Fighting the extreme fatigue, John shifted to a sitting posture to better observe his surroundings. Now that the immediate threat to his life had been taken care of, he could better observe the cavern.
From what he could see, the cavern was the size of a wedding hall with sharp stalactites framing the top of the cavern. The only exit out of the cavern was a tunnel with bioluminescent lichen growing on its sides. This was the same tunnel the crab-like monstrosity arrived from.
However, the cloying scent of blood, the eerie silence of the cavern and the remnant fumes from the creature's melted carapace and burnt flesh combined to make the cavern feel cramped and stifling. While he was eager to explore the tunnel and leave this cavern, he had to still take stock of himself and understand his situation better. Afterall, he still didn't know how he came to transmigrate into this world.
Firstly the memories of this body's previous owner showed he died from the claws of the crablike monster. So, he decided to check for any injuries on his body which he surprisingly found none. It seems his transmigration into this body had healed it of any injuries.
Since the previous owner of this body was mauled by the same crab-like monstrosity that lay dead in a corner of the cavern, it was amazing that he was now healed and whole with smooth unblemished skin.
Even if he could not believe the fantastical nature of his transmigration, the clothes on his body couldn't help but remind him. The clothes on his body looked ripped and tattered with visible claw marks on it, while the skin underneath was smooth and silky. There was no other logical explanation than this body he inherited was initially damaged but now miraculously healed.
Even the moccasin boots on his feet also looked damaged and squashed, but the feet themselves were perfectly fine.
He had to see if he had anything still in working order before he could think of leaving this cavern. He wouldn't mind being lucky and find some new clothes lying around. He began quickly scanning his surroundings to find anything that could be of help to him.
The first thing he noticed was a small bag close to the area he had awoken in. It was a leather bag of unique design with silver runes running around the sides of the bag.
His eyes widened in surprise as he instantly recognised the bag. It was astonishing to see this bag in the flesh as he had only seen it through a computer screen. In fact, he was the one to have designed the bag in the first place. But, he couldn't comprehend why he was seeing this bag physically.
He had designed the same bag for a character he created when he was playing a certain video game. How could it be possible that the bag was here physically with him in Suterra.
Before dying, he had loved modding games and creating unique characters. This bag belonged to one of the characters he had made. The bag in question was a boring sable color but had distinct silver runes engraved on its sides. It had the look of a medieval waist bag, with a long strap that could act as an impromptu belt.
While the bag in front of him gave him some ideas as to the nature of his transmigration, he couldn't help but wonder why he transmigrated with materials from his game character. Cause, it wasn't everyday you woke up in a fantasy world with the bag from one of your modded characters lying closeby. If this bag was here then what other materials from the modded game could be here?
He ran forward and grasped the bag, afraid the bag would prove to be an illusion if he stared at it any longer. It was indeed real. His hands traced the runes on the sides of the leather bag and they felt surreal.
How is this possible?
He ran his hands through the silver runes, admiring their design.
This bag was the property of a modded video game character—a mage that wore full armor everywhere, except on his head which was covered by a hood. That armored mage had been called Klin. He was created by John who was messing around with one of his favorite MMORPG games. At that time, John had reasoned that a mage that wore full-body plate armor would be cool and unique. Creating the character had been fun, as some of the character's abilities had been inspired from one of his favorite MOBA games.
Looking around the cavern, he checked for other cool stuff nearby.
Not too far from where he saw the bag was pieces or armor arranged in a bundle and a magical staff nearby. The staff resembled a spear as the top of the staff held a diamond-like crystal with a pointy end sticking forward.
His eyebrows nearly reached his hairline, as his eyes widened in surprise.
Could it be that he transmigrated into a random character in Suterra, but with the materials and abilities of his modded character?
Suterra was one of the realms in his favorite MMORPG game, Shattered Realms.
If he had the materials of his modded character, did it mean he also had the unique abilities of his modded character also.
Besides, in the reincarnation stories he had read, didn't people who transmigrate get a nice system that gave them special growth opportunities, while should his case be any different.
Grinning at the possibility of having a system to aid him in this new world, he could not help but get excited.
"System," he shouted to the air, swiping the air to see if there would be any popup screen or ding sound.
To his disappointment, nothing happened, only the ambient sound of water dripping somewhere could be heard. No ding sound and no screen.
Seemed he had no system to help him then. But at least he had the cool armor, the staff and the bag. That was a nice start.
He grinned at the possibilities. He even suspected he possessed the passive of his modded character which was called, [boundless mana].
What made him come to this conclusion was the inherited memories from the previous owner of the body he now possessed. Darien, the previous owner of this body, knew some powerful spells but he couldn't cast them due to his limited magical capacity. Something like [Darlan's Fury] would have been impossible for the previous Darien due to its intense magical costs.
But John had been able to cast those spells, showing the magical power John possessed was more than that of the previous Darien.
Darien's memories suggested he was an established mage but not one capable of casting [Darlan's Fury] and [Clouds of Attrition] without spell components, aids and magical amplifiers. Yes, the previous owner (Darien), learnt the spells which was how John could cast them but Darien did not normally have the magical reserves to cast them.
There were two possible explanations. Either John's transmigration had bestowed him with stronger affinity for magic than Darien normally possessed or he may have gotten the [boundless mana] ability of his modded character just like he had gotten the bag, armor and staff.
But if so, then the [boundless mana] ability did not translate to having boundless energy because John was exhausted after casting the [Clouds of Attrition], [Darlan's Fury] and numerous volleys of [arcane bolt]. It was by sheer determination, he stayed on his feet to keep observing his surroundings.
Tiredly, he dragged himself to the armor and began putting it on.
Having never worn armor before, he took longer than he would have liked to put it on. Darien's memory was of some help in dorning on the armor but it wasn't too helpful. Darien, the previous owner of the body he now possessed, was conversant with chainmail and leather armor but wasn't that familiar with plate armor. Afterall, no sensible ashae mage would wear plate armor.
After struggling with the last armor piece, he picked up the staff and fixed the bag on his waist. He could do with some canteen of water to wet his throat now. He had heard that it was thirst that was more dangerous than hunger.
Had he not heard the dripping sound of water before?
Straining his hearing, he noticed the sounds of dripping water was getting louder or was it getting closer? How is that possible?
Turning in the direction of the dripping water sound, he saw what astounded him.
Suterra was indeed a place of wonders, because what he was seeing in front of him could only be possible in a fantastical world.