Chapter 5: New Connections

Waking up, the last thing Xen expected was having to face the endless questions of old men naked.

When he came to, he woke up on a pretty shoddy bed and was wrapped in a worn blanket. You could easily tell it was quickly put together. Still half asleep, he could make out the rough interior of the room he was in.

From the looks of it, the room was really small. It was rectangular and a dark and damp smell The only light came from Xen's right. It was candles on a desk and the window above it cast a blue luminescent glow on him. The bed was at the furthest corner from the door and at the foot of the bed was an object similar to a mirror but the glass wasn't actually glass. It looked more like a crystal. Other than that the room was basically empty. 

Finally awake, Xen swiftly gathered his thoughts and assessed the situation. He believed the old men had probably brought him with them feeling conflicted about leaving a strange kid in the middle of the woods. He was grateful they weren't completely heartless after aiming their weapons at him.

Remembering suddenly the system said it will assist him, Xen wasn't sure what exactly what he needed to do to access it but it wasn't kept in the dark for long.

Like a butler attending their masters orders, a message popped up in front of me.

[The user will be able to access the system just by intently thinking about it or by saying it out loud]

He looked at the message, and waving it off as a minor detail. It wasn't hard to remember but one other thing bothered him more.

"Is it possible that you don't call me 'user' all the time," Xen asked the system.

"I don't think you need to keep saying that. You can just say my name and just talk to me informally... more human like I guess?"

[If that is what you want it has been calibrated]

With that out of the way, Xen got up out of the bed and it didn't take long for him to realize something was completely wrong. The blanket fell off, leaving the cold air to welcome itself to his lower half.

Looking down he groaned, "what the fuck is this?!"

Nothing could describe the feeling of being completely naked, bare to the bone. He hadn't noticed at the time he was in the bed because the fur blanket kept him warm and he was running in the woods half naked before this. He looked around hoping to find any clothes that could cover him. Unluckily, there was nothing to be found which slightly irritated Xen.

As he continued searching there was distinct shuffling outside the door of the room. It was followed by the familiar voices of the old men Xen had encountered the previous night. His body tensed, taking quick action he grabbed the fur blanket as the door creaked open, doing his best to cover himself up.

The door opened from the top first as a burly man came in. The door was ripped off its hinges landing flat on the ground.

"I know your awake! These two don't believe me but I'm telling them I heard some noise coming from here!" the burly man claimed.

He proudly stood at the door with a big grin in his face. He had a pretty impressive white beard and short, scruffy hair. Even with the layers of fur armor covering him, Xen could tell this man was strongly build. Being old he seemed unnaturally toned and healthy. He reminded Xen of a viking or a bodybuilder.

Next to the man, a smaller stature body came through the doorframe holding a sleek blue staff in his hands. This person wore glasses and looked like your average uncle or grandpa. He wore dark blue robes and had a much more sophisticated look. The first man was at least a foot taller than the second.

In a surprising turn of events, the moment he walked in he grasped his staff swinging straight down on to the first mans head.

Xen's eyes opened wide in surprise seeing this act of violence. The burly man groaned as he covered the top of his head.

"Jeez Yuler, easy on the stick will yah? I ain't even do nothing wrong my friend!"

"You big oaf! How many times must we tell you to stop doing things like this! Do you know how hard it is to make sure everything stays intact when you around Codec?!" the man called Yuler yelled in anger.

Codec's shoulders dropped. "It's the places fault for not being strong enough," he mumbled.

Before Yuler could get another word out a third voice spoke. Xen instantly recognized the voice to be the old man from the night before.

"That's enough you two, we have more important matters that must be attended to," stated the old man as he entered the small room his fire staff in hand. Xen's hair stood at ends seeing how he was able to navigate with no sight.

"Tch! The next time you destroy something Codec, you are going to make the replacement. And you Vernon, need to stop being soft on him or he won't learn," Yuler complained.

"Yes yes, calm down you're going to get more grey hairs if you keep crying out like that."

"My head is already white! What else do I have to lose?"

"Your hair?"

At this point the room was pretty cramped with the four of them in there.

Xen sat back onto the bed eyeing the three as they bickered among each other. He sighed wondering how he got thrown in such a mess. The bickering ended quickly when the three noticed Xen starting at them.

The first to speak up was Vernon. He took a haggard step toward Xen before standing in front of him. Now that there was better lighting Xen could clearly see the mans red blindfold. It had a slight black char in a few areas as if it was burnt. The old mans face was pretty well off and he was definitely handsome in the past.

"We weren't able to finish the talk from yesterday, so I'm giving you a chance to explain yourself now," he explained.

"How can I know that you won't end up killing me?" Xen asked.

"We won't kill you... unless you're a threat to us and our home that is. There are a lot of mimics in our area and for all we know you're a rank 6 mimic. We just want to know what the explosion was and why you were there in your strange garments."

Xen looked deeply at this mans face covered with the red blindfold. Without seeing his actual eyes he could tell that Vernon didn't have a hint of malice in his tone and his actions.

Codec was off to the side, his hand fiddling with his sword as he leaned on a wall. Yuler on the other hand had taken a seat on the chair near the wooden table waiting patiently. Xen was sure that not one of them truly wanted to harm him. Carefully, he chose the way he would explain how he got there without giving too much information.

"I don't really know how I got there myself," Xen began, "when I came to, I was just in that crater and then I manage to run into you three."

"Then... where did you come from? You realize you are quite far from any village or district right?" asked Vernon.

"I'm not sure... I don't remember much other than things about me. I didn't introduce myself right? My name is Xen, Xen Takeshi, and I'm 17 years old."

Vernon faced Xen with a stern look. Xen on the other hand was having a hard time reading him without having eye to eye contact.

"My name is Vernon Askefise, a mage," Vernon said.

He then pointed at his two companions much to Xen's bewilderment, "that man on the chair is Yuler Frode, a wizard, and that chunk of barbarian meat is Codec Adkins, he's a retired knight. We have been friends since very long ago."

They waved at Xen and in turn he gave them a nod of acknowledgement back.

"So have you decided what your going to do with me?" asked Xen.

"It seems you don't have any information sadly. Other than you coming from no where, you aren't a threat. If you would like, you can stay with us until you recover your memory or if you just need a place to stay."

"Thank you, but how do you know I'm not a threat?" he asked. Xen was slightly confused by how easily Vernon had let him go. 

"Well you seem genuinely lost and I already checked if you were a mimic in your sleep. We just wanted any information about you. Although mimics can talk, they don't give off a heat source like a living being. Mimics are just common slimes that have surpassed rank six and above. They aren't much of a threat to us three. Get to know the other two and I'll show you around our home."

Vernon walked out the small cabin leaving Xen with Codec and Yuler. The awkward silence was broken by Codecs hearty laugh taking lumbering steps at Xen. Codec put his hand on his head, ruffling his hair. Xen didn't react in hopes he won't anger the giant man.

"I'm glad Vernon is allowing you to stay! I can't wait to see what you can do for us!" he said grinning. He walked out of the cabin to wait with Vernon.

Yuler stood from the chair walking up to Xen as well.

"Xen right? Since Vernon has decided to keep you, I don't mind but may I ask," Yuler said rummaging in a small push to his hip pulling out Xen's black boxers, "what material is this clothing made of? I have been trying to study it but I can't seem to completely replicate it."

Xen quickly grabbed it out of Yuler's hand and putting it on.

"Why the hell did you grab my clothes?!" Xen asked in surprise.

"Xen, I'm a wizard, of course my thirst for knowledge in limitless and this is the first time I've seen such a material. It is very well made!" stated Yuler pushing up his glasses.

Xen groaned, getting tired of all the weird people he has met.

"Look, I will tell you about it later but do you have anything I can cover myself up with other than my clothes?" he asked.

"Of course," Yuler said pulling out some woolen and leather clothing from the small pouch. Xen looked in wonder trying to grasp how the bag was able to hold so many things being so tiny.

'A form of spatial expansion of sorts perhaps?' he guessed putting on the clothes he was given.

Once he was ready, he took a quick glance at himself in the mirror. It had been a while since he got a good look at himself. His black hair was messy and rough. His eyes were a dark shade of brown but it wasn't black. Back in his previous world, Xen kept himself healthy so he was more built and had definition in his body. He felt like he inherited his dad's American Asian looks and his moms personality. Overall, he believes he isn't the best looking but he isn't the worse either.

Yuler knocked the door frame, getting Xen's attention. 

"If your done Xen, were going to show you around so let's go since there are things we need to do," he explained.

"Alright, be there in a minute," Xen replied. He took one last glance at himself taking everything in, hoping for the best. He walked towards the door ready to start anew. 

To his surprise, he was greeted with an unforgettable sight.