Chereads / Real True Storyteller! / Chapter 2 - Anticipation

Chapter 2 - Anticipation

I don't really know how I got here by the way.

The things I remember were pretty scattered.

It was screams one second, blacked out vision in another, and finally opening my eyes under a tree of all things.

No truck, no heroic sacrifice, nada.

I just about closed my eyes and opened them to a new body.

That was a year ago. Well, 12 months ago at least. This world apparently had 13 months.

It was great that they seemed to speak english I guess? I always did wonder what the language "common" was as described in the game since people of different nationalities can play D&D and their version of common would be something I wouldn't understand.

Well, anyways. I understood what was said to me but couldn't read.

Didn't even know how to begin to attempt it because the letters weren't exactly the Roman Alphabet I was used to.

Enough of that for now though.

When I woke up in this body, I believe I passed out in a matter of minutes.

You see, I thought it was a dream. A hyper realistic one but a dream nonetheless. The tree I woke up under was next to this super wide river called Broad Water River by the locals. (Seems like a redundant name to me, but who am I to judge)

Looking inside the water at that time, when I saw my face and I freaked out. In an almost too exaggerated fashion.

It's not like those novels stated. It wasn't like I was able to just be calm then think about what and where I was.

The first problem was what I was. Or more specifically who I was.

I don't know how this works because you would think waking up in a different body, means your soul is the one that moved over.

Logically then, you moving around in said different body should feel natural.

It was not. You could feel when you are not in your own body. Everything feels different. Far too unnatural of a feeling.

At least it did to me. I was somehow able to feel the difference in weight of my body as before when I was on earth, I was 238 pounds and 5 foot 6. However, the body I moved into?

The body I woke up in was way skinnier then that. Not in a good way either. Maybe even a bit taller?

I was nothing more then skin and bones. The fragility and weakness I felt in my body was too distinct from my old body. I almost wanted to claw at the body I was observing until I realized the heavy breathing I was making.

Then blank again. I wouldn't say it's a type of darkness. It'd be more accurate to say it was a sudden absence and sudden filling of space within my vision.

When I woke up again, it was to a hand with a cloth wiping my forehead. I could feel sweat on my back. I was utterly drenched.

The cloth was warm, and I could tell I was on a mat of some sort. I opened my eyes so I could see the person wiping my head and went still.

When I had seen who it was that was wiping my forehead, I wiped out again.

And believe me, if it was you, you would have too. Imagine waking up to a half orc. One that was a uncanny valley type of realism.

It's not like the cool art style that people draw to fantasize about. That's artistic and even at worst, cartoonish.

Seeing a real half orc in person? A wholly different experience.

Even if he is a nice guy.

"Kael!!" I winced at how loud the man in front of me was.

"Dinner is-Oh!! There you are!"

Turning around from behind the bar in front of me, was a 6 ft 6, barrel chested, beer gut having, dark green man with two plates in his hand. And a apron.

Everything else about his clothes screamed a tough tavernkeeper, but his apron. Screamed 'put me out of my misery,' simply because it was too small and too.. frilly?

If that even is a word.

Plainly rolling my eyes at him, I walked over to one of the tables we had to sit.

The half orc man in front of me placing two more plates of meat and grits onto a table with 10 of them, is called Porbo.

Don't ask.

Porbo looked like every other regular stereotypical brawly human bar owner. From the neck down at least. Also if he didn't have dark green to grey skin. Or black sharp fingernails.

The reason why I passed out last year when I first saw him was because his face.

Like the rest of his body, there were shades of dark green around his face, and grey colors that emphasized his facial features. His eyes an intimidating color as it was somehow dark green with grey pupils. That was intimidating though not scary.

What frightened me to death?

His damn mouth.

Provo's mouth was what scared me to death when I first saw him.

It's not so bad now, but imagine seeing tusks the size of your pinky but thicker. Not to mention the rest of the teeth that were sharper then human teeth.

It's better after the fact however. I had woken up again and stayed up to try to make sense of the situation, when Porbo, started talking to me about letting me stay as a thank you.

For what?

No fucking clue

I have no memory of this body's past either. All I know is that when I tried to talk to Porbo, he interrupted me to say it was fine.

"I don't mind the no talking thing," he laughed outrageously, "I can do the talking for you!!! YAHAHYAHHA"

Yes, he laughs exactly like that. It was kind of smooth sailing from there.

Porbo runs a tavern you see. With his usual simple minded self, I was confused how he was able to run a tavern like this by himself and make a living off of it. Then I reminded myself of how he looked and figured he was capable of handling himself. Though I bet you couldn't even guess the name.

You probably did.

It's literally called just that. Porbo's Tavern.

Evidently, this tavern was in a town called Brightwater. A town the previous occupant of this body had walked into a few months prior to me waking up here.

The Kael from before had apparently always kept to himself but had helped out here and there on some odd jobs around town. No one really knew him on account of him being mute.

At some point, Kael Senior, he had gone to Porbo's tavern and had agreed with a head nod to go out and scavenge some extra grub for a particularly busy night.

In seeing "Mr. Snooze You lose" be so adept at bringing back food, remembering orders, and even distributing out orders, Porbo decided to hire him.

I had agreed of course. I did'nt know what was going on at the time, but seeing Porbo, I at least had some beginning thoughts of where I was.

I was out of it for a while however because I literally still couldn't come to terms with what I was seeing.

Porbo was a literal shock to my brain so bad that I went kind of numb for a couple of days.

Hells, Porbo wasn't even the wildest surprise for me!

The night of me coming into work here, a damned bastard of a fishfolk Locathah named Kreshk. He had no eyes.

Now I wasn't being racist or nothing, (yeah racist here is a whole different thing) it was because the little fucker bit my leg as if it was slathered in A1 sauce.

Apparently I had crisscrossed into his area for fishing at some point that day.

You ever seen a Locothah? I hadn't. If I did I never would recognize them like this. They are actually really nice most of the time, but still a talking, walking, fish out and about drinking alcohol?

Yeah, admittedly I passed out again.

I'd say I got a hang of things around a week into me being here. Let's call it after my 8th surprise of a random race?

I had guesses at first about where I was, but nothing sounded similar. I had never heard of the town of Brightwater. Nor have I heard the name of the city Port Haven that manages our town, or the kingdom of Vanhaven we are apparently in.

Eldoria? Never heard of that world. You know how weird and tough it was to try to sneak around and listen to any and all conversations to hear even just one word of the world you are in?

Especially since you transmigrated into a mute body, and didn't want anyone to kill you if they found out you weren't someone they thought you were?

Even the shrines and temple of the gods didn't look familiar. Who the hell is Lathander, I had thought at that time.

When I recognized that I was in a world based on D&D? It was when I saw the random eighth race that was different.

Admittedly, had I ventured out and looked around, I would have actually found out earlier then that week.

A short, and I mean short, little man had walked through the door of the tavern.

They had kicked it open with a surprisingly big foot.

He started yelling in a language I didn't recognize when Porbo had responded in kind.

After a short conversation and a confuzzled look from me, Porbo laughed.

"You never heard halfling before Bo?"

Ignore the bo, and focus on the important information there.

'Halfling?' I remembered thinking.

It was only then that I started smiling so hard, you would've thought I was a Human Mimic.

I was so excited thinking about all the possibilities if this world was based on a D&D game.

All my thoughts converged into one singular point of wonderment. Out of pure anticipation and excitement I hadn't noticed and luckily Porbo didn't either, I spoke aloud.

"What class should I pick?"