Chapter 2 "Where The Fuck Is This?"

Wade slowly opened his eyes, squinting against the unfamiliar brightness that seeped into his consciousness. Blinking rapidly, he tried to adjust to the intensity of the light. The room was hazy at first, and slowly his vision cleared. He groaned softly, feeling as if he had just woken up from a deep slumber. As his eyes finally widened, his gaze fixed on the unfamiliar ceiling above—a ceiling that bore no resemblance to his bedroom. A frown creased his forehead. "Where am I?" he mumbled, but the words that escaped his lips were a language he had never heard before. Panic swelled within him. "What's wrong with my voice?" he muttered again, but only more unintelligible sounds emerged.

Suddenly, a flood of memories surged through his mind, each one like a thunderous wave crashing upon his consciousness. "Uggh! Wha- what is happening!" Wade cried out in pain, clutching his head as a splitting headache attacked him. The pain was overwhelming as if his very thoughts were at war with one another. Desperate to escape, he tried standing up, but even that seemed impossible. His body was extremely weak, and his limbs felt like they were on fire, making it hard for him to stand. "What is going on...? There is no fucking way this is heaven! This is probably hell! Why? I didn't even do anything evil when I was alive!" He crouched over, hoping the pain would go away.  His gaze drifted upward, and he noticed a young boy's hand, pointing toward the ceiling. "Eh? Whose hand is that?" he thought in confusion. The hand shifted, its palm now facing him. "Wait... is this... my hand?" Wade exclaimed, but the foreign language escaped his lips once more.

Wade continued to wrestle against his weakened limbs with every ounce of strength he could muster. Finally, he managed to roll off the bed, hitting the floor with a resounding thud. The abrupt noise seemed to trigger a cascade of reactions. Two people rushed into the room, their expressions a mixture of shock and astonishment. "Zaos, he's awake! Cirdan is awake! The goddess has finally answered our prayers!" a woman's voice rang out as she knelt beside Wade.

The woman was an elf of extraordinary beauty, with golden blonde hair that cascaded like sunlight and captivating green eyes. Beside her stood a male elf, his features mirroring her golden locks but with piercing blue eyes. Tears welled up in their eyes as they held onto him tightly. "You're alive. My son is finally awake," the man said, his voice filled with a mixture of joy and disbelief as he embraced the woman, who cradled Wade in her arms.

"Son? What the fuck is going on, and how the heck do I understand you?" Wade yelled, struggling in vain to free himself from the woman's grasp. At the same time, something popped up in mid-air, causing him to freak out.

WELCOME TO ADVENTURER GUILD SYSTEM

PLAYER INFORMATION UPDATED…

[CIRDAN]

>LEVEL: 0<

>RACE: FOREST ELF<

>AFFILIATION: NONE<

>TITLE: NONE<

  "Really, what the fuck was going on!" 

***

Wade sat hunched over a wooden table, a steaming bowl of soup cradled delicately in his hands. His head was bowed, and his lips occasionally touched the spoon, savoring the warmth of the broth as he sipped it slowly. Yet, beneath the facade of being engrossed in his meal, his observant eyes darted about the room, concealed by the long lashes that framed them. Candles scattered across the room provided the only source of illumination, their flickering flames casting dancing shadows that played upon the walls. The soft, golden glow revealed the details of the house, from the worn, well-crafted table to the tapestries adorning the walls, depicting scenes of a world entirely foreign to Wade. 

Seated across from him were two people that were supposedly his parents –, Zaos and Idril. Their faces were bathed in the warm candlelight, their expressions a blend of happiness and worry as they occasionally glanced his way. It has been three days since Wade was reincarnated in this world, and no matter how much he tried to wrap his head around it, he felt like he was going crazy. Although he had read thousands of isekai stories when he was back on earth, not once had he ever imagined that he would be transported into a fantasy world. Not only had he reincarnated into the body of an eleven-year-old elf, he also had parents; two things that seemed completely crazy to him. There was also another strange thing that kept following him around. This one – 

[CIRDAN]

>LEVEL: 0<

>RACE: FOREST ELF<

>AFFILIATION: NONE<

>TITLE: NONE<

[STATS]

/STRENGTH: 1(+2)/

/HP: 1(+1)/

/AGILITY: 1(+2)/

/INTELLIGENCE: 10(+3)/

/LUCK: 0(+2)/

/TALENT: 1(+3)/

/MANA: 1(+2)/

[SKILL WINDOW- LOCKED]

>CONDITION: System only works when player is a guild master of an adventure guild.

The multiple holographic screens that remained mid-air. 

From what he had gathered so far, his name was Cirdan, and he belonged to the forest elf race. According to his parents, he had fallen ill from the Mana curse a year ago; a curse that ate at one's life form due to inability to retain Mana. The clan's healer had told his parents he would die, but he had miraculously woken up completely healthy. "No shit Sherlock! Their son only woke up because he had reincarnated into his body." Wade thought, feeling pain in the lower part of his belly. But the worse feeling of it all was the shitty stats that remained displayed, torturing him boldly. "I mean… I know I wished for another chance. But – at least give me good stats or skills if I'm cursed to have a weak body!" Wade raged in his mind. It seemed whatever or whoever had brought him here decided having a shitty life on earth wasn't enough. So basically, he was also brought here to suffer. "Fucking asshole. You should have left me to die then." He continued to cuss. No matter what he tried, the holographic screen wouldn't go away; a constant reminder of the shitty situation he was currently in. And also, the skill window's condition. The fucking condition was to be a guild master. He was fucking eleven at the moment, how long would that take him! Wade yelled internally. 

"Is something wrong, Cirdan? Cirdan?" Idril called out to him, snapping his attention back to the present.

"Yeah, that's right… my name is Cirdan," Wade mumbled under his breath. "Right? Yep? Yeah? Oh..." Wade rushed out, laughing nervously as he watched their concerned expression. "Perhaps I should just shut up, and… I will eat." He forced out awkwardly, choking on his food. He decided the best thing to do was to shut up and just eat. 'For God sake, I'm 25! Why am I acting like I'm 5!" Wade yelled in his mind, internally grabbing his hair at the awkward scene he had created. No matter how much he tried, he couldn't meet their gaze. 

"Would you like to go to town with me tomorrow?" Zaos asked. 

"No, he just woke up! He has to rest. We can't let go about!" Idril complained. 

"I – I want to go!" Wade yelled, accidentally slamming his hand on the table. Clearing his throat, Wade repeated. "I want to go, please." He added, hoping it would change Idril's mind. He had been indoors from the moment he woke up in this world, and so- he had no other information apart from what had been told to him, and what the obnoxious screen continuously displayed. There was also no book around the house. 

Idril looked at him for a few seconds before saying. "I am so sorry Cirdan. Your mom has forgotten how hard you yearned to play outside before. I am so sorry that mama is so useless." She sobbed, covering her face with her hands. Zaos hugged his wife from the side, a sad expression on his face.  Wade looked away, scratching his chin. "What now?" He thought. He felt like a fraud, but at the same time, he knew he would live with this body as best as he could. He had never been in a position to comfort a woman, not to talk of his own mother. But Wade knew he had to try.

"I really want to go." 

"Alright," Idril said, cleaning her tears. "We will all go tomorrow." 

Although one more person meant one more pair of eyes watching his every move, Wade knew this was better than nothing.