"That…"
Above the mountain of garbage, something was floating. It looked like a small floating island. But, that thing was clearly made of steel.
"An Arslan Space Shuttle!"
Someone shouted in excitement. Nameless looked around and noticed there were other people in the site aside from him.
"Arslan?" he muttered.
He remembered it. It was in the book. It was stated that people in Arslan excelled in Array Formation, which is why they are one of the most intelligent races in the Beta Andromeda Galaxy, to which the Alcrya Planet also belonged.
Look at that Space Shuttle, underneath it, there were glowing three orange disc-like circles with patterns.
"So… it's true that they were skilled in the field of Array Formation because even their Space Shuttle was flown using it…" Nameless voiced out his thoughts.
Just what kind of race are they? He asked internally.
He had never seen even one of them in person.
As he was mulling, someone interrupted him. The person who stood next to him suddenly said, "Aside from being proficient in Array Formations, there is also a popular thing about them, that they have a specific feature which is by having pointy ears and the model of external beauty."
Nameless was a little taken aback. He did not expect to receive a reply from someone other than himself.
…But wait… Did he read his mind? He blurted out information that he questioned in his mind.
"Ah, I see. So they are the so-called long-eared race."
"Definitely."
"Okay."
Nameless gave a short response. He didn't want to prolong the conversation as it was only a waste of energy. Despite that, this garbage collector was surprisingly knowledgeable about Arslan, huh?
However, this other person suddenly asked him a question, not letting him stop their conversation.
"You… You're an Alcryan, am I right?"
The mysterious garbage collector suddenly asked him. Maybe he noticed his red hair, no? Alcyrans all have red hair. This was one of their characteristics, and red hair was a symbol of bravery. Being a warrior was in their blood.
"….."
Nameless wasn't able to answer immediately. He sent a glance at him. It was hard to identify the other person's identity because he was wearing a white turban on his head. On the contrary, just based on his red hair, one could immediately identify his race.
"Yes, I am indeed an Alcryan. How about you, where are you from?" Nameless returned the question.
Suddenly, the mysterious person removed his turban cap.
Eh!?
Nameless was shocked by what he discovered.
The person next to him had long white hair and a white mustache.
"A-Are you an Immortal God?!"
"Hahaha!"
"Eh?"
Nameless asked in a bewildered voice but the person suddenly laughed. He tilted his head as he wondered why he suddenly laughed at his question. Did he say something funny? According to what he heard, Immortal Gods were people who had reached the pinnacle of Magic Power. They live a long life. And because they have a long life span of thousands of years, that's why they have white hair.
"Excuse me for laughing. I don't intend to be disrespectful to you, sir. But you know, I'm just a humble ordinary person from a distant blue planet."
Blue planet? Wait… this sounds familiar. Is it the same blue planet that Miss Yunis mentioned?
Nameless didn't expect that. Anyway, he didn't look like he was lying.
"Is that so?"
'So that's why he laughed at my question,' Nameless thought.
"Besides that, you see that I'm bald?" He suddenly pointed to the center of his head which seemed to lose all its glory. Only the sides of his head had long white hairs.
Nameless thought that it was impossible that the Immortal Gods had no way to prevent their hair from falling out. After all, they were a symbol of long life. He was indeed just a normal person.
Besides his bald head, he also noticed the weird tattoo on the left side of his forehead. It looked like a vertical line with three branches on the upper end.
The two continued talking and both of them learned something about each other. They asked each other about the crimes they committed. Nameless told him that he committed no crime. He told him that he was betrayed by the people he thought were his allies and that was the reason why he was here.
The old man looked at him, probably seizing whether he was telling the truth or not. Nameless didn't really care whether he believed him or not.
But it seems the old man believed him as he suddenly showed a sympathetic look at him. Then the old man also shared a story about himself. He learned from him that he was a former member of a space exploration team from his country. They have a mission to find clues regarding Man—'s origin.
He wondered if he meant Human's origin or just Man's origin only. Anyway, why they were searching it in outer space, though.
The old man continued saying that an accident happened while they were in space that cost the lives of many of his companions, and he… when he woke up, he was already here.
It was hard to believe but… the old man didn't seem like he was lying either.
Surprisingly, they talked a lot, huh? Nameless did not expect he would be talking with someone. It was the first time since he came here that he talked with someone this long.
Soon, the Arslan Space Shuttle finished dumping their trash.
The trash rained down and rustled. They might be garbage, but for the people here, those garbage were food and drinks for them.
In their eyes, food and drinks were raining. All the garbage collectors were excitedly waiting below. They could get a lot of valuable materials very soon, especially since it was from a rich planet.
Some idiots even sang an anthem, praising the deities they believe in.
Hallelujah! Praise the lord!
Nameless could not sympathize with them.
What the fuck they are even doing that for? There's no god in this world. It's a lawless planet!
He grumbled internally.
When the Arslan Space Shuttle finished dumping their garbage, the Shuttle flew away towards outer space and the garbage collectors immediately went ahead to collect trash that could be traded, disregarding the pungent smell that enveloped the surroundings.
Nameless didn't lag behind either.
Using the tattered woven fabric as gloves, he picked up the garbage around him one by one and threw them on a sack he was carrying. He slowly climbed up the pile of garbage. With the amount of garbage, it wasn't exaggerated to say that it was as high as a mountain.
Because of his leg condition, he couldn't climb fast, but he still tried to climb anyway. It was his first time to go up high. Most of the time, he was just picking up at the foot of the mountain of garbage. But this time, he'll be looking above. That was where the new trash was accumulating. For sure many valuable items could be collected there.
He needed to save a lot of food before the Day of Darkness came, which would happen in the next few days.
On the Day Of Darkness, he couldn't look for trash for over a week because it was the day when wandering ghouls were so dangerous. They would come down to satisfy their hunger, therefore it was better to stay in his hiding place until the Day Of Darkness passed.
Ghouls' favorite foods were human flesh, so if you value your life, better stay out of them.
This place didn't have guards watching them to prevent anyone from escaping because there was no need for that. It was impossible to flee from this place anyway, and who would wish to be assigned to this place? No one would of course. It was hell.
And since there were no guards in this place, it meant that there was no one to protect them from other elements either. Therefore, the only thing they could do to save themselves from the harm brought by the ghouls was to hide themselves and avoid encountering even one of these ghouls.
If only he had his former strength and magic power, he could fight them. But since he was now a powerless human, there was nothing he could do against these monsters called Ghouls.
While picking up trash and thinking about the Day Of Darkness, he noticed not far away the old man he talked to earlier. He was also picking up trash like everyone else around. He was indeed just an ordinary old man.
He forgot to ask him how long since he was here, but Nameless immediately pushed this thought aside because he thought it would be better if he just focused on picking up trash.
As he continued picking trash, he noticed that there was a shiny object that caught his sight. When he focused his sight on it, he noticed that it was under other garbage.
Maybe it was just a piece of broken glass. There were many like that in this place. That's why it was really necessary to wear thick boots so as not to be pricked by any sharp object that could pierce your skin.
The boots that Nameless was wearing were made from scraps of rubber and cloth as well as animal skins. He patched them together to make boots. When he was thrown into this place he was completely naked. They did terrible tortures to him before sending him here. He could not forget and forgive those people who betrayed him but there was nothing he could do in his current condition and situation.
Regardless, there was a good chance that that shiny object that caught his attention was just a glass shard, but it could also be a valuable metal.
Anyway, he decided to check it.
He noticed the other garbage collectors were busy with what they were doing. He also heard noises from behind. Probably, another garbage collector was behind him.
Soon he was in front of where he saw the shiny object.
He slowly bowed and put aside the garbage on top of it. And then the unexpected thing was revealed to him.
A book?!
He picked it.
It was indeed a book. A book with a grey crystal attached in the middle of the book cover. He also noticed the eccentric design on the book cover around the grey crystal. The designs looked like tree roots, however.
When he tried to open it, he gawked in surprise. 'Ha? What is with this book? I can't open it.' He wondered if he hadn't had enough strength to open the book. But it seemed it wasn't the case because when he tried to apply more force, the same thing happened; the book wouldn't open.
As he was wondering, "That's an interesting one. Is that a book?" He heard the old man's voice coming from behind. He glanced and saw him walking unhurriedly towards him.
"It's mine."
Nameless kept the book away from the old man's gaze.
"Fufu. Don't worry I won't steal it," the old man laughed and waved his hand, gesturing at him to be at ease because he would not take it from him. "So, it's really a book, huh."
Nameless secretly sighed in relief.
"Yes. But it won't open no matter how hard I try."
"Really?"
The old man looked at him suspiciously.
"I'm not fooling you. Why don't you try it then?"
"I didn't say anything like that. But okay. Let me see if I can do something."
Nameless handed the book to the old man who immediately took it. But, the old man realized he could not budge the book from the Alcryan's hand. Nameless was gripping it tightly.
The old man stared at him in silence.
"….."
"I warn you, don't try to run away with it. Even if I am a cripple, I will find you wherever you'll be hiding and make you pay," Nameless warned him.
The old man chuckled. "Ho-ho. Don't worry, that's not gonna happen."
Nameless looked into the old man's eyes and then reluctantly released his grip on the book. When the old man tried to open the book he realized that this Alcryan was right, that it could not be opened.
"See?"
"You're right. It won't open."
"This is probably the reason why this book was thrown away," said Nameless.
"Maybe. Here... take this again." The old man returned the book to which Nameless received it right away. "But I think you can still trade it, though. Maybe the traders have a way to open it," said the old man to which Nameless agreed.
"That's what I'm thinking, that's why I'm taking it with me."
The old man nodded.
After filling up their sacks, the garbage collectors finally decided to head back to the town. Nameless and the old man also did as well as their sacks were also full.
When they were approaching the town, suddenly the wind around them changed. The atmosphere turned dark blue. Everyone looked up and saw the black clouds gathering. Every second that passed made the surroundings darker.
Their fur stood up in fear.
"Is this serious?"
"This is…"
"It can't be... It's impossible for this to happen."
Such a scene only indicates one thing. They heard the shout of people around.
"Look!"
"G-Ghouls!?"
Just as they feared, ghouls emerged from the ground.
"No!"
"Run!"
Nameless's eyes widened. It was not yet the Day Of Darkness, but how did the ghouls come out already?
"What are you waiting for? Let's go!"
Nameless heard the old man's panicked voice telling him to move fast. However, even if he wanted to speed up his steps, he could not do so because of his leg condition.
Ahead of them, they saw other people running ahead. Ghouls have hideous forms. Their skins were dark purple. They have sharp teeth and claws. They have long tails and bones sticking out of their backs.
"Go on first, old man! Save yourself—!" Nameless yelled at the old man, but he immediately stopped because he noticed a large shadow behind them.
"Wha-- already?"
In just an instant, one of the ghouls was right behind them. Their eyes widened.
"Watch out!"
In the next moment, a lot of blood could be seen splattering. A sack of garbage fell next to the bloody body and the old book slid into the pool of blood.
When Nameless opened his eyes again, he immediately screamed.
"Old man!"
Oldman-- man-- man-- man.....
His voice echoed.
He turned around and was surprised that he was alone and in an unfamiliar place.
"Where am I?"
This was not the place where he was just now. He wondered how it happened.
He could no longer see the old man, the other people, and especially the ghouls. Now he was sitting on a big rock in the middle of a river.
While wondering about his situation, suddenly something strange appeared in front of him.
It's a translucent rectangular box that looks like a holographic display. Inside it was written...
[Reincarnation Completed!]
"Eh? What does this mean? Ugh!"
Arrrrrgggh!!!
Suddenly an excruciating pain attacked his head after asking that and all he could do was moan loudly while holding it.