DING!
[Quest: Learn the Boingus Village Language
Description: The system forgot to download the local region's language. You have to somehow communicate with the Boingus village residents and learn it yourself.
Time Limit: None
Reward: Piece of Paper + 55 Useless Points ]
I had indeed thought about those stories where the MC gets handed the language of the world he goes to or inherits the past owner's memories but this wants the case now. How am I supposed to communicate without words when that's all I've done my whole life.
Ah, wait, sign language? Maybe drawing? My art skills were pretty good. I was especially good at making perfect shapes without any tools. Just needed my writing utensils and my hands to make a perfect circle.
Here goes nothing...
(Author here, I will often change perspectives from first person to third person. Do tell me if that is something that bothers you. I'll try to be as least abrupt as possible.)
I take a deep breath and open my mouth to speak. As the words naturally flow out, I hear my new voice. It is somewhat mellow and deep. Very similar to my past voice but not quite the same.
"I can speak your language? Let me draw for you?" I said while displaying my distraught expression.
The expression was to make them feel empathy for me while the sentences I spoke should be enough for them to understand that I could speak with them.
After doing so, I gradually kneel on the floor while repeating the same words from earlier another three times, with some variations of course. This was to drive in the fact that I really couldn't speak the same tongue as them.
The kneeling was to make them less wary. While it did have this effect as their expression was loosening but they were also taking small steps back.
That is only to be expected given that I'm a stranger. Without dallying any further, I proceed with the next step. I carefully take out my canteen which is almost empty now and show it to them.
Then I pretend to unscrew the cap and pretend to chug water from it. It repeats this three-time before putting it on the ground. I look back at the faces and make eye contact.
I can see that their vigilance is getting much lower but this scene of mine has attracted many onlookers as a couple of children and more women with red butchering knives come out from their stone homes.
They are not aiming the weapons at me like the original two but they are still showing expressions of uncertainty while the children seemed obviously curious with big smiles on them.
I can now see that all the grown women of this village have large chests. Not a single one of them is lacking in that department.
I have also noticed that their skin is very tan and that they seemed to not be very well fed.
The other parts of their bodies are somewhat skinny. This is especially noticeable in children.
At this point, I was sure that I should proceed with my next step. That was to open my mouth and point at it with one hand while rubbing my belly with the other. I did this for some time indicating that I am hungry.
In fact, I'm starving as a grumble from my stomach arrived in a timely fashion.
GRRRRMMM!
My tummy is indeed loud no matter where I go. I remember that my original body also made such distinct grumbling noises like a little monster as it was something my coworkers always teased me for.
"Aha tule musa din." The women with the machetes started to discuss something.
"Mula sus din for me. Kum lakam or bis loon."
"Shub than lin kum hakam sak. Deep lubi sook."
"Ijni loob sook kak do for me an ham shub."
It didn't take long for the discussion between the two to spread through the dozen other ladies and even the children started to converse in hush voices with each other. They didn't want to anger their mothers.
After a couple of minutes, silence dawned in the areas it seemed that some sort of conclusion was reached between the mothers. One of them stepped forward towards me but not too close. She was still 2 meters away.
This woman had a tan body and face and her looks weren't bad at all. She also seemed to be one of the older ones, probably towards the end of her 30s.
She gestured to me with her hands to stand up and I complied as I was the losing party in this village.
She nodded when I finished standing up and pointing to the knife in her hand. She then points a finger at me and then slowly puts her knife on the ground.
It was easy to decipher what she was saying but it was a shock to me. How did she know that I had a knife? I nodded in agreement and then slowly took out the knife that was stashed in the waistline of my pants.
I then carefully placed it on the ground as instructed. My movements were still somewhat awkward as I felt uncomfortable with the fact she noticed the weapon that I had thought to have concealed well.
I stood back up and awaited further instruction. The lady didn't say anything else or gesture at all as she and two other ladies approached me. They gripped me by the shoulder as one of them said " Dom nom seliste."
I assumed that It meant 'Do not resist.'
The middle-aged woman followed behind me as she watched the other two women escort me to a stone hut on the other side of the village. At a closer glance, these huts seemed to be made from some primitive clay. It was yellow and had dots of black material all over it.
They opened the thatched door to the hut that had nothing inside except a floor made of the same clay material.
"Bit namte." said one of the ladies.
"You want me to sit," I said while pointing at the ground and following orders.
The two ladies then left me alone in this house as they went out and stood guard in front. I just silently sat in the room while asking in my head for the system to wake up and explain itself. I got no response.
After about ten minutes, I could always tell the time in my head, the middle-aged lady returned with two small bowls made from earthy brown clay. One had clear water while the other one seemed to be a bowl of soup with dashes of a pale white vegetable.
"Webnon Boingus Calcus. Hate ma for saloote." she said stoically before leaving me here once again. With the two guards out front. Is she perhaps greeting me to this village or just informing me of what this place is called?
I had my guess but no one to confirm them.
"Yo system, you still not done with your nap dude."
....
I waited for two minutes but nothing talked back to me in my head. I sighed and succumbed to fate. Whatever was in these bowls he would have to consume. He was tired, hungry, and thirsty. his body might have some muscles but even they get fatigued after two hours of constant walking in the sweltering sun of the desert.
The first thing I did was take the tough clay bowl in hand and slurp the soup as there was no spoon.
REFRESHING!
That was the only way I can describe it. It was like my entire body was relaxing in a cool pool during the summer. It even helped with my muscle fatigue. There was no meal like this back on earth. Not even the best chef's dishes gave me this feeling or had such n effect.
I was delighted and felt like the land I was in is more magical than technological. There was no food like this on Earth.
Is this perhaps a fantasy world with magic plants and the like? This was my initial guess. Before I could make any more.
BOOM!
A streak of thunder passed in front of my hut, yes this is my hut now. I don't care how long I've been here but I felt an odd comfort among this clay.
The streak of thunder morphed, forming the human shape. One of a very muscular, tall, and broad-shouldered man with many scars on his face and a bald head. His eyes were a deep blue and seemed to contain the very thunder he came out from.
With his masculine gaze and fiery gaze, he looked straight into my eyes and I looked back.
The corners of his mouth twitched upwards the very next second as he showed off a creepy smile.
"Boingus Calcus wama hate don." His tone wasn't creepy at all. It was warm and welcoming, unlike his expression. I finally had received my very first greeting and seen my very first fantastical sight.
A MAN WHO WIELDS THUNDER!