“Hello? Hello? I can hear you; can you hear me?!” Max was positively giddy.

“Max! We have an adventuring party gearing up to come get you, but I need to know where you are. Are you in a safe location?”

“No, I don’t think so. I am in a clearing in a forest. There was a wolf. I killed it. I don’t know if there are more.”

“A wolf? You… Killed it? Wait, Max what kind of wolf?”

“My inspect spell said young forest shire wolf.” Max replied.

“Inspect? You have a spell already? Wait, you said shire wolf? Oh no. Max, I need you to listen to me. You need to get moving. Find somewhere safe. Shire wolves solo hunt but they have a great sense of smell. The others in its pack will smell the blood and come to investigate. How long ago was it slain?”

Max started to see where this was going and quickly got up and started for the tree line.

“I’m not sure. Maybe an hour or two ago? Look, I have a minimap on my HUD. Are there any streams or rivers around? If so, do I go up or down stream to get to you?”

“Max, you need to start moving. HUD? I know what a minimap is, but I don’t know what a HUD is. But that's not important. We know that you are within sixty kilometers from Lesterwood, that's where I am currently. I can send a pulse out from your system that we can pick up here. But that will alert everything in the area of you. Do you want to do it now?”

“Better do it now, I can move from this spot and try to find a spot to hole up for the night. Once your adventurers get close enough, they should be able to find me, right?” Max grinned at the thought of real adventurers.

“Alright let me charge the mana required for it. Stand by. Be ready to accept.”

A few moments later a box appeared.

Warning: Someone is trying to pulse your system.

Allow? Y/N.

Max accepted the prompt. A large blue ring exploded out of him. The ring passed through the trees and scrubs. Max figured this was like magical sonar or something.

“Alright Max, we got the pulse. You are 46 kilometers away right now. To the west there is a river. Follow that upstream. Try and find shelter. A large climbable tree, a ground cave, maybe even a cabin. The adventuring team will be leaving within the hour, but they can’t take mounts into the forest. I’m sorry, it will take two, maybe three days for them to arrive.”

Max felt his heart drop. 2 or even 3 days. Alone. Out in a forest. Alone. With dangerous animals. Alone. Great, he could do this. Max half jogged, weaving around trees and roots. Heading to the sun, west… wait.

“I understand. Which way is west? In relation to the sun. Also, what's your name miss disembodied voice. Also, HUD is a heads-up display. I don’t know how you see your system, but I can see a red, blue, and yellow bar. Along with a minimap. They all sit at the edge of my vision. But they are definitely there.”

"There's a simple tune. It goes ‘the sun rises from the west and sets in the east’ so, go away from the sun right now. "

Great, it's backwards on this planet. Max grumbled

"My name is Iris. I apologize for not introducing myself right away. A HUD. Huh, never heard it called that but, yes, I know what you are talking about now. The red bar is your health. Don't let it deplete or... well, you will die. Blue is mana. Do you have any spells? Yellow is stamina. It should lower if you are doing anything more than just walking. Don't let it deplete or you WILL pass out from exhaustion."

Max glanced at his yellow bar. It was maybe a fifth full, he slowed to a walk and took in his surroundings. He was now moving west, but there was still no sign of a river.

"I think the only spell I know is inspect. Is there like a spell list or something I can, see? Somewhere in a system box?"

"Yes, you can see spells that you know listed out. More than likely you only have inspect. You would have been congratulated if you knew more. OH! This reminds me. Ah hold on a second... it's been a while since the last Lost One. Let me find my manual book." Iris said.

"Manual?"

"Yes, this is the first Lost One in the Lesterwood jurisdiction. Bear with me here."

A few minutes go by in silence. Max continues west in search of this mystical river. Max started to wonder if this river was even real. Was this world even real? Was he real?

"Iris? Is this all real?"

"Ah found it. Real? Max, I know that your whole life seems wrong, seems broken. But all of this is real. You are real. I am real. This world is real. You are in danger. You need to be strong right now. I have read multiple Lost Ones biographies. This line of thinking happens to all of them, and it often leads to their downfall. Max, look I found the manual. I'm going to start reading it. Stop me if you have questions."

Max stayed silent. He wanted to be safe. He wanted to be strong. But could he? He noticed that his yellow bar was almost full causing him to start jogging. But Max couldn't get himself to. He was thinking. Thinking about his life and how fucked he was. Iris took Max's silence as a go ahead.

"Welcome to Nava. A primary water and habitat land planet. You are what is called a ‘Lost One’. This title comes from you being lost on a new --"

Max couldn't help himself and interpreted.

"Look Iris, I think I've figured out the basics. Can we skip ahead in the script and get to the part about me surviving?" Max asked, rushed.

"Oh... Right sorry... Let's see here… Your biggest advantage is your catch-up chest. Do you know what that is? Have you opened it? Wait you must have, you know Common. "

Max guessed that Common was the language he was speaking.

"Yes, I opened the chest. I got the language thingy and the minimap stone. Also weapons and a cloak. And some money. I know what those all do, but I got three racial traits. What are those? Can they help me?"

"Yes! Yes! Those are what you need. They give you a passive ability. You got three? Most of the common races only have one… In my case, I am an Elf. Our racial trait is called Nature's Harmony it grants us increased experience gains with any nature related skill, spell, and technique. Sometimes Elves are born with a rare trait. But those can vary in usage. Do not let anyone know you have them or what racials you get from them." Iris's tone left little room for movement.

Max could see why. It would be a great boon if you look Human, so any enemy assumes your racial but BAM random Orc strength racial or something. Max also couldn't help but wonder if Elf's on Nava were the same as Earth's.

"Okay uhh my yellow bar is low I'm going to take a break and use my racial traits."

Max pulled out his Racial traits. They appeared to him as a glowing ball of pure energy. They were constantly shifting in color and a strange sense of the unknow was in the air. Max started to feel uneasy as he realized what the feeling was. He was looking into the essence of what made different races. Strength, wisdom, power, depth. This was going to change him; he could feel it.

Well, when in Rome. Max accepted the prompt from the system. The energy expanded encompassing him. Max started to feel very very wrong. His body WAS being changed. His blood felt like it was boiling. His skin melting, his mind breaking. Then nothing. All pain, all fear just left. Max checks himself over. All seemed to be right. He did notice that he was covered in dirt. It... was also nighttime… he must have passed out.

"Iris? Hello?"

"Max? Max? Are you back? Are you safe? It's been hours." Her voice sounded worried.

"I guess I passed out… I'm going to climb a tree and try to sleep. I'm very tired for some reason."

The nighttime forest was eerie. Max had been camping before, and while there was always the possibility of wolves or bears, they would normally stay away from Human locations. This time however, Max was not safe. Sounds made him twist around and stare into the darkness. Owls sounded significantly more sinister, bugs chirping gave him pause, and the dim moonlight casted elongated shadows and depth.

"Alright Max. I'm going to stay with you until you get here. Don't hesitate to ask questions or just to talk. I know it can get lonely out by yourself.”

“Do you?”

“Of course. You can’t become a Guild representative without first being an adventure. I had many nights sleeping in trees with my team. Reminds me of the good old days.”

“Why’d you choose to become a representative then?” Max asked.

“I don’t mind telling you, but that question can be a little sensitive to some adventures.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. If you don’t want to tell me, I would understand.”

“No, no.” Iris waved off. “I think its important for others to know what adventurers do. Especially you since you are new to this world. The simple answer is that a teammate died, and I decided it was time to retire.”

“Oh… I’m sorry to hear that. Were you two close?”

“As close as sisters. We had been on the same team since the beginning. We started on the same team, worked our way though the ranks and… Well, were together until the very end. I’m not sure how it is on your world, but on Nava we protect cites and towns. We were tasked with intercepting a migration of Reslotip’s. Nasty little things. Hundreds of sharp teeth, gills, and wings. If we didn’t veer them off course, they would have wiped out a small village. Everything edible would have been gone, even the bones.

“It was a joint quest, meaning my team of five were paired up with another team of five. With ten of us, we figured that it would be an easy quest. We had mages, fighters, archers and even someone who could cast healing spells. Everything was going well, at least until the night before the Reslotips arrived. We woke up to a panicked village elder, warning us that one of the other team’s members had wondered off into the forest and was found dead.

“It’s a shame, he was probably going for a nightly piss but was murdered. It was subtle, but we were able to tell that the wounds inflected on his body were not made by monster or animal. They were too clean, too straight. But all was not lost, at least for the village. There were still nine adventures present to protect the city. Nine adventures, eight of which were genuine about their reasoning for being there.

“The rest of the tale is simple as it is sad. One member slowly made their way though the others. Killing them and hiding in plain sight. The other team’s members started turning on us when they realized they were only ones dyeing. They figured it was us who was killing them. But then one of mine died. And another. The village was hastily evacuated when it was apparent that they were not protected. Only the healthy and able got away in the end, leaving the old and sick. There were three of my team remaining, including me, but when we ran… My best friend, the one who raised the ranks with me, never returned. She was simply gone, never heard from again.”

The silence elongated between Iris and Max.

“Maybe she is alive? Still out there?”

Iris chuckled softly. “Thanks for the sympathetic thought, but no. She is gone.”

“What about the others? Your other teammate and the last of the other team.?”

“My teammate joined another team soon after the funeral. I see him every now and then, he takes easier, more consistent quests. As for the last remaining member of the other team… He detonated himself when the guards surrounded him. Killed a few on his way out…”

“That’s awful.” Max whispered.

“Indeed. Since then, I removed myself from the front lines and to the administration. I can still protect people by keeping them informed of the dangers of particular jobs. Or from unruly or dangerous potential teammates.”

“Do you miss it?” Max asked.

“No. Not anymore. There was a time, but I realized that it was the people around me that I miss, not the job itself. I do, however, miss helping people. Seeing pride and aspiration in the young one’s eyes. Or the relief of the quest giver when I would turn in the bounty. Lively hoods are often directly tied to quests, meaning that if a quest isn’t complete, then lives will suffer.”

“Sounds like a valiant occupation.”

“It is.” Iris’s voice turned dreamy for a moment. “Adventures can be rough and tumble, but at the end of the day, they care. They may not show it, but people don’t choose this as a job for the money.”

The silence reigned as Max thought though his future once he made it to Lesterwood. He would need a job, money, shelter. Maybe adventuring would be for him. But then again, it would be difficult and dangerous. He could barely survive a wolf attack; how would he protect a village from a mass migration of monsters? But that line of thinking made him remember where he was, causing a sudden burst of panic as he checked his surroundings. The forest was quiet, other then the occasional hoot or howl in the distance.

“Oh! Did you racial stone work?” Iris suddenly asked.

“Let me check.”

Max had completely forgotten about his new racial. He was completely enthralled by Iris’s story, something he didn’t realize was possible with his current situation. Max was kind of excited about seeing what he got for a racial.

If magic is like any fantasy from Earth, my racials could be an important factor in getting strong. To get back home I need to be as strong as possible. Hopefully my racials help. Max thought.

Congratulations you have gained the racial trait: Kepu: Active magic!

This racial is from the ancient lost race of the Kepu. Master of magic and keepers of vast magical knowledge.

Now their legacy lives on with you.

10% increased experience granted to all spells.

Grants extra spell slots in all [Mage] related classes.

As your knowledge grows, this power will also.

"Hey Iris, can you explain classes and spells? I think I'm safe for the night. I'm hiding in a tree…"

"Trees are good. Your first class unlocked at level 5. All classes get the use of 5 spells or skills. Whether your class is mage, warrior, or farmer, you always get 5. You can have more spells in your spell tab, but only 5 equipped…”

Iris kept explaining, Max felt his eyes closing. He tried to say good night, but his consciousness was slipping more and more. Soon he was asleep. Dreaming of badger wolves, blood and magic.

“Max? Max? I think he fell asleep sir…. Yes, yes, I will be on call until he arrives…. He did already kill his first monster…. We will know if he survives these next few days…. I know but The Hollow Bringers were the only team available… I know sir. We can only hope….”