Why do I have an extra skill if I can't even open it? Ugh. My head is in shambles now. I can't comprehend everything all at once. As I roam my eyes around, I notice that my vision becomes blurry. The window panel is slowly disappearing. My breathing became steady and quiet. Ahh. There is only silence now. I can only hear my thoughts. I can't believe that I am going to live in a different world. I may sound excited because it seems like I am inside a video game but in reality, it is scary. It is scary to think that I will start again. Oh-oh. I am losing consciousness, I feel really sleepy now.
[Notice:
Summon companion is required..]
Oh the voice came back? But I can barely hear a thing.
[Companion selection starts…
Review companion candidates now or select randomly?]
"Select randomly."
As the wind blew on my skin, I felt a tingling sensation behind me. It feels familiar and comfortable. It seems like I am in a playground when I was young and I lie on the ground laughing happily. It's nice to feel comfortable again. I moved my hand and began to feel where the hell am I lying on. As I've thought, I am outside. The thickness of the grass makes it a little smooth to lie onto. I don't want to open my eyes first. I just want to feel this moment. Where I can focus on the sensation and stop thinking about everything.
"Aaaaaccccccck!"
There's something fell on my forehead. What the heck? Is that a mosquito? I opened my eyes and a small creature appeared on my face. It looks like a small fairy, with a spiky horn and a little ghost on her forehead. It also has long orange ears that compliments her ombre pinkish hair. It has fairy-like wings and is dressed plainly as expected. She only wears a casual long black dress and casual shoes.
"Uhm. Who are you?" I asked.
"I am Ara! You chose me as your companion!" She replied.
"I chose you? When did I do that? I just woke up, you know?"
"You chose me! I know you chose me!" She hysterically claimed.
And I remember before I passed out, the window said something about companions. Is it her? How can she accompany me?
"Oh, I remember now, sorry. Yes I chose you. Do you know my name?"
"Yes! You're…you're uhm…yeah? Who are you again?" She asked. Look at this little creature.
"Uhh. My name is…"
[Notice: Your personal details will be the following.
Name: Than
Age: 24 years old
Race: Human
Rank: Unknown
Manifest: Aqua Manifestation
Companion name: Ara
Companion Race: Fairy
Skills:
Aqua Blade (View Details)
Aqua Defense (View Details)
Calming Tide (View Details)
Tsunami Strike ( View Details)
Wavering Falls (View Details)
Extra Skill:
Spirit Summoning (locked)]
Oh. They changed my name.
"Uhh just call me Than. Glad to meet you, Ara." I smiled at her.
"You looked ordinary but I guess that will do." She jokingly commented on my appearance.
"You looked dull but I guess that will do." I rebutted.
"What?? How dare you! I refuse to be your companion Than-sama!"
"What can you even do?" I asked because I am curious about what she can do as my companion.
"I can…hear! And…uhh." She shyly answered.
"And what?"
"I can just hear things better than a human can do. That's all." She sounded like her skills were useless. What a pitiful creature. But, that ability can help in future purposes.
"That's a nice skill you know. It can help us gather information easily." I explained. Even though she broke my soul for calling me ordinary, Ara shouldn't feel she's useless.
"Really?" She asked while crying.
"Yes, so pick yourself up and be my companion. You can't afford to be picky now because we only have each other. "
"Waaaaaaah! I'm sorry Than-sama! I promise you will serve me well! Huhuhu!"
"Nevermind, I'll find a better companion."
"No!. I'm just joking!"
"First, we need to identify how to live in this world. I have a lot of questions right now but since we both came from some unknown world, we both know nothing about this world." I said. We need to know how this world works so that we can survive here.
"Yes, you're right. But I've been hearing this for a while. It seems like in this world, every manifest bearer must have a companion. Having a companion signifies that a person has manifested. But, the capabilities of one's companion does not have to be the same as the bearer. " She shared it with me while sitting on my shoulder.
"When did you hear that?" I asked.
"While we were talking a while ago." She replied.
"Huh? But we are the only ones here. Are you scaring me?" I quickly scanned my surroundings to check if there's a ghost or what. Is she a creep?
"What? No!" She quickly stood on my shoulder, "I told you I can hear better than humans can do!" She sighed in disbelief.
"Oh I thought you're being crazy for a second." Brushing my fear off by making it look like she's crazy.
When she's about to scream her lungs off I asked her about how far she can hear. She said that she can hear anyone that speaks around 25 kilometers in radius. Her mind automatically filters any useful information and deletes waste data to keep her mind clean and organized. And she can answer any question asked to her given that she hears any information and classified this by her brain as useful.
"Are you really a fairy? Why does your brain act as a computer or something?" I asked. How the heck can she do that? I can't even keep a single piece of information from my previous work for a long time.
"What is a computer?" she seriously asked.
"Oh. You don't know that?"
"No, am I going to ask if I know it?" She said sarcastically.
"It's what we call a fairy who keeps spewing nonsense." I replied lazily.
"Kidding." I continued and wore my sweetest smile.
"Oh wait, so not all people can have manifestation? You said that a companion signifies manifest so is it possible that a person does not have a manifest here?" I continue to ask her about what she heard as I walk along the path with her still sitting on my shoulder.
"Yes, not all people can have manifestations. I heard from a group of people before, while we were talking that 50 percent of this world's population can manifest." She explains.
"Huh? But when I was transporting, it said that I have 50 percent chance to be transported because of being knowledgeable about manifestation and energy. So I thought everyone here can manifest. How is that possible?" I asked while facing this little creature.
"Some guy had an argument with his company and I heard that do not mistake manifestation and magic incantation. And some young lady said that she has been doing great with magic incantation but she asked some woman why she can't have a companion."
She explained that someone she heard say that a person can do magic incantation and later summon a companion due to being a natural bearer of manifest. A bearer of manifest can do magic incantation but a person that does magic incantation does not mean that they can manifest. Manifest can be tested once a person reaches 16 years old and once they reached this age, they are required to test themselves if they bear manifest or not. Once a companion arrives, it means that a person can manifest certain elements.
As she explained everything she heard about manifestation, I noticed that the humpy road of the forest became flat and wide. It seems like we are reaching near livelihood. I scanned our surroundings and noticed that it looks like a normal forest just like I had in my previous life.
"Did you hear about how people work here?" I changed our topic since I can kind of grasp the idea on how manifest works here. Since we know about this manifest, we need to know to make a living. Manifest can't bring food to our mouth, can it?
"Ohh. I heard that some of the bearers get their task on Solomon City, Capital of Region Alhamdar. A bearer can independently get a job in their bulletin as long as they are licensed by the officials."
Once a person is proven to have manifested through summoning a companion, they must take a licensure exam for them to be eligible to work. If they pass the exam, they will be given a license card and they will use this card to officially take a job from their bulletin board. It sounds like an adventure guild from novels and series I watched. The only difference is that these jobs are given officially by the government.
"Wait, is it possible to summon a companion outside the city? I mean, a person needs to be summoned in front of an official right? So that they can process the licensure of individuals?" Does it mean that they will notice that I am from the outside world?
"Yes, is it possible because some bearers cannot summon their companion alone, they need a higher caster to help them summon. That is why, they go to the city and get tested. It seems like it's rare to self-summon a companion but it is not uncommon. So it might not be viewed as suspicious." She clears out.
"Phew. I thought it would become a problem."
"Hahaha! Don't worry! As long as I am here, you don't have to worry about anything!" She reassures me.
*kruuuu* *kruuu*
"What's that noise?" I asked. It seems like it is coming from the side where she sits on my shoulder.
"Ehem. Ahm. Than-sama, I'm kind of hungry." She confessed.
"Ohh. Let me find some foods we can eat."
I began searching around if there are edible fruits we can have and luckily there's an apple tree near to us. I picked some apples for us to eat and rested for a while since I've been walking for a while now. I grab a handful so that we have enough food to eat before we reach nearby houses. Since Ara is relatively small, she only needs small bites of food. It is easier to be with her since we can have minimal food consumption.
"Ara, I need to find some nearby water. Let's go." As we finished eating, I searched near clean ponds to drink some water and test my skills before everything.
Only a few steps away from the apple tree, I saw a small pond where the sun had been reflecting on it. We approached it upon arriving, I saw a peaceful yet beautiful scenery. As the calmness of the pond perfectly reflected the roundness of the sun, as the birds settled down on a deer's horn that drank a few drops from the pond, I was swept away and mesmerized.
"It's been a while since I saw something like this." I blurted out.
"Hay. It is peaceful here, Than-sama." Ara agreed. She quickly cupped the water to drink it and it seemed refreshing to see.
I gazed down at the pond where I could see my own reflection. I saw that my black eyes became bright red and yellow eyes. What? That's the only thing that changed my appearance? Wait? How about my tattoos? Is it removed? I quickly removed my upper cloth and checked my back if it was back to being plain as hell. I nervously opened my eyes and began to accept the fact that the only thing that makes me masculine is my tattoos but if it's gone, then I better be dead. I refuse to be more ordinary than this. I slowly turn my head to see my reflection down the pond and release a huge sigh of relief that I still have my morale on my back.
"Aaaack! Why did you remove your clothes??" Ara was shocked by my sudden movements.
"I just checked my back. Can you see anything at my back?" I asked her to make sure that she can see what I see.
"Yes! There's a lot of figures drawn at your back so quickly put your shirt back on!" She confirmed while feeling disgusted by what she's seeing.
"Do you really need to act like you're disgusted? So dramatic of you."
"Maybe you should have some decency first to say you're going to do that beforehand?" she sarcastically rebutted again. Why does this funky little creature keep on talking back at me? Be thankful because I am used to controlling my thoughts and avoiding talking back at you.
"Yeah, yeah. Right. Done?" I lazily replied while putting my shirt back on.
"Maybe I should try these water bending now."