Rain stared blankly at his phone.
He was back in his apartment that night, his mind a blank. It was already one in the morning, but Rain refused to sleep. His spirit might travel back to the Spirit Realm again.
He didn't know why this was happening to him. He was just an average guy with nothing notable about him. Things like this only happened to the main characters in novels, not to someone as unremarkable as him.
What was he going to do now?
His parents were abroad, and he was living in an apartment alone. There was no one he could confide in or ask for help.
And if ever he told anyone, they would surely label him as mentally ill, and his parents might admit him to a mental hospital.
Dean said there was no way around this. If he wanted to survive, he had to defend his territory, or his spirit might get killed, and then he would definitely die in the real world.
Rain stared at the card Dean had given him.
The man was right; the easiest way out of this was to give up his title and territory to someone more capable.
After all, he wasn't cut out for this. Building and defending a territory was far beyond his capabilities.
Rain thought about it long and hard. He even tried researching information about the Spirit Realm but found nothing. It seemed to be a tightly guarded secret, and the Player Association had likely deleted any news about it.
Then, like a godsend, a notification made Rain smile for the first time. It was from Dean.
[ From: Dean
Subject: Player Forum Access
Hello Rain,
I hope this message finds you well. I forgot to mention the forum that is only accessible to players.
In this Forum, you can ask all sorts of questions, and veteran players will answer them if they're online. You can also get tips there, so it's very useful for first time players.
See attached link for the Forum]
Rain didn't waste any time and clicked the link.
|| F O R U M S ||
Player #: I'm only going to make this offer once, newbies you should just surrender your lord title and give up your territory to me. I will take you all under my wing. I'm already an Adept Lord, and my territory is Level 20.
Player #: You're a troll.
Player #: Demons and Devils are good troops and all, but they can betray you in a heartbeat. Nothing could defeat Dragonborns.
Player #: Those troops are hard to level up, and most of the time, they don't follow commands. Not recommended for newbies. Elves and Beastfolk are great for first-timers. They're balance and prideful, but they get the job done.
Plater #: You guys are morons. Newbies don't have the luxury to pick their troops the first time. It's completely random.
Player #: They say your first troops complement your character.
Player #: I want to ask, what did you guys do your first time in the Spirit Realm? How on earth did you develop your territory from nothing? My territory is somewhere in the forest.
Player #: That's great. Forests and any territory near lakes and rivers are a good start for newbies. You can easily forage resources and materials to start building your house and from there just develop it into a village.
Player #: The downside is, there are a lot of beasts in that area.
. . . multiple persons are typing . . .
|| E N D ||
Rain read through the forum posts, feeling slightly more hopeful. There were a lot of people who had been in his current position and had found ways to survive and thrive in the Spirit Realm.
Rain took his time reading and absorbing all the information in his head.
From what he had learned so far . . . he was definitely doomed.
His territory was a barren wasteland, meaning no water, no food, and definitely no materials to make a small house much less a village.
Everything was not lost yet, Rain tried to console himself. He still had his troops.
Come to think of it, he didn't know what troops he had. Should he sleep and go to the Spirit Realm to check what troops he got?
The ball of light's words echoed in his head.
"If you have any more questions, you can access your [Library], [Stats], and other information in your [Menu]. It can be accessed through thought, so make use of it."
Thought.
Rain thought about the [Menu], and he was surprised when a screen appeared before him.
|| Rain Weathers ||
Title: None
Territory: Somewhere in The Barren Wasteland (Couldn't be named until becoming a Novice Lord)
Territory Level: 1
Soldiers: Tokens x5
Extraction: 0/1
Soul Elixirs: 0
Evolution Points: 0
|| E N D ||
Rain read the information about [Extraction] in the [Library], and realized this was what Dean and the ball of light had mentioned before: he could bring anything from the Spirit Realm to the real world and vice versa.
How does this work? Rain wondered, and a notification appeared.
[Choose what to extract]
Oh, with just a thought again.
Rain touched the table.
[Small Table, weight 5kls. Cost of extraction to the Spirit Realm: 500mL of Soul Elixirs]
Soul Elixirs?
That's probably the currency. Rain thought, and he touched the bed. It would be nice if he had a bed in the Spirit Realm.
[Single Bed, weight 20kls. Cost of extraction to the Spirit Realm: 2L of Soul Elixirs]
Whoa. It increased!
So it charge by weight.
Rain speculated and continued reading the information in the [Library]. He learned a lot, including the crucial point that he shouldn't leave his territory undefended for long. If his [Lord Statue] was destroyed, it would be equivalent to his territory being obliterated and him being killed.
". . ." Rain panicked at that thought.
Statue? There was a statue?
Rain thought back to his time in the Barren Wasteland. He did see something sparkly out of the corner of his eye, but he couldn't make out its form because he was in shock when he was first transported to the Spirit Realm.
"Oh shit! I have to get back there! ASAP!" Rain jumped onto his bed and tightly closed his eyes. He didn't have to wait long, as he was exhausted from everything that had happened, and he quickly fell asleep.
Rain's soul traveled out of his body and was transported to the Spirit Realm.
In a blink, Rain found himself back in the same area where he had been standing before. The barren wasteland was still the same, with its unforgiving and lifeless nothingness.
Then Rain saw it: his statue.