********************************************
Initialization process completed, Vessel core activating.
********************************************
'What?'
Suddenly I felt a sudden surge of energy flow through my body, I felt rejuvenated, and my senses felt clearer and my body felt stronger, looking back up there was now a much larger window in my vision that read:
=========== Basic Status ===========
Name: Ajax
Age: 16
Species: Vessel (Broken)
Attributes: Dark
Rank: G
Strength: G-
Agility: G+
Constitution: G
Perception: G
Mana capacity: G
==========================
'This can't be happening.'
The theory of possession was seeming more likely, a status screen like this one was commonplace in many light novels, so I wanted to find out more.
Reaching out to the status screen once again it switched to a different screen.
======Weapon arts & grimoire========
None
=======Advanced stats==========
Charm: A+
Intelligence: B+
=============================
It was all but confirmed at this point, sure there were other light novels with a similar premise, but this status screen was word for word the same as 'Records of a failed hero'. Which would explain quite a bit, the city I was in was most likely Ironguard a city located in the Monarchy of Steel, the country in which the main story takes place. The story of the novel is quite similar to most western fantasy novels with the use of mana, presence of multiple races except human such as beastkin and elves and the presence of heroes and guilds.
As for the city I was in, Ironguard it was the capital of the Monarchy Of Steel and a portion of it was destroyed in a fight between Corrupt Awakened and heroes. The city had been evacuated and the fight ended with the Corrupt Awakened retreating due to the arrival of overwhelming enemy forces.
If I was right, then I needed to hurry as mana beasts would soon be unleashed on parts of this city. I needed to find the barrier the heroes had set up to protect the city, but it would take some time.
However, this didn't explain the cathedral or my species being vessel, as neither were mentioned in the novel. Nevertheless, I should move on.
As I was about to begin walking again, I felt the crystal in my cloak pocket begin to move. Taking the crystal out, it was now glowing a bright green and as I held it, yet another system window appeared in my vision.
============================================
Vessel is requested to crush elemental attunement stone.
============================================
'Elemental attunement stone?'
I was confused but decided to listen to the instructions and crushed the crystal, releasing a small green orb of light that was absorbed by my palm. After some time, I felt a slight pain in my chest. I wasn't sure what that did but I knew of a way to check.
'Status'
As I thought that, the status window appeared once again and most of it was unchanged, except for one thing.
Attributes: Dark, Wind
I was thankful I hadn't left the crystal behind, being a dual elemental would help me survive the plot of the story. Speaking of which how far had the plot progressed? As there were no beasts in the city and no heroes clearing them out, I assumed that at most the first chapter was taking place. Which also meant I had at most a week to make it to the barrier.
Thinking so I began walking again but there was a problem nagging me, what would I do after meeting the heroes if I made it to the barrier? I didn't know how I would communicate with them as I had no idea how to speak the language of this country.
============================
Vessel's request deemed reasonable.
Beginning knowledge transfer now.
============================
As soon as I saw the message, I felt a pulsing migraine come over as I grasped the sides of my head in pain, it felt as if knowledge was being stuffed into my brain and the process lasted for a few minutes that felt like hours before the pain stopped.
I stood there gasping for air, in an attempt to calm myself down. After my panic had subsided I had an odd feeling as it felt like I had always been able to speak Synkarian the language of this country fluently and not only that but also the languages spoken by different countries present in this world.
It felt like cheating, I knew how much effort it would have taken to get to this point normally and the fact that whatever being spoke to me through those windows was able to imprint this knowledge in my brain so easily was concerning as I began to feel paranoid about what else it could do.
However, for now it had been greatly helpful, and I could continue on my journey to make it to the barrier as I had wasted far too much time standing in place. I was now only a few minutes away from reaching the building that hadn't been destroyed and decided to sprint the rest of the way there to get accustomed to my now mana reinforced body.
My speed was incomparable to before as I sprinted at inhuman speeds and vaulted over most obstacles with relative ease. Simply being at the lowest rank was a large difference from being an unawakened which is why they were valued so much in the novel.
I made it to my destination in just four minutes but it had also taken a slight toll on my body, so I decided to explore these buildings at a slower pace.
The building I had seen from a distance was actually a guild building, the reason it was able to withstand the battle was probably due to fortifications in the building and also the heroes were most likely quick to defend their base of operations but had to abandon it to help with evacuation and help in defeating corrupt awakened. The guild building had seen better days but it still stood tall compared to it's surroundings. The entrance had a sign which said "Violet Fang" what I assumed was the name of the guild. I didn't recall such a guild in the novel but that wasn't surprising, most guilds outside the top 10 weren't mentioned. However, it was still a guild and if I could find something to help me survive, it would be in there and so I headed in.