute, the more difficult it is to increase? Oh well, I won't complain."

Supposedly, each rank upgrade should give him 2~3 points each, but he only gained one.

Just as Shiro was about to hum a chipper tune, he encountered yet another group of strange people wearing tribal attire.

"For the calamity god! Die!"

Sandstorms suddenly appeared after one of the men said that.

"What the hell? Am I this unlucky?"

A few days ago, Shiro was made privy to the existence of weird cults all over Sargon. This 'Calamity God' was only one of the several he knew, demonstrating just how little control the Empire had in the vast majority of its territories.

He was about to exit his truck when he witnessed black crystals appearing in the surroundings due to the sandstorm.

"Hm?"

He exposed his arm to the outside, and in no more than 10 seconds, he saw the expected prompt appear in his vision. The sandstorm was a 'Catastrophe,' a natural disaster filled with originum from the atmosphere.

Catastrophes usually signified danger due to their originum-filled disposition. Just one touch would induce oripathy, and further exposure would only exacerbate the effect—leading to death.

[Originum +1]

"So I'm lucky this time. Heh, thank you, guys!"

The strange men stood there, confused. Shortly after, they began summoning hailstorms and tornadoes. If one failed, then several more would do the trick.

These actions only improved Shiro's mood. Consuming the originum in these Catastrophes increased his strength, after all. He promptly placed a protective magic barrier around his truck before exposing himself.

"This temperature is just right. Thank you!"

"W-what is he saying?"

"Uhm, you can't understand me? That shouldn't be the case..."

He stood there as stable as a mountain. Even the tornado rotating at rapid speeds failed to move him. After 5 minutes, these natural disasters gradually dissipated.

"As thanks, I'll let you all die peacefully."

Shiro drew 3 consecutive runes, summoning dozens of wind blades. Before the tribal folks could even process the impossibility of what Shiro did, they died.

He ignored the prompts popping up and focused on his originum attribute.

[Originum: 30+4= 34]

He was disappointed that the Catastrophes only increased his originum stat by four points even after absorbing the leftover residue.

Unable to change the situation, Shiro started the engine and left.

Meanwhile, in a not-so-far-away mountain, someone was looking in his direction through a highly advanced drone. It had many useful functions like camouflage, high speed, and long-distance operability.

The researcher commanding the drone only intended to explore the nearby areas, not expecting to bear witness to the scene before him. He thought he was still dreaming.

"Oh? You're still operating the drone?"

"Uhm... What time is it now?"

"4:30 PM. Why do you ask?"

"No... It's... I saw something unbelievable. I thought I was still dreaming, but that's not the case."

He recounted what he beheld to the feline woman donning a white lab coat.

"Standing still in the middle of a Level 1 Catastrophe without any protective gear? I'll let the director know."

One had to know that a Level 1 Catastrophe was enough to decimate a small town. Without specially-made exoskeleton suits protecting them, oripathy was the least of their problems. The risk of death in such situations was almost certain…

*****

Shiro was heading to the Country of Colombia when he received a notice for his first official quest in this world.

[Official Quest: Save a little girl]

Details: Loken Williams, an influential figure in Loken Watertank, is scheduled to receive an important 'product' from the Church of the Deep. Eager to uncover the secrets of the Aegir, he sent out an escort team to deliver it to Loken Watertank.

Objective: Save the kidnapped girl.

Reward: 5,000 Soul Points, 3 Weapon Enhancement Cards, 1 Random Character Card

"Weapon enhancement cards? Character Cards?"

He wondered what these were, but that had to wait until he completed this quest.

An orange arrow appeared in his vision, directing him to the location of the mission objective. To his surprise, the designated area was relatively close, only a 10-minute drive.

Moreover, the location coincided with his planned route…

"Maximum speed it is, then."

He stepped on the gas and even turned on the nitrogen booster, accelerating the truck to speeds only sports cars could reach. In this unregulated desert, he could do whatever he wanted, so long as he had the strength to back it up.

Minutes later, a caravan of 10 vehicles ranging from small jeeps to armored trucks and heavily armed personnel carrying abnormal-looking firearms appeared.

Shiroe kept a distance from them and hid his truck using light rune magic.

"Firearms and vehicles. There should be a fuel tank somewhere, right?"

Since his power barely reached the 9th Rank, he was cautious about this mission. When he failed to block Skadi's blow earlier, he realized that there really were some monsters in this world. Heck, her Physique and Agility must be at an astronomically high level to break his barrier with a casual sword strike.

Though his Mana value was the same as a 9th Rank, he lacked the necessary computation speed to form and utilize 9th Rank runes.

"Should I use a Rain of Fire? No, there are some casters. Wait a second..."

Shiro recalled his monstrous willpower value. Even if they were stronger than him, he could stun them to buy a few valuable seconds! He could also use his mental power to locate the fuel tanks on each vehicle.

Concentrating his mental power, he quickly located every originum store, laughing in anticipation upon noticing how unstable the fuel in these caches was.

"Let's go..!"

Slamming his foot on the pedal, Shiro bore forward as if his original intention was to crash into the mercenaries ahead. At the same time, he started drawing runes out of thin air. These runes invoked the 7th Rank Rune Magic, Rain of Fire.

"Do you hear something?"

"Wait… Do you the sound of an engine? Isn't that ours?"

"No, I can hear it coming from that direction."

As the gunners talked, they heard the shrill screams of the Arts Casters beside them. Unbeknownst to the gunners, an invisible mental power swept across the Casters, causing intense damage to their minds.

"Argh! My head!"

"No! It hurts!"

Just as they were about to recover some semblance of reality, they witnessed fire raining down from above. The fireballs penetrated the vehicle, some reaching the fuel tanks, inducing vibrant explosions engulfing entire trucks.

Boom! Boom!

"Intruders!"

"Enemies? Where?"

Bam! Bam!

The two gunners were nailed in the head. Without hesitating, the remaining gunners concentrated their fire in the direction where the gunshots originated.

Augmented by originum-based technology, the guns of this world were exceptionally durable. Each weapon, even handguns, could rapidly fire dozens of bullets consecutively so long as the user reached an optimal level of control!

Invisible wind blades tore through necks and brains. Some lucky mercenaries dodged in time, but many turned into headless corpses.

The non-combatants began fearing for their lives, panicking, and creating even more chaos on the tumultuous battlefield.

Meanwhile, Shiro approached a truck unaffected by his 5th Rank Rune Magic. He saw a lock on the payload doors, but such things were meaningless to him. He cast rune magic called Blazing Hands and slowly melted holes into the reinforced alloy doors.

Shiro consumed about a third of his total mana to accomplish this. Still, wasting mana was preferable to toiling over the hidden mechanisms in the lock.

"Who are you..?"

A girl with purple hair and blue eyes spoke from the constraints of a caged operation table. Tentacles jutting out from her back swayed sporadically, revealing her nervousness from the unexpected confrontation. This girl was an Aegir, an ancient race that lived under the ocean.

"Hello."

Shiro finally ran out of mana, so he transformed his staff into a sword. Utilizing his aura, he cut through the steel bars like a hot knife through butter.

"W-what are you going to do?"

The girl asked with a nervous expression.

'Sigh. Do I look that creepy with this oversized black robe on?' He thought.

Left with no choice, he took off both hoods, exposing his stunning appearance underneath.

"Big sister..."

The girl subconsciously murmured, but Shiro quickly refuted her, as if he was already used to such things.

"No, I'm a big BROTHER... Do you wanna go home?"

"Home..."

[Quest Complete. Reward Settlement...]

[+5000 Soul Points]

[+3 Weapon Enhancement Card]

[+1 Character Card (William)]

[Official Quest: Save a little girl (2)]

Details: The girl's parents hired a mercenary group with a substantial sum of wealth. They are on their way, having ascertained this is the caravan that kidnapped the girl.

Objective: Give the little girl to Gavial, the leader of the mercenaries.

Rewards: 5,000 Soul Points, 1 High-Grade AR 3070, 1 Quasi-Mechanical Blade (Replica)

'Gavial? Quite a strange name...'

"Ahem. Do you want to?"

"Yes!" The girl replied without hesitation.

"Then leave the rest to me."

Shiro held the girl in a half princess-carry with his left hand, grasped his sword with his right, and donned both hoods before exiting the truck.

He was immediately noticed by the enemy forces surrounding them both.

"Intruder! THE INTRUDER IS HERE!"

Unfazed by the dozens of fighters, he asked the girl being carried by him.

"Alright, Little girl. What's your name?"

"Andreana."

"Okay, Andreana. Can you close your eyes for a while?"

"Mn!"

Andreana heeded his request and closed her eyes. She also snuggled closer to his shoulder, providing her a sense of security. The tentacles behind her back also stopped moving so erratically.

With her eyes shut, Shiro comfortably shifted his gaze toward the caravan member shouting profanities at him. They were all hastily fleeing from him.

"You guys must be the ones responsible for that." He said with unprecedented coldness.

He swung his sword towards them, projecting aura blades that split their bodies into two.

Shiro did not know why, but he felt a strange aversion to the operation table when he looked at it. He was deeply enraged by these scumbags.

"Do good in your next life."

Shiro chased after another group of personnel and slashed his sword in a circular arc. A tornado made of aura blades formed and shredded their bodies apart. Blood shot into the air, forming sanguine precipitation over the battlefield. Though Shiro ensured none fell on either him or Andreana.

He disdained to chase the remaining rats, instead proceeding back to the area he concealed his truck. Shiro sat Adreana shotgun and drove away.

"You can open your eyes now."

"Oh."

He took off his hood yet again and flashed her a smile.

"You're safe now."

Tears welled up in her eyes upon hearing this, but she held them back. Her strong mentality cultivated from this experience prevented her from doing so.

"Thank you, big brother."

Silence pervaded the cab as Shiro continued driving towards the quest navigation waypoint. Before long, he posed a question to break the silence.

"Andreana, do you know anyone close to your family? Someone your family might hire to come looking for you?"

He asked this question because mercenaries were mentioned in the mission description.

"Mercenaries?"

"Yes, them."

She pondered for a moment before she recalled an individual from her memories. The big sister she met only a couple of times, with her long, eye-catching green hair.

"If my parents entrusted a task to someone, it would probably be Sister Gavial."

"Sister Gavial?"

Andreana told him stories about her. Due to her mercenary team always protecting her father's trade caravan, her father trusted Gavial the most among all the mercenaries he hired.

She hailed from the Sargon Rainforest and was a medic. Though Andreana questioned whether Gavial was a medic or a fighter—she used her staff to smash the heads of her enemies before acting as a medic that treated the wounded.

Shiro continued driving as he listened. It did not take long before he came across a mercenary group with more than a dozen vehicles. Each vehicle had a strange tribal decal on them. He knew some tribes still lived under the Empire but avoided modernity, embracing their tribal heritage.

"Big Brother, that's them!"

"Alright."

He stopped his truck in front of them, causing these mercenaries to instinctively guard against him. Some straight-up pointed their guns at him.

Shiro walked out of the truck and met them without his hoods on. His charm immediately placed the mercenaries into a trance. Though, their minds regained clarity after he asked a question.

"Is there someone named 'Gavial' in this group?"

Hearing this, the mercenaries became tense. Their practiced vigilance went up as they talked inaudibly.

Finally, one of them got the determination and asked:

"Who are you?"

"Someone that she doesn't know, but I might have rescued one of her acquaintances."

After speaking, Shiro left his vehicle together with Andreana. In that instant, the door to their van opened, revealing a tall woman with flowing emerald hair. She held a black scepter in her arms—the one used by her to smack their enemies to coma.

"Sister Gavial!"

"Andreana!"

Shiro lowered her to the ground and allowed her to run to Gavial.

"Sister Gavial, he's the one who saved me from the bad guys!"

"He?"

Shiro could not tell if it was rhetoric or a question of his gender as his face was exposed, but Gavial thanked him before he could speak.

"Thank you."

"No problem. I just sensed something unusual and headed to the caravan. Saving Andreana was a lucky coincidence."

He sensed something similar to Skadi when he first met Andreana. With their octopus-like tentacles and aura of the sea, he deduced that both girls might be related to the sea. Moreover, he felt a strange fondness for them, as if he held an intimate relationship with the sea.

Though, he felt that Andreana was quite different from Skadi in that the feeling she exuded was somehow incomplete.

[Quest Complete! Reward settlement...]

[+5000 Soul Points]

[+1 High-Grade AR 3070]

[+1 Quasi-Mechanical Blade (Replica)]

"Then, I'll be on my way." He declared now that his mission was complete.

He was about to enter the truck when Andreana asked him a question.

"Big Brother! What's your name?"

"Me? You can call me… Shiro."

"Big Brother Shiro! Thank you for saving me!"

He smiled at her before he entered the driver's seat and started the engine.

Like a drifter scouring for a destination, Shiro made his way to Colombia.

*****

A/N: So... I've finished the revisions. With this, reading this should be far easier for someone without prior knowledge of Arknights to understand. Of course, the fic followed the progression of "Slowly being explained as the chapter goes by", thus you can see more about it—more so when my writing skill improved as the chapters went by.

Happy reading everyone~!