[HOST OPTIMAL CONDITIONS MET - SYSTEM ACTIVATION SUCCESSFUL]
"Hell yeah!"
"Charlie!?"
'Ops, did I say that out loud?'
"Charlie! Thank god you are ok. I was so worried...sniff...sniff...I thought that you would never wake up again."
Before he could think of anything else, a familiar Woman was on her knees crying at his side. Instinctively, he knew that she was his mother, Anah. But everything else was different, her clothes, his bed, room, roof. He didn't want to disturb her, as he felt that she needed to cry, to let it all out that she was feeling right now.
After a few moments...
"Mom, I'm Ok. I'm feeling fine, at least. But I can't remember what happened. Can you tell me? And where are we? What is this place?"
"What are you talking about son? We are home, this is your room, as it always has been."
"You don't remember what happened? We also not sure about what happened, but seems like you were trying to trespass at the Magic Center and fell from the second floor. You were out cold for at least 3 days, and no one could tell what was wrong with you."
'What? Magic Center? So I was really reincarnated? No, transmigrated is the right term, as it seems that I'm still in my body from what I can tell. But I have so many questions.'
'First, magic? That's awesome! I can't wait to learn some, as an MC transmigrated, and with a system, things just can't get better. The second thing is Anah, how the hell did she arrive here with me? And she seems to treat this world way too normal like she always had lived here?'
'First things first. What I need is information! Or else I will end up dead or in the middle of bothersome cliche situations that seems to always happen in every single transmigration novel.'
"Oh, really? Sorry to worry you, mom. My head is little blurry regarding what happened, so really can't tell you much right now. I think I need some fresh air."
"Are you really feeling OK now? I'm not sure if it will be good for you to stress yourself, but again you were in bed for almost full 3 days, so maybe your body needs some movements. But please take care of yourself. I will be home if you need anything."
"Ah, and another thing, while you were unconscious, Warren visited you a couple of times to check on you. Make sure to thank him if you see him. And don't be late, will be dinner time soon."
"Thanks, mom, will be right back."
While not recognizing the room or the house, it still feels like Charlie knew where to locate things, or where each door lead to, like his mind got new memories, that did and did not belong to him at the same time.
Without a speck of grass, just dirt, and earth. His home was sturdy, not too shabby middle age village house, with 2 bedrooms, bathroom, and a combined living-room + kitchen. There was no electronic appliances in sight, but there was a light turned on at the ceiling, which seemed to wobble a little.
'Is that a magic spell or something? The light is floating there without touching anything. Is that a standard light in this place?'
After going out of the door, what came into view was a small barren yard, surrounded but a 1m crude rock wall, that seemed manually made without tools.
'Doesn't seem like they concern themselves with security with that low wall and door without any type of lock. Maybe, we are kind of poor family, so that's why no thief would aim for our house?'
"Wah, fresh air. It felt like I haven't been outdoors for a very long time. It sure feels nice."
"So, I need to gather some information. Maybe I can find a library of some sorts around here."
"Hey System, are you there?"
...
"I wasn't dreaming, right? I sure did hear the system message before."
"Status! System On! Check Status! Open status! Abracadabra!"
"Well, seems like talking or thinking is not working. Maybe there are some other conditions to trigger the System?"
[Ding]
[NEW QUEST RECEIVED]
[Help your father at the Emat Forest]
[Reward: LOCKED(?)]
[Time Limit: 1h]
"What? Why would you give me a quest all of a sudden? Every time that happens in Novels, is because the System itself has a hidden agenda."
"Hm, and it doesn't seem like it would punish me for not doing it, so I kind of have some free will here, that's a relief."
"But the most intriguing part. My Father is in this world as well huh? What the hell is happening here? Or my father in this world, is someone else? Man, I could use some mirror right now, I still have no idea what my face looks like."
"Now, let's find this Something-forest that the system told me about."
[Ding]
[QUEST REMINDER]
[Help your father at the Emat Forest]
[Reward: LOCKED(?)]
[Time Limit: 58min]
"Oh, so if I think of a quest like that, a reminder pops up. That's useful."
[Ding]
[QUEST REMINDER]
[Help..
"Shit! OK, OK, shut up!"
"Damn, I need to remember to not think about it on undesired times."
-----
Walking across the barren yard, Charlie saw a small wooden gate, almost the same height of the crude rock wall that surrounds the place. Also without any kind of lock, just a latch to keep it from opening by itself or because of the wind.
From the gate, he could see where he ended up. It was a small village, with not more than 10 buildings that looked like Houses, a couple of places that had some signs in front, probably medieval shops, inns and such. But one place really was standing out in the middle of the village.
The place was big, around 500sqm, with a dark grey roof and white walls. There were some magic symbols on the roof that looked alive from afar. What caught Charlie attention was a round window in the top-most floor of that building. The window was wrecked, glass cracked and some dark smudges around. Looked like something exploded inside.
"That's probably the place Anah told me that I fell from. I will check it out later, I want to complete the System quest first. The first quest is always the most crucial one in getting good stuff from what I can remember from the novels."
'Thinking about it, why do I remember these novels so vivid, but anything else or is too blurry or gives me a hell of a headache? System, do you know why?'
[...]
"Yeah, I thought so."
The Village seemed to have only one road, crossing it from bottom to top. Charlie home was at the south, the last building, on the left side of that road.
Following the road, Charlie saw people going on their daily chores and work. A few shared some glances at him, no so friendly as it seemed.
'Great, I'm some shunned MC for whatever the reason, I bet.'
Ignoring the occasional glances, Charlie kept walking until the end of the only road of the village. At the end of the road, the was a sign right before the path opens in three directions. Left, center and right.
'Hey, I can read this language. Is english alright.'
"Let's see, going left is "Gilden City Capital", going straight ahead is "Gilden Magic School" and right is "Emat Forest". Oh, there is a magic school right here? The plot thickens or so it seems. I need to check it out later as well."
"Hey, system, you could put those things as "side quests" for me huh? That would be useful. I have a feeling that I'm going to forget those stuff if I don't write them down. Man, what a shitty MC I am right now. WHERE IS MY OP ARTIFACT, SYSTEM?"
"Sigh..."
[Ding]
[SIDE-QUEST REMINDERS]
[Check Magic Center for clues]
[Reward: LOCKED(?)]
[Time Limit: None]
[Check Gilden Magic School for clues]
[Reward: LOCKED(?)]
[Time Limit: None]
"Wow, thank you for listening to me, system. Hm, so if you can do that, maybe that first Quest about father, was because I was thinking of him? Or about my previous life? I should try this quest system a few more times."
"If I could create quests freely, doesn't that mean that I can spam rewards with simple quests? That would be awesome!"
"Anyway, the quest said that Father was at Emat Forest right? Then to the right, it is."
After passing the sign, Charlie saw on the other side of the sign that this village is called Emat Village, just like the forest he is going is Emat Forest.
'If there was a Magic School on each village, the magic school here is called Gilden Magic School, so maybe there is one on each city then. Good thing that I happened to "spawn" next to it, it sure saves me a lot of trouble to find it.'
'Travels equals to bothersome things, like monsters raid, bandits and surprise quests. I think is better to avoid that kind of thing right now, as I'm nothing more than a little noob in this new word.'
"Hey, noob...maybe there is a level system here? I would love to see my stats."
[...]
"Sigh... Right, it was worth the shot."
Ahead along the way, the dirt path was starting to show signs of green life. Grass was patching the side of the road, few trees starting to appear in sight while Charlie walked towards the Emat Forest. The blue sky couldn't be seen anymore, as a light fog seem to permeate the air.
There were what seemed like little fireflies everywhere. The green had a grey-ish washed up color on top of it, creating a somewhat eerie ambient. Charlie was not easy to scare person, but when in a completely different world, and having a few heads up on how things usually turn up in places like this on novels, anyone would be apprehensive about an ambush or monsters jumping out of bushes any moment.
After walking slowly for a few minutes, Charlie could see ahead of him, a man, with a strong build, sitting comfortably on a log of a cut tree. The man had black hair, fair face and large shoulders. It was not to the point of a bodybuilder, but it looked more like a seasoned Lumber Jack. Charlie recognizes the man's face right away.
"FATHER!"
Charlie screamed while making a poor effort on holding out his emotions. Tears starting to stream down his face while he made a run for it. His confusion on why would he cry at a moment like this was cleared in a few seconds when his past life memories about his father invaded his mind.
"Father! How can this be? You...died!"
Charlie was able to remember. His father died a few years ago, from what it looked like a heart attack. He was never a healthy person or did any exercises. He was a smoker too. Seems like his lifestyle was what cut his life short.
But this person in front of him looked nothing like that. He was healthy, strong, with a happy look on his face. It was a completely different person, but Charlie knew it. That, that person, was really his father.
Without giving his father any time to answer, Charlie threw himself on his father arms and hug him really tight. It felt like if he loosed his arms, he could lose his father again, and he couldn't have that.
"I really missed you father...sniff...you have no idea how much!"
"Hey son, are you OK? You really surprised me shouting like that. You were still out cold when I left home this morning to work. Are you feeling better now? You gave me and your mother a good scare you know."
Charlie was finally able to control himself, and after slowly letting off his father, he replied with a full smile:
"I'm really sorry father. Even I'm not sure about what happened, my head is a little blurry since I woke up. But don't worry, I'm feeling great right now."
"That's really good to hear, son. Anyway, what are you doing here? It's almost dinner time and is getting dark already."
"I was thinking that maybe I could help you out? So we can go home early and have dinner together."
"Oh, i see. Finally wanting to help your old man hun? Hahaha! Good, good!"
"Ok, how about you go and fetch the remaining 5 MoonFlowers that I need for today's delivery? Just go straight ahead on this path, it should be easy to find, as it starts to glow under the moonlight. I couldn't find them all until now because of how bright the day was."
[Ding]
[QUEST REMINDER]
[Help your father at the Emat Forest]
[Harvest 5 MoonFlowers and bring back]
[Reward: Inventory]
[Time Limit: 35min]
'That worked ok. It's not technically a lie about going home. I'm starving right now too. Oh, and the reward is finally showing. Inventory? Like those dimensional ones maybe? Awesome!'
"Ok father. I will be right back then."
"Sure thing son. Oh, and don't forget. Don't bother "them". "
-----
The path towards the inner parts of the Emat Forest was getting narrower the more he went forward. The lack of sound of animals was giving Charlie shivers on the back of his neck.
'Why this forest needs to be so creepy. Is it because of the time? And who are "them" that father told before I left?'
"This sure smells like Novel Cliche Ambush Time."
"rush rush rush"
"What is this sound? I kenw it! There's something on the bushes right ahead. I'm screwed. I could have asked father for a weapon or something."
"rush rush"
"Damn it, it's louder now. I can see the bush moving."
"poing!"
Suddenly, a small green bubble of gue, jumped out of the bush, crossing Charlie path.
"Noob Village main monster Slime appears. As expected hum? But what the hell do I do now? I bet this thing can kill me in a second if I'm not careful."
...
"Wait, why it is not attacking me?"
"Thinking back, father did tell me to 'Don't bother them'. So maybe they are not hostile?"
Charlie then carefully, slowly walk past the green slime. And it really seemed like a non-hostile creature. After walking past by it, the green slime jumped again to another bush and went it's way, not bothering with him.
'I think I need to change my way of thinking about animals and monsters. I have to stop taking those novel stories to the letter, or else I may end up dead.'
'Other thing that I realized now, was that the people in the village really had some weird hair colors and outfit. Seem like everyone liked to match colors or something. There were some red, yellow, green, purple hair colors, even some young people with white hair. And it doesn't look like dyed hair, but natural colors maybe? I really need to get my hands on more information about this world.'
"Thinking about that, what color is my hair now? And my face...man, I really hope I'm not too ugly, based on those people glances before."
It was then that a bright blue light came into vision. In a small clearing, there were a few bright, blue flowers between some bushes.
"The Moonflower!"