'Eh? Hah? What just happened?'
Ailord looked around, shocked to find himself in a completely different place, far different from just a moment ago. Previously, he was in front of his room, about to open the door to go inside.
Who would have thought that as he turned the doorknob, he suddenly found himself in the middle of a grassy field.
There was no one there, just a vast expanse of grass as far as the eye could see.
'Wait, don't tell me I've just been isekai'd... That's impossible, right? There's no such thing as isekai. It's just a fantasy story, not something real. But...'
He looked around again, sensing something different from the earth. Something that, for some reason, made him feel like he was truly no longer on Earth, but in another world. Perhaps it was because he didn't originate from this world, or even worse, from this dimension. So it would take time for his body to adapt.
'What should I do now? I have no idea how to survive in nature. All I do every day is sit in front of the computer. I do go to the gym every Monday to Friday and have learned martial arts for few years. But that doesn't mean I can just adapt to this world.'
He sat pensively on the grassy expanse, swaying gently with the direction of the wind. The sky looked bright, a beautiful shade of blue, adorned with soft white clouds that felt so gentle that one might want to take them from up above and use them as pillows.
However, Ailord knew he couldn't just sit idly by. Especially if he was indeed in another world. He needed to quickly gather information, to find out what kind of world this was. Whether it was the future or the past. Or perhaps, both. Not to mention if there was magic and mana. Whether it was a blessing or a curse.
"Ah! That's it!"
He stood up, took a deep breath, and uttered "Status window".
Instantly, a transparent screen appeared in front of him in bright orange color. Slightly different from the manga, manhwa, or manhua he read in his spare time.
On the Status Window, several pieces of information appeared, such as:
'Hmm? Artificer? Is this the same class as in Dungeons and Dragons (DND)?'
He looked down, continuing to read.
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Name: Ailord
Age: 25
Class: Artificer
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Str: 20 Con: 14 Charm: 17
Agi: 15 Int: 15 Wisdom: 14
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He continued to read, pondering whether his status levels were low or high for a beginner. However, as he reached the MP section, his eyes widened with a look that seemed to say 'WHAT IS THIS?!'.
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MP: -
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"Hah? What does this mean? I don't have mana? How am I supposed to survive in this world?" Ailord thought, realizing that with the presence of mana in his status, there would certainly be magic in that world. However, it also meant that there would be discrimination against those who either had little mana or none at all. And he was one of them.
"Wait, I still don't know for sure whether everyone has mana or only selected individuals. Don't be pessimistic, Ailord. It's possible that there are others like you. Perhaps, only a few people have mana."
Ailord tried not to dwell on it, although the thought of becoming a slave kept lingering in his mind. He continued reading down, discovering that there were skills in this world as well, which made him more desperate, especially when he read the information that using a skill required mana.
"Haha... Even the lowest skill requires mana," he muttered as he read about one of the low-level skills that still appeared gray, indicating that the skill was either locked or he couldn't use it.
"Hmm? What's this? Talent?"
Instantly, his attention was diverted by the information about that word, his eyes shining brighter with each subsequent sentence.
"Ha! Turns out this world isn't so harsh on me. I can still use a power or Talent given to everyone at birth. Talent doesn't require mana at all, but it requires effort and hard work to improve it, unlike 'Skills' that can continuously level up with your level."
Ailord hurriedly searched for his Talent, pressing the word and fell silent as he looked at the logo and name of the Talent. Something he had seen often, every day, every hour, every minute, every second. Remembering, that was his previous job.
"Blandar? My Talent is Blandar?" He shook his head, scrutinizing it once more to make sure he wasn't mistaken. However, the logo and name remained unchanged. Still the same.
Ailord fell silent, puzzled at how to digest the information he had just obtained.
First, he was in another world, a world where systems existed and were part of someone's life. With magic and mana as additions. THEN, HIS TALENT WAS BLANDAR!
"What can I do with that? I don't even have a computer... No, that skill is completely useless in this world. In the previous world, I could live by working as a 3D Artist/Modeling. But in a magical world like this, it's completely irrelevant."
But, not intending to give up, Ailord looked back at his Talent, searching for other information that might help him understand what this Talent actually was. Maybe it wasn't as bad as he thought.
"Hmm? Eh? It can't be..." A smile formed on his face.
Ailord struggled to contain his excitement, especially when imagining what he could do with a Talent like this.
"This... This is a bit unfair. It's like living with 'Creative Mode'," he said to himself. "Anything I create in Blandar can become a reality... I still find it hard to believe. Could this be the reason why I wasn't given mana? With this alone, I could overthrow a kingdom."
Various imaginations formed in his head, envisioning he could create something that didn't exist in the previous world, making him smile broadly. Anything could happen in this world; everything that he could only see behind the screen could now be created and utilized.
"It's like... A Whole New World."
Ailord hurriedly read about the usage of Blandar, delving deeper to find out more, complete information on how he could use such an absurd Talent. Of course, he couldn't just use the Talent as he pleased; there would be a price to pay to materialize his creations.
And indeed, he couldn't directly manifest his creations in Blandar into the real world; it required a payment like 'Cores', the essence of monsters. The higher the level, the more points accumulated in Blandar. Alternatively, he could also use 'Attribute Weapons', weapons imbued with magic and seemingly valuable in this world.
"Hmm... So, I can't just create a black hole in the middle of the city. I can, but it requires a hefty payment. From the Blandar system's perspective, it will calculate the points needed to bring that creation into this world. One 'White Core' is equivalent to 10 points. Meanwhile, one 'Green Core' equals 100 points. And so on until it reaches the 'Abyssal Core', which costs 100,000 points."
He immediately pondered, what kind of monster was equivalent to an Abyssal Core? Just from its name, it sounded so terrifying. Perhaps it was a monster with extraordinary power and extremely high danger level.
He sighed, "There's no point in thinking about it now." Ailord continued reading, surprised to find another payment method that made him grimace. "Turns out, this world is quite cruel."
Feeling uneasy knowing that information, he decided not to dwell on it further and would only use it in certain situations.
After calming himself down, Ailord pressed Blandar, entering the main page where there was a cube in the center. He never thought he could use Blandar on a transparent screen in his lifetime. The screen could be adjusted for contrast levels and appeared clearer than the monitor screen in his room.
As he walked towards the tree in the middle of the field, his hands moved to create something in Blandar that he was sure wouldn't use too many points but would still be useful. Especially in his situation where he still didn't know much about this world. Blandar also provided him with a 1000-point trial that he had to pay within a month.
Upon reaching under the tree, the wind blew quite strongly, forcing him to shield his eyes with a smile on his handsome face, proud of his creation that had been made on the screen and was currently in the rendering process.
Ailord sat beneath the tree, exhaling a long breath, pondering what he should do next. Should he seek information, build a shelter, or search for food? He didn't know if his creation could handle the monsters in the forest or if it would just end up slaughtering them.
"Well, there's no harm in trying. Besides, this is just a prototype, not something I'll use all the time," he said while looking at the screen, observing his creation that had finished rendering and smiled broadly.