Rupegia Ch. 01: First Day

Seeing the bird suddenly take flight makes me nauseous again, but I guess it's just a matter of getting used to it.

Now, with the bird closer to my face, I can finally see myself properly.

I'm truly much younger than before, I'm really eighteen again. Round face, protruding jaw, full cheeks, traces of pimples, a few characteristic freckles, complete lack of the stubble that made me look manly, and short black hair neatly combed to the side, now slightly disheveled.

That's me, the young, baby-faced me. Considering how I'm seeing my younger self through the eyes of a little bird, I can feel my "Sanity" dropping another point.

<i>I need to get a hold of myself! I'm not supposed to be affected by this anymore, and my safety is the top priority right now. If I really am inside some sort of video game, then just by looking at the large number of combat skills I can assume that this is a dangerous world. Not only that, but I'm alone in the woods, which is the most commonplace for enemies to appear, so I need to prepare myself and focus back on finding civilization.</i>

While calming myself, I notice something odd inside my head. It's like an "itch," and it's similar to the "itch" that I have to scratch to open and close the "Menu," but maybe this is related to the [Summoning Magic]? I feel like I don't have to make an effort to scratch it, so I'll leave it like this, otherwise, it's possible that I could accidentally dismiss the summoned bird and lose the mana I'd already spent.

Finally, it's time to scout the area.

"Fly high in a circle and come back after two minutes," I order.

Hopefully, it knows what two minutes are. I also defined a time limit since I'm afraid that it won't come back unless I tell it to.

The bird quickly flies upwards and crosses the canopies, giving me a breathtaking view.

A sea of trees, that is how this place looks from above. There are some trees that are much taller than the rest, allowing me to see their trunks, and they show huge vines hanging from their branches. There are huge roots thicker than a house that twist around the ground and disappear among the trees. Blue, red, yellow, orange, white, and black patches of leaves color the sea as if they were drops of paint on a green canvas. The sky is completely clear and blue, showing me that this isn't a completely alien world. But the most beautiful detail of all is the sunlight reflecting on the leaves, which creates beautiful twinkling lights as the bird flies around.

Based on the position of the sun, it looks like it's either a few hours before noon or a few hours <i>after</i> it because I don't know which direction is north or which direction the sun is traveling towards.

Far away, near the horizon, I can see a grassland, and beyond that, just on the edge of my view, I see something that makes my heart stop: multiple black lines stand on top of another black line. It's not a mountain or a weird tree, and it kind of looks like towers behind a stone wall, but it's definitely man-made.

Finally, I have a direction to go. After the bird comes back, I'll order it to fly towards that to investigate more closely.

<i>But wait, that doesn't look like anything modern; it reminds me of drawings of medieval fantasy towns... Just another piece of evidence I'm not in a normal situation.</i>

Suddenly, the bird's view gets shaky and blurry, and a shadow blocks part of it. The bird has been captured by the claws of a large, scaled animal.

I don't know what happens if it gets killed, but I fear that a painful feedback could be sent to me if that happens, just like in some games.

I immediately "scratch" the "itch" inside my brain, and the vision of the bird instantly gets blurry, then it slowly goes black. My field of view returns to normal size and the discomfort of double view goes away. It seems that I just "unsummoned" my familiar.

This hits me like a bucket of cold water. It shows again that this world is dangerous and I need to prepare for battle.

So far, I only have 1 point into [Summoning Magic] and [Sword Use], leaving me with 9 unused points, so I better prepare.

First, I test the melee skills. Taking off [Sword Use] instantly removes all the "intuition" I had when holding a sword.

I slash with the sword, then I put the point back on and slash again. I instantly feel a difference as my second slash feels much "smoother," but I have no conscious idea of what I'm doing, it's all just "intuition."

I test [Parry], [Dodge], and [Block], but the "intuition" they give me is incredibly weaker than [Sword Use]. Then I test [Sword Use] again and notice that it also gives me some small intuition in how to parry, dodge, and block just by itself. There's some overlap in what the skill gives me, so I don't necessarily need to spread my points around to multiple skills, at least not yet.

The Style skills don't give me any noticeable changes, so I have no fucking idea how to use them, and their names don't give me any clue about what weapon they're about.

Once I put on [Muscle Explosion], I instantly feel like I can do a "power punch" or an "instant dodge." In fact, every muscle of my body feels ready to move with "explosive" speed.

I try out the punch, but I pull a muscle on my arm and it takes a few minutes to stop hurting, then I try the "instant dodge" and also pull a muscle on my leg. I don't remember being <i>that</i> physically inept, but it seems like this younger body is pretty weak.

<i>Is this a fucking Deprived start?!</i>

[Hawk Eyes] allows me to "focus" my vision, basically reducing my FOV to allow me to see better, but after a few seconds of using it I feel mentally tired, so I don't think I need it right now.

The "enhancement" skills like [Enhanced Strength] also use "mental energy" to work, but instead of actually making me stronger, they just make it <i>slightly </i>easier to "use" these attributes, as in, easier to push me to my limits.

For example, [Enhanced Strength] doesn't actually make me stronger, it just allows me to better use my (I assume) meager seven points of "Strength."

Curiously, [Battlefield Perception], doesn't give me <i>any </i>noticeable changes, so I don't understand how it works.

"Sneaking" skills like [Quiet Steps], [Quiet Action], and [Hide Presence] also need me to "focus" to feel any noticeable difference, though [Hide Presence] doesn't visibly do anything besides draining my mental stamina, but at least it's a lot less straining than [Hawk Eyes].

[Sense Presence], on the other hand, instantly gives me a response the moment I put it on. I "know" that there's a "white dot" ahead, which I locate with my eyes and identify as a little squirrel going up a ginormous tree. A few seconds later, the small "white dot" disappears from my mind, though I still see the squirrel moving, so I guess the range of the skill is limited.

It's kind of like a mind radar, with plants being extremely faint white "dots," and other animals as properly discernable "white dots." These "dots" start to gain weird shapes the more points I add to the skill, but I have no idea what these shapes mean, and the skill drains me exponentially more with the number of points, so I can't test it for long.

Overall, I'm a bit disappointed with the "Physical" skills. They don't give me any significant benefits besides [Sword Use], so that skill is the one that has the most <i>use</i> to me right now, pun intended.

Now, magic, on the other hand, seems a <i>lot</i> more impactful.

First, I want healing magic. I bite the bullet and put 10 points in [Light Magic]. I have a suspicion it uses "Piety," and since I have zero in that stat, it might be useless to me.

I go to my "Magic" tab, press [<i>Heal</i>]... and nothing happens.

<i>I guess I was right. If zero "Piety" means that I can't cast it, then maybe it works like a multiplier. If I assume that "ten" is the normal value for the average person, then I might need at least that much "Piety" before it becomes cost-effective.</i>

Well then, at least there's another healing spell I can use. I put five points in [Nature Magic], and it gives me two spells: [<i>Constricting Vines</i>] at level 1 and [<i>Regeneration</i>] at level 5. Both seem very useful for someone like me that doesn't really want to fight. I put one point in [Electric Magic] so I at least have one offensive spell: [<i>Lightning Bolt</i>]. I don't want to use [Fire Magic] in a forest since I'm not confident I won't start a forest fire.

Now, how do I use the last five points? I should at least always have one on [Sword Use]. One on [Hide Presence] just for safety, one [Sense Presence] to let me see ahead leaving me with two points left. It's straining to keep these two skills "active" at the same time, so it'll be impossible to use a third like [Quiet Steps].

There's nothing that helps me fight better than adding two more to [Sword Use], so I'll go with it.

Now there are six "itches" inside my mind and because of some sort of subconscious understanding, I can differentiate between them quite easily. One is the "Menu," two are for the [Nature Magic] spells, one is the [<i>Lightning Bolt</i>] spell, and the last two are [Sense Presence and [Hide Presence]. With a little bit of familiarity, it seems that it'll be very easy to quickly use the one I want.

My mana is back to twenty, so I think I'll rest some more until it's back to full.

--

While I wait, I focus on calming my heart so I can do what I need to do, then I notice my "Sanity" going up one point, and it's now at eight. I guess that forcing myself to prepare for danger has repaired my mind, somewhat.

I assume that the average is ten, so being at eight isn't <i>necessarily</i> bad, but I believe this means that I have to work harder on keeping calm.

This is possibly a medieval fantasy world with swords and magic, which means that it's different from my society. I need to be mindful of things such as respecting the nobility, avoiding triggering the superstitions of locals, understanding local laws, adapting to the food and etiquette, understanding the economy, understanding the common sense, and dozens of other small things.

If I fail with this first contact, then I don't know if I can survive until I reach the next town. I can't bring attention to myself, so I should avoid things like [Slavery Magic], [Bloodwork], and [Necromancy Magic], which sound dangerous and potentially illegal. [Summoning Magic] also seems advanced and exotic, and it's best that people don't ask where I learned it, so I should hide it, too. Also, the skill system seems abusive. I could turn from a swordsman, to a mage, to an assassin, to a craftsman, and to a negotiator, all in a small amount of time. It doesn't seem normal for people to be able to do what I did with this skill system. Even the menu and things like "Items" could be abnormal here, so I have to be cautious of that, too.

Now I'm starting to accept this might really be another world. "God" may have sent me a message that I can't go back, but there's no evidence of that, it's just the words of a suspicious being that I have never seen before. Perhaps I <i>can</i> go back, or perhaps not, but first, I need to search for knowledge about this world, about teleportation, and about other worlds, only <i>then</i> can I truly decide if it's possible or not.

Even if this world is only a game, I can still feel a lot of pain, I can feel the pleasure of the wind, I can feel the hunger in my stomach...

<i>Now that I think about it, I feel like I should eat a piece of meat.</i>

This "dried meat" is too salty for my taste, too hard to cut, and too rubbery to chew.

<i>I really want normal food now.</i>

I didn't even get to taste the buffet that I ordered for my wedding, and there were so many choices of chocolate candies that I never got to enjoy.

I slap my cheeks to get away from these idle thoughts.

Going back to the previous train of thought, I can feel the satisfaction of eating something, and everything else that I should normally feel. For me, this is <i>reality</i>, not a game, so I don't want to live a poor and hard life. If I can basically do anything with this skill system, then maybe I can use it to my advantage and have a quiet, but fulfilling life while I search for knowledge about how to get back.

I sigh and lay back on the cold, hard ground. I can see the sun on top of the canopies now, so I guess it's about noon. Also, my MP is now back to full, and it took at least an hour of waiting, so I think I should conserve my MP as much as I can.

<i>I just wanted to hug you one more time, Lily...</i>

--

I try to eat a piece of "rock bread", but it's really as hard as a rock. Well, I guess this is why it won't spoil easily. Then I try to wet it with my saliva and it easily turns into mush.

<i>Bland, wet, white bread, delicious.</i>

I have to test [<i>Lightning Bolt</i>], too. It's best to know your tools, even if I'm going to waste the mana right now by firing it at nothing.

I scratch the "itch" of [<i>Lightning Bolt</i>], and immediately the point of my left finger starts feeling hot while the sensation of blood leaving my body comes again, so the spell must be charging.

I look at my finger and see that it's shining faintly. I point it forward, and after two seconds of holding it still, a lightning bolt flashes from my finger towards a bush ahead.

After the flash and thunder, I see that the bush has been partially carbonized while the rest has caught on fire.

I have no idea how to measure damage, but this spell feels dangerous, though a small, rather dry bush would burn extremely easily. I'm not sure if it can kill someone in one hit, and there are also the status values and HP values, so maybe people can get resistance through "Endurance," or something.

I cast [<i>Constricting Vines</i>] and feel my finger getting hot, so I point to another bush, and once the spell fully charges, green vines burst from the ground and wrap themselves around my "target." It takes a few seconds for them to wrap around it completely, so I don't think I can use this on an enemy that's moving.

These spells cost me around 1/4th of my mana, so I only have four more uses or so of [<i>Lighting Bolt</i>].

I think I'll wait again until my mana is full since I don't know what happens if I use all my mana. In some games, you can feel sick, faint, lose health, or even die, so I'm unwilling to test my mana to the limit.

Finally, after resting again, I get the motivation to move on. Now I need to walk in the direction of town and reach safety.

--

I walk with [Sense Presence] and [Hide Presence] activated and just power through the tiredness that they give me.

The skills make me tense, but I can still appreciate the environment. The trees are all ten to fifteen meters tall, with a girth that would require at least five people to make a human chain around it. There's also the occasional huge root snaking around the trees, randomly going above or below the ground, and they make me wonder if they're the roots of one huge tree.

There're also plenty of different bushes and small trees with fruits, mostly colorful berries and grapes. I try to put the fruits into "Items," but they all show a "??? fruit," so I'm not sure what they are or if they're even edible. They look quite appetizing, though.

Then, as I walk through a small patch of blue-leaved trees with a white trunk, my [Sense Presence] picks up something different from the animals. I sense a "red dot" a few meters away and to my right. Not only is the color ominous, but I actually do feel like the skill is telling me that it's something "dangerous."

Then my heart skips a beat when I notice that the red dot is coming directly towards me.

<i>Did it notice me? Does it also have [Sense Presence]? I can't even see it because the bushes are on the way.</i>

I hide behind a bush and crouch. If possible, I'd like to avoid combat. In games, killing monsters gives experience, which will increase my "level," but I don't have confidence in my abilities, and I also don't even know what kind of "enemy" is coming.

The presence continues towards me. I notice the intercept route is a little off, so maybe it's just a coincidence that our paths would cross, but it'll still be very close. I can't afford to move and make a noise.

I put my hand on the hilt of my sword.

As I wait for the enemy to come closer, I start to hear footsteps. The pitter-patter makes me think that the red dot is a quadruped, so perhaps it's a dog? Then I hear the sound of someone sniffing the air. It's smelling me. There's no escape now that it caught my scent; it's going to find me.

A bush ahead of me rustles, then a small wolf-like animal comes out of it. It has a long snout that gets thinner at the nose, fangs coming out of its closed mouth, and a round body with spines covered in moss. What's not covered in spines is covered in grey fur. It's certainly not an animal that I know.

I freeze for a moment as I'm still not used to the ridiculous things that happen to me, but that was a mistake.

The monster has noticed me, and it immediately bares his fangs, then lunges at me.

<i>It's coming, it's gonna bite me, it wants to kill me, I'm going to die.</i>

"AAAAAAAH!" I scream in fear.

The fight or flight instinct kicks in, and this time, I decided to fight.

When the monster gets close enough it jumps, aiming at my face.

Like the noob that I am, I forgot to draw my sword, so all I can do is aim the blade at the monster while it flies towards me, and it hits the side of its snout. This isn't a katana capable of Iaido, so I only manage to give it a mere cut, but at least I deflected the tackle.

It passes by my side and falls two meters away.

I turn immediately to face it, and the animal does a move that sends chills down my spine. It lifts the hind legs and lowers the front legs, then the spines move their pointy ends directly towards me and start to shake. In the next moment, they shoot out like arrows.

Through some incredible reflexes or luck, I lunge to the side, hiding behind the nearest tree, but it isn't a perfect dodge. The side of my left leg is assaulted by a wave of pain as the mossy spines enter my skin.

My heart was already pumping adrenaline a few seconds ago, so I manage to ignore the pain, but still panic and decide to use my trump card. I charge [<i>Lightning Bolt</i>].

I hear the rushed footsteps of the monster chasing after me. It has to go around the tree, so it doesn't reach me instantly, but its speed is still faster than I can cast.

I see it, and it immediately jumps again, its open, fanged mouth aiming towards my face, then the Bolt flies.

The lightning roars and the animal screams. It tackles me, but it doesn't bite. I protect my face and manage to grab him by the snout. It isn't very heavy, so I manage to not fall back from the impact. Then I slam it against the ground in rage.

Part of its fur is burned, there's smoke rising from its body, and its eyes are both cloudy and possibly fried, then it starts to convulse, but it's not dead yet.

Anger runs through my body and I pierce its head with my sword, letting the skill do it all for me.

The monster twitches for a few seconds, then it stops moving.

<i>I killed something, I actually fucking killed something...but the feeling of my sword piercing through flesh is disgusting.</i>

"You are now level one," a female voice echoes around me.