Lucian woke up with a headache and sore muscles. He groaned and stretched out his arms and legs. Lucian looked around, seeing the sun shining through the window above him. He tried to move but couldn't. Then he remembered what had happened yesterday and how he had been injured.
He rolled over, trying to sit up, but quickly stopped because his head throbbed. His body ached all over, especially in places that weren't usually hurt when fighting.
With great difficulty, he stood up and walked towards the door, noticing the smell of food coming from somewhere nearby.
"Ahh..."
His mouth watered at the sight of the delicious aroma.
"That smells amazing."
Looking outside, he saw a large garden filled with abundant vegetables and fruits. Walking closer, he noticed that the plants were tended to regularly, unlike most gardens he'd seen before.
Looking further ahead, he spotted a group of people tending to a fire pit, cooking meat. Several tables were set up next to them, and various dishes were being prepared.
All the people working seemed busy, yet still had time to talk with others, though Lucian couldn't hear what they were discussing.
One woman caught his attention. She wore a green dress, a leather vest, boots, and a sword hanging from her belt. Her hair was tied back behind her neck, revealing a sharp face with piercing blue eyes. A scar ran across her cheek. As Lucian approached, she turned and greeted him with a warm smile.
"Good morning. Would you care for breakfast?"
She held a plate of bacon, eggs, sausages, fried potatoes, mushrooms, tomatoes and bread.
Lucian nodded, taking the offered meal.
"Thank you."
Her name is Lina, and she's one of the guards assigned to watch over me. They're supposed to teach new guild members how to fight and use aura while protecting us. But after meeting Erna and now Lina, I'm not really feeling safe at all.
Lina smiled and took a seat opposite Lucian. She started eating, watching him eat too until he finished everything on his plate and reached for more food.
"Are you alright? Do you need help getting to your feet?" she asked, looking concerned.
Lucian shook his head as he grabbed the offered dish and ate more, stuffing himself full of food.
After finishing off two plates of food, he finally slowed down and sighed.
"Oh my gosh, that was incredible."
Lina laughed while smiling at him.
"Didn't expect you to finish it all, did you? Are you sure you're okay?"
Lucian rubbed his stomach, nodding.
"I'll be fine."
"Alright."
Lina watched as Lucian went to wash his hands in the sink. He was a handsome man, around 20 years old, with short dark brown hair and brown eyes. He wore a plain shirt and pants, nothing fancy or flashy. After washing his hands, he came back to the table.
"Here's your dessert."
A bowl of fruit salad was placed in front of Lucian. The sweet fragrance filled the air and made his mouth water even more.
"Wow," he said with wide eyes.
"You have quite an appetite, don't you?"
"Thanks."
Lina giggled, putting a hand on Lucian's shoulder. "If you ever need anything, just let me know, ok?"
"Okay, thanks."
Lucian picked up a slice of pineapple and took a bite. "This is good," he said.
"We have many different things here, so if you see something you like, just ask."
Lucian nodded and took another bite.
After eating, Lina walked with Lucian to the training area. It was a vast open space surrounded by a fence, with a single tree in the center. Various weapons were on the ground, ranging from swords to spears, axes, bows, daggers, maces, and hammers.
Lucian picked up a spear, testing its weight in his hand before tossing it into the air. He caught it effortlessly in mid-air, throwing it into a wall. Then, he threw it into the ground. He repeated the process several times, grinning as the weapon broke in half.
"These Weapons are crudely made. Not as durable as they should be."
He pulled a sword out of a pile of broken weapons.
"Hmm. Maybe we can make better ones later."
Lucian looked at the weapons, thinking.
"I wonder what the real ones look like..."
He thought of the weapons he'd seen before—the ones that the Gods had given to the "Marked" ones. There were many myths, such as The Bloodied Axe Gungir, a battle axe made from the bones of a dragon—a weapon known to cause the user to be consumed by madness—and the Flowing River Durendal, a massive sword that could cut through stone without effort. It's known as a magic sword with the main properties of water. There was once a myth that the blade's first master caused the world to be engulfed by water for a thousand years.
There was also The Cursed Blade Morkin, a blade that glowed blue when wielded by someone who could wield it properly. It would feed on the user's memories. The more it feeds, the more powerful and brighter it shines, the stronger the memories, the stronger the sword would be, or so it was told.
Many speculations were made online about whether these weapons existed, but none were proven true.
No one knows how the gods fight with their weapons. They always use them in secret.
Most believe it is due to being marked or having special skills, but no one knows for sure.
"Did some random Blacksmith make these weapons? The durability is extremely Crude, I'm surprised anyone survived using them."
He tossed the broken Spear away and grabbed a bow instead. He held it in both hands, aiming at a target before him. With ease, he shot five arrows into the target. Each arrow hit the bullseye dead center.
I only intended to shoot in the general direction to see if the arrows would hit the target. Still, somehow, they managed to land directly in the bull's eye every time.
"Impressive..."
"Huh? What's impressive?"
"That ability to shoot straight to the target."
"Oh...yeah, I am pretty good with ranged weapons."
"Lina, is there any way I would be eligible to take quests from the Guild? I received a letter a while ago that said I was an F Class now. I didn't understand much of it, though."
"If you are already registered, you should be fine with taking quests for your assigned rank."
[Test: ???]
[Trial: ?????]
[Reward: ????]
A blue screen hovered above the table, showing a message saying: Test:??? Trial:?? Reward:??????
What even is my test so far? I've been here for 2 days. Do I need to kill someone? It's probably a good thing since I've killed many animals and monsters, but still, what kind of test is this?
It can't be a test of patience or anything that revolves around emotions, right? The gods can't be stupid enough to make a test about emotions, right?
I also don't think it was a coincidence that I was placed inside a knight's body, especially a knight who uses a sword. From my knowledge of medieval times, it is known that a regular knight uses a sword, but we are talking about a period where magic exists, so I can't just think that all knights use swords.
I'll have to start using the tools that I've been given. Although I can't trust her, Lina can be exploited for my benefit. I don't know about Erna, as she's way out of my league, but Lina is beneficial for now.
She's strong, fast, and skilled in melee combat. She has high stamina, too. All I have to do is manipulate her to help me accomplish my task.
Let's see...
First off, I'll try to figure out what exactly is happening here.
***
When I opened my eyes, I saw myself standing in a small room. Two doors and a window were opposite me. In the middle of the room, there was a bed with a single pillow and blanket.
I only closed my eyes for one minute… where am I?
A painting of a beautiful woman holding a baby was on the wall beside the door. On top of the dresser was a picture frame containing a photograph of a handsome man smiling happily with his arm wrapped around a woman. Beside the photo was a small bouquet of flowers.
I stood up and walked towards the window. It faced a large garden with a pond in the corner. A fountain with a dragon statue spouting water was next to the pond.
There's one thing I've been noticing: I'm able to travel actively. I'm able to interact with people, objects, and almost anything, but whenever I try to travel outside, away from the city, I get the feeling that instead of walking, I'm just teleporting to places that the test wants me to go to, almost as if I'm being guided,
How did I even end up in this mansion, to begin with? It was entirely run down, yet it seemed well-kept and clean. Maybe whoever owned this Mansion died, and nobody wanted to bother fixing it up. But then, why am I here?
As Lucian walked through the corridors, he noticed that the walls were covered in paintings and photographs depicting various scenes from the past. From their looks, the owner had spent quite some time collecting pictures of historical events.
As he continued walking, he realized that something was missing from the hallway: a portrait of the house owner's owner or the house owner's family.
After checking every inch of the corridor, Lucian finally arrived at a staircase leading downstairs. Walking down the stairs, he reached the bottom floor, where more hallways were lined with portraits of men and women.
Lucian walked further into the building until he saw a familiar face staring back at him. The image depicted a dark-haired man dressed in a white robe and wearing a crown.
That's the guy from the picture on the stairwell, right? Lucian remembered the old saying, 'Once you've seen one king, you've seen them all.' Well, now I'm seeing several kings.
He walked along the halls, looking at the images of the people who had lived here. Suddenly, Lucian stopped in front of an empty spot on the wall. Something was missing from it. Looking closer, Lucian spotted a gap between two frames that contained portraits.
A little bit later, Lucian arrived at the basement. The entrance was hidden behind a bookcase filled with books on magic and artifacts. Inside, Lucian discovered a secret passage that led deeper into the basement.
Walking forward, Lucian entered a narrow tunnel that led to a spiral staircase descending into darkness.
I wonder where this leads?
Lucian descended into the basement, where he found himself standing in front of a huge iron gate blocking the path ahead.
There's nothing else down here except for this big fucking gate.
Lucian approached the gate and tried opening it, but it wouldn't budge.
Hmm...I guess it's locked.
With a sigh, Lucian started to push against the gate, trying to move it aside. With every push, it moved slightly, giving him hope that it might open soon.
Finally, after hours, the door swung wide, revealing a vast underground cavern lit by torches on the walls and pillars. There were rows of stone statues lining the pathway leading away from the gate. Each sculpture was carved in the shape of a humanoid creature.
They ranged from small creatures like rabbits and squirrels to larger ones like bears and lions. They all had the same expressionless faces, eyes closed, mouths agape, and showing teeth.
Is this place haunted?
They're creepy as hell...
Lucian continued walking towards the cave's center, where he saw another large door of steel bars.
Wow, this thing is heavy!
Slowly pushing against it with both hands, Lucian pulled it open, allowing light to pour into the area.
Once the door opened fully, Lucian stepped onto a balcony overlooking a massive chamber below. A single pillar stood tall at the center of the room, with many smaller columns surrounding it, forming a circle. On top of the central column rested a golden orb glowing brightly.
Why does everything look gold?
Looking around the room, Lucian noticed that each statue had a pedestal next to it holding a similar golden orb. The orbs connected, creating a web of golden lights that formed a sphere above the pillar.
Huh...?
Each of these orbs seems to be emitting its own glow. What exactly are they? Are they magical items? Is someone controlling them from somewhere?
Suddenly, Lucian sensed something coming from within the orb. He couldn't tell what it was yet but could feel it calling out to him.
Wait!
Something is moving in the orb.
Turning toward the source of the movement, Lucian spotted something moving through the golden ball. It was a giant spider that crawled out of the orb. As the monster rose higher, Lucian realized that a gigantic version of the spider had attacked him earlier.
Oh shit!
That's Definitely a Monster?!
Shit!!
He quickly ran back into the shadows of the doorway and watched as the monster climbed down the wall until it reached the floor. It raised its head, looking straight at him. Lucian backed further into the dark hallway.
Where did this thing come from? Why is it here?
Thud…. Thud…. Thud…
Before Lucian could think more about the monster, he heard footsteps approaching from behind him.