[Soul transfer complete]
"...What?"
I asked aloud, a strange feeling running along my spine. For a moment, I thought I had heard something similar to a message alert, but the words didn't make any sense... was my computer messenger going off? I groaned as I rubbed my face with my right hand - I had a splitting headache, and my muscles felt heavy, even sluggish. It felt like I had been through a horrible flu, and my body was still recovering. Even opening my eyes was painful - the little sunlight there was in my room caused my pupils to retract suddenly, making me groan again involuntarily. On a related note, why does anyone bother facing windows towards the east? Who wants to wake up to the sun blinding you in the morning?
Once my eyes had adjusted, I looked around my room and -
This... wasn't my room. The walls of my room at home are painted white, and covered in posters of... well, covered in posters. These walls were made of overlapping wood planks. The wood itself was a bit odd. It was almost pale white, with the standard imperfections you would expect from wood. The air also smelled faintly of wood chips, and I could hear birds chirping in the distance. The only furniture I could see was a basic chair and wooden desk, made of the same wood, and the bed I was laying on. My head was swimming with questions, but it only got stranger as looked over my own body.
Hey, they isn't funny, you know? I'm okay with a prank where you cleared out my room, maybe I'll even accept being taken to an empty room when I'm sleeping. But changing my clothes while I'm asleep as well? My t-shirt and shorts from the night before have become a long sleeve shirt and pants, both pure white in color. I'm even wearing some fluffy socks. Who would go this far to mess with me? Besides the furniture, a white cloak hung from a peg next to the door, and a large black suitcase sat underneath it. Because of the overwhelming white of the room, the black stood out and felt quite ominous.
A bird passes the one window in the room. The shadow breaks me out of my train of thought. That's right! There's a window here! Let's just see where I am, and...
The view outside is breathtaking. A line of pale white trees sits several yards from the window. Past that, there's endless forest. If I was calm and composed, I might have paused to take in the view. However, the sight just troubles me further. My room was in the middle of a bustling city. Where did all the buildings go? If I listened, I couldn't even hear any cars or machines running. The quiet was unnatural, even unsettling, to someone like me who was used to at least hearing my computer running. I tried to undo the latch to the window, but my fingers fumbled and I failed miserably.
[Mechanism Manipulation Skill Learned]
[Mechanism Manipulation Skill has Levelled Up! Now Level 1!]
[Mechanism Manipulation Skill has Levelled Up! Now Level 2!]
[Mechanism Manipulation Skill has Levelled Up! Now Level 3!]
[Mechanism Manipulation Skill has Levelled Up! Now Level 4!]
[Mechanism Manipulation Skill has Levelled Up! Now Level 5!]
[Mechanism Manipulation Skill has Levelled Up! Now Level 6!]
[Mechanism Manipulation Skill has Levelled Up! Now Level 7!]
[Mechanism Manipulation Skill has Levelled Up! Now Level 8!]
[Mechanism Manipulation Skill has Levelled Up! Now Level 9!]
[Mechanism Manipulation Skill Mastered!]
My head rang out with a variety of noises and alerts. Not only did I hear it read out by a robotic female voice this time, but a bland text flashed at the bottom of my sight as if I was looking through a computer screen. My headache got even worse as I tried to process what had just happened. Was I hallucinating? Was I dreaming that I was in a videogame or something?
My hand reached out and undid the latch on the lock in less than a second. With a push, the window opened, and I felt the wind brush my cheeks. The smell of the nearby forest flooded into my nose, and I shook my head. This was too vivid to be some dream. Even as I watched, several birds and squirrels ran around, hunting for food. A few of the birds were alien to me, and I found myself watching them as I continued to try to understand what was happening.
[Creature Appraisal Skill Unlocked!]
[Creature Appraisal Skill has Levelled Up! Now Level 1!]
[Creature Appraisal Skill has Levelled Up! Now Level 2!]
[Creature Appraisal Skill has Levelled Up! Now Level 3!]
[Creature Appraisal Skill has Levelled Up! Now Level 4!]
[Creature Appraisal Skill has Levelled Up! Now Level 5!]
[Creature Appraisal Skill has Levelled Up! Now Level 6!]
[Creature Appraisal Skill has Levelled Up! Now Level 7!]
[Creature Appraisal Skill has Levelled Up! Now Level 8!]
[Creature Appraisal Skill has Levelled Up! Now Level 9!]
[Creature Appraisal Skill Mastered!]
Ow! My head can't take much more of these spam notifications. Is there an option to turn all these off? I need to catch my bearings, not hear more confusing information!
[Turn off notifications?]
What exactly is happening?
"Yes. Please. Or just explain what's happening, please!"
There was no response from the strange game system. Instead it just went silent. Perhaps it's limited in its uses? I can't think about that right now.
I got up and wandered around the room, wondering what I should do next. This was exceptionally strange. Was there anything I could remember from last night?
A foggy image came to mind of surfing that challenge board, and completing more challenges. More annoying moderators talking nonsense. Was there anything else?
The Bored God.
Those three words got my memory jogging. He had been pretty strange, and he even promised to give me everything the mods had promised. He was an administrator. Did that make him higher? Did he own the challenge board? What exactly were the contents of his challenge? Was this part of it? I thought I was going to be playing a videogame?
A knock rang out on the white door of the room, and a meek voice called out, startling me. "Excuse me, sir?"
"Yes?" I asked, feeling even more awkward. Was this someone who knew me?
The door opened, and a small girl in a very rural outfit appeared. Her hair was blonde and disheveled, but she looked pretty cute overall. If I had to guess, I'd say she was about 16, maybe 17. She wore a stained apron, and her eyes were a pretty blue. She did a small bow and smiled in a customer service kind of way. "We're serving lunch, I was sent up to see if you were awake and hungry!"
I smiled back and felt my stomach. I was suddenly aware of a bizarre hunger gnawing at my belly. Was I this hungry the whole time? Surprised I didn't feel it sooner. I guess it was because of the strangeness of the situation. I wondered if this girl had any idea what was going on, but at a glance I would assume not. She seemed cheery, and mild-mannered. It felt genuine.
"I suppose I could go for some lunch. But... erm… I'm sorry to bother you, but I can't seem to remember how I got here. I think I might have drank too much last night?"
The girl chuckled for a moment, as if immediately seeing through my lie. Still, after a moment she answered my question. "We get a few adventurers who need to sleep it off from time to time. Pops told me you were a late arrival last night, but I don't know past that. He didn't mention you being drunk though." She pressed a finger to her lips and thought for a moment. "He runs the bar, so usually he's quick to notice. Either way, you're paid up for the next few nights, and lunch is on the house, so come on down when you get the chance!"
The girl paused as she was about to turn away, and held up a hand. "My name's Dahlia, by the way!"
"I-I'm Barro, pleasure to meet you," I responded, feeling awkward for a moment. Do I use my game name or my real name? Best to keep it the real name for now. I don't want to have to remember any aliases down the road.
The girl's eyes locked on mine, and just for a moment I saw her lips move as if she was reading something just above my head. "Level... one?" she muttered, suddenly looking incredulous. It was brief, but long enough that I felt like some secret part of me was being exposed. After, she lowered her eyes and blushed. "Sorry! I forgot, I'm not supposed to... anyways, see you later, Barro!" she said, quickly leaving and shutting the door behind her.
What was that, exactly? I looked behind me, but there was nothing to read. What was she looking at?
Feeling my stomach rumble, I only wondered a bit longer before deciding to eat first and ask questions later. If this was somehow related to that weird guy, I was sure things would become clearer as my headache faded.
The hallway the door led out into was also made of the same pale wood. Instead of wood chips, this area was infused with the scent of good food. The atmosphere changed from one of mystery to one of familiarity. A free meal, it seemed, was welcome wherever you ended up.
The hallway lead off into two directions. The first just led to more doors, the other led downstairs. I assumed, from Dahlia's words and the overall layout, that this place was an inn. The style was a little different from what I was used to, but the atmosphere was definitely fitting. Driven by my sense of smell, I went down the stairs and was greeted by the sight of a large dining area, complete with more pale wood chairs and tables. A long wooden bar sat on the far right, and behind it a middle aged man polished a metal cup. When we locked eyes, he nodded at me and I awkwardly nodded back. Was this the man Dahlia had called Pops? His dark brown mustache was enormous, and he gave off a tough guy aura. Muscles bulged out of his shirt sleeves. I couldn't see such a man being that petite girl's father, but I suppose not all family traits get handed down.
I chose a table to sit at and surveyed the room. Several other people were seated and already eating, but none made eye contact with me. I felt out of place because of my white attire, but nobody seemed to notice it. Was this a style common to the area? It was hard to tell. After a while, Dahlia appeared and started listing out the meal of the day, asking if I wanted to buy up anything extra.
I felt incredibly awkward as I realized I had no money, so I simply asked for whatever the free meal was. Note to self: Is the currency here the same?
In the few minutes that it took for Dahlia to get the meal, I continued to watch the various people in the room. Some were dressed quite plainly, but a group of five near the door looked like cosplayers. One or two were dressed in robes, and the other three had medieval leather clothing on. Two of them even had swords strapped to their waists. I wondered if there was a gaming convention going on near my town.
A chill ran up my spine, and I felt like I was being watched. In fact, it felt a bit like when Dahlia had been looking at me earlier, but exponentially more intense. When I checked the room to see why the atmosphere had suddenly changed, my eyes fell on a lone woman sitting in the corner.
She wore a long black robe, which was intertwined by intricate blue symbols. Her hair was lengthy and black, the same color as the robes, but her eyes were a piercing blue, and glaring forcibly at him. Her face was sharp and angled, and her lips were small, almost dainty. While the skin of her face was pale, several freckles adorned her cheeks and the bridge of her nose. It made her age very hard to place. I felt an almost animalistic sensation from her glare, as if I was being looked at by an angry predator. I opened my mouth, and felt my throat go dry. This girl seemed so hostile.
And it was at this moment that Dahlia returned with a tray laden with food. However, in her haste she tripped, and I suddenly had all my focus turned to the tray flying at my face.
Hot food hit my face. Wooden utensils clattered against my arms, and the tray bounced off the bridge of my nose. A mug of liquid fell only my foot. It was a surprising experience, but I quickly recovered and looked down at Dahlia, who was looking at me dumbfounded. Laughing, I bent down, trying to help her up. However, Dahlia recoiled, her eyes staring fixedly at the place she had been looking at when she was talking to me in my room. A panic flushed down her face, and she began yelling.
"Ma! MA! I need - MAMA! We have an emergency!"
A petite woman burst out of the kitchen, moments later. Looking over the situation, she seemed as surprised as I was. "Dahl, you tripped again? I told you, you need to be more careful. Why are you so..."
Dahlia shook her head and started pointing at me, at a loss for words. The woman also focused on me, and she said aloud something worryingly familiar. "Level... One?"