I opened my eyes to find myself lying flat on my back in an unfamiliar room. I groaned as I moved to sit up, wincing from the pain that pounded through my skull.
As I stumbled to my feet, I looked around, startled when I saw an unfamiliar girl staring back at me.
Who is this girl? I wondered as I took a few steps closer…
She appeared to be in her early 30s, with waist-length ink-black hair, silver-blue eyes, and olive skin. The girl looking at me was primarily naked, wearing only a clear bra and underwear. I was shocked that whenever I moved, the girl in the mirror did too…
Gasp!
Holy shit!
Was the girl in the mirror me?
Whoa, this is crazy!
As I continued to look around, I noticed that I was in an odd-looking pentagonal-shaped room, with five reflections of myself looking back at me.
I stumbled forward, jumping in shock, when out of nowhere, the five reflections of me were now wearing odd-looking outfits. Each outfit had a small screen that described what the costumes represented.
The first outfit was of a knight. The knight wore heavy-looking armor and carried a heavy Iron sword.
The second outfit was me dressed as an archer, with a silly-looking hat, a brown leather crop top, and very short brown leather shorts.
The third outfit was of me dressed up as a wizard. The wizard outfit was decent, but the fifth outfit kept drawing my eye. This outfit had a collared Victorian brown leather vest paired with medieval-looking brown leather pants and was finished off with brown knee-high leather boots.
The description of this outfit says that it belongs to a Beastmaster. The Beastmaster is given an egg that will hatch into a beast that benefits its master; it also mentions that the Beastmaster will eventually be able to charm and talk to animals.
I reached out to touch the me wearing the Beastmaster outfit, and a screen popped up, making me jump. The pop-up screen says, "Do you choose to become a Beastmaster?" with a Yes and a No.
With a shrug, I selected yes, and the Beastmaster outfit automatically appeared on me after I picked it…
Oh wow, this is awesome!
The five me's in the weird outfits disappeared and were replaced by five large eggs. The first egg was red, the second was yellow, the third was green, the fourth was white, and the last was black. A screen appeared, explaining that I needed to select an egg; once I set it, it would hatch into a beast.
Hmm… which egg should I choose?
With a shrug, I touched the black egg, jumping… again… when a screen popped up, "Do you select the black egg? Yes or No…"
When I hit yes, the egg lit up brightly, making me look away. When the light disappeared, I looked back to find a bi-pedal black lizard with bat-like wings about the size of an adult house cat with bright blue reptilian eyes.
Another screen popped up, "You have hatched an ultra-rare black wyvern." It also states that I need to choose a name for the Wyvern.
The first name that came to my mind was Smaug. I don't know where that name came from, but with another shrug, I typed in the name using the small keyboard that popped up below the screen.
Smaug chirped, jumped off the platform onto me, then climbed up to perch on my shoulder. The little Wyvern snuggled against my face like a cat making me smile.
Now that I chose an egg, the platforms disappeared, and a doorway appeared that said," Your adventure begins here."
With one last shrug, I stepped through the doorway to find myself on a raised platform in the center of a town bustling with people.
"Welcome"
The sudden voice startled me. I turned to look at a beautiful girl who looked like a humanoid bird, with long pearlescent colored hair, pale white skin, and giant pink eyes. Her arms were covered in downy feathers, and she had two beautiful white wings that sparkled in the sunlight.
"Hello, do you happen to know where I am?"
"I'm sorry, my dear, but I can't tell you anything, but I can tell you to seek out the Hungry Hound. The person who will guide you through your journey will be there."
"Alright, thank you for your help."
The bird lady nodded, then flew up into the sky.
With a sigh, I took a good look at the town.
The town was small but crowded, with people coming in and out of the shops. The clang-clang of a smithy nearby echoed through the city as I stepped off the platform.
"Might as well look around to see if I can find this Hungry Hound… Whatever the hell that is…." I mumbled to myself as I stepped into the crowd of people.
I had been so distracted looking in the shop windows as I walked that I crashed into someone with an "oof," falling flat on my ass.
I hissed through clenched teeth as pain ran up my spine from the force of impact on the ground.
I looked up, gasping in shock to find myself face to face with a beautiful elven girl with a diamond-shaped face, waist-length white hair twisted into a messy braid, jet black skin, and ice-blue eyes slit like a cat. She was wearing a brown crop top and short brown leather shorts, carrying a bow and a quiver full of arrows.
Out of nowhere, a black-masked critter launched at my face with a hiss making me squeal in shock. Smaug attacked the raccoon with a growl, blowing a small flame of blue fire from his mouth, making the raccoon screech in pain.
"Oh no!" the dark elf grabbed the raccoon, patting out the flames, "Sly, you stupid raccoon!"
"Do you know this coon?"
The elf nodded, "Yes, he is my friend; I'm sorry he tried to attack you. He must have thought you were trying to harm me."
"It's no big deal; I hope Smaug didn't hurt Sly too much…."
"Oh, Sly will be fine; thank you for asking, though… Well, I better be on my way; sorry again for the collision."
"Hey, before you go, could you tell me what the Hungry Hound is?"
"Yes, of course. The Hungry Hound is a wandering tavern; you can find it in the square, and I can take you there if you would like."
"Oh, would you? I have no idea where I am, and for the life of me, I can't seem to remember who I am…."
She motioned for me to follow, then said, "Can you not remember anything?"
Shaking my head, I replied, "Sadly no, I woke up in an odd-looking room, and when I selected this outfit," I said, motioning to the outfit, "I was also given an egg that hatched into a wyvern, then ended up here."
She nodded, "Ah, I see, so you are an infant…."
"An infant? I'm not a baby!"
"It's what we call the people who come out of what we call the "womb," we don't know where they come from, but the people who come through are usually sent on divine missions they receive from our goddess. Now come on, the Hungry Hound is over this way."
With a sigh, I followed her through the town until we found the square. Off to the side of the court was a large wooden food cart with the words "The Hungry Hound" carved into the wood above the order window. I froze when I saw the ten-foot, three-headed dog curled up beside the cart. "What the heck is that?"
"What, the Cerberus hound? That's Damien's beast; his name is Puppy. Damien is a Beastmaster like you; rumor is that he used to work for Queen Olivia."
"Oh really? That's awesome." Who the heck is Queen Olivia? Am I supposed to know who that is?
I noticed a man who wasn't very tall, maybe five foot six, with lean muscles, long black hair bound by a ribbon at the nape of his neck, wearing a white sleeveless tunic with black breeches. For some reason, he seemed familiar… And why do I suddenly feel like crying? Do I know this man?
I cleared my throat, then turned to the dark elf. "I was told to come here, but why?" I asked her.
"I don't know," She said with a shrug, "Take a seat and listen; maybe you will hear something about your mission. Well, I think it's time for me to go; my name is Kyrah; it was nice meeting you." With a wave, she turned and disappeared into the crowd.
With a deep sigh, I sat at one of the wooden picnic tables, trying to listen in on the conversations of the people around me. Nothing they were saying made sense to me, and it frustrated me.
As I sat there waiting, I caught myself looking at a man sitting two tables to my left.
He was a big man, possibly around six foot eight, with short brown hair. He wore a leather vest and bracers that accentuated his muscular arms. His muscular legs were displayed from the green kilt and black boots. A scary-looking broadsword with a wolf carved in the handle was strapped to his back.
His green eyes looked up at me, making my heartbeat. My stomach sank at seeing the horrible scar that marred his handsome face… were those claw marks? The man raised his brow at me as he sipped his ale.
Even though that scar marred his handsome face, he was still attractive, with a solid square jaw lined with a shadow of hair.
After waiting for what felt like hours, the man called Damien walked over, "Can I help you with anything?" He asked.
"Who is that man with the nasty scar? I swear I have seen him before… But I have no clue where, though."
Damien looked over to who I was motioning to, then turned around to say, "That is Lyall Wolfe; he comes here from time to time. Is there anything else I can help you with, dear?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.
Could he help me figure out why that bird lady wanted me to come here?… I guess it wouldn't hurt to ask.
"I have no clue where I am… I came through a doorway where I met a beautiful bird lady who told me I needed to come to the Hungry Hound to start my journey, but I have no idea why…."
"Oh, I see. So, Mineveriss sent you to find me, and you're the second person to be sent to me this week for a quest."
"Oh, does that mean you can't help me?"
"Tsk, I didn't say that. Maybe having another person look for the pieces would be good."
Confused, I asked, " what do you mean?"
Damien sits across from me and says, "Let me tell you a story first; it will be easier to explain after you hear what I say."
I listened quietly as Damien told me a tragic story.
"A long time ago, the King of Minerva married the most beautiful woman in the Kingdom, who was soon crowned Queen. The King and Queen loved each other very much and were gifted with precious twin daughters. The King grew fond of his daughters, which made the Queen grow envious, and soon the King died of a sudden illness, making the Queen the ruler of the Kingdom.
An evil sorceress named Hellen was drawn by the darkness that corrupted the Queen's heart and ended up making a deal with the Queen; she was tricked into selling her soul to the evil sorceress, who cast a spell over the Queen, turning her into a hydra beast.
Hellen casts a curse over the entire Kingdom, fills the world with evil beasts, then removes the Queen's heart, turning it into a large blood diamond. Hellen then divides the blood diamond into seven pieces hidden throughout the Kingdom guarded by terrifying dragons.
What I need you to do is to grow strong, defeat the dragons, and collect the pieces of the blood diamond. After you find all the fragments, you must defeat Hellen and return the heart to the Queen, and replacing her heart will break the curse cast over the Kingdom."
"And how the hell do you expect me to do this? I don't know anything about this world! I don't even have a weapon, and I only have a baby wyvern who is pretty useless right now."
"This is true, but once you begin your journey, you will level up and meet new people who will help you defeat the dragons. The Wyvern will grow and become stronger as it levels up. Before you embark on your journey, you can buy a weapon and basic supplies to make it to the next town."
"So, how do I find the first diamond shard?"
Damien snapped his fingers, and a rolled-up piece of paper appeared. Damian unrolled the paper to reveal a map of a place called Akamu.
A dotted line on this map continued over the map until it reached a large mountain. High up in this mountain, someone drew a red X, marking where I could find the dragon's lair.
"So, this map leads me to the first fragment I need to find?"
Damien nodded, "Yes, once you defeat the dragon and obtain the fragment, the map will change and show you the next region you must go."
"Okay, I understand, but where do I go to get a weapon and the items I will need to begin my journey? And where will I get the money to buy these things?"
With a smile, Damien leaned forward and tapped the middle of my forehead with his finger, and a pop-up screen appeared before me. The information on the screen said my name was Harlow, and I was a level 1 Beastmaster with 1000 Laminae.
"What is this?"
"That is your information, and it looks like you have some money to buy a few things you need. Everyone who starts receives 1000 Laminae to buy a weapon and things they will need to start their quest."
Huh…" Okay, cool, so where do I go to buy these things?"
Damien pointed to a shop across the square, "The shop is already closed for the night, but the shop right over there, is called Jack and Jill's; they sell weapons; the other shop you are looking for is called Odds and Ins, they will have what you need for your journey."
I thanked Damien, who was nice enough to write down a list of things I should buy for my journey, then headed toward an Inn I could stay in for the night.
I stepped into the Inn called The Wise Owl, gave the lady behind the counter 30 Laminae, then headed up the stairs toward my room.
I unlocked room 3 with the key, then stepped into a simple room with a twin-size bed with white sheets and a handmade quilt. A large bowl of water was on the small dresser, and a wooden table with two wooden chairs. It wasn't much, but it will serve its purpose.