Chapter 9

The kitchen was mostly just a long room, about half as wide as the hall right outside. Several windows lined the walls, sunlight barely managing to punch through the dirty glass.

Adrian opened them as soon as he felt a little better. He had wasted half a sack of medieval trailmix. The second half he ate and actually managed to keep down.

If there was anything wrong with it, he would surely notice soon.

The fresh air didn’t do much to penetrate the combined efforts of rotting flesh, blood, and puke.

He looked at the mess and sighed.

I’ll want to clean this up. Use this kitchen. If anything’s still working.

There was luckily no rotten food in the pans or in any of the plates that would add to the stench and general decay. He did find the very same in some of the cabinets but simply closed them again to prevent a spread of bacteria and smells.

I need to rest.

“How many breakdowns did I have in the last hour?” he asked himself while shaking his head.

I suppose Mr. T was right. Not that it’s any news to me.

He checked and found all of the faucets still worked. There were all manner of tools around and he quickly found what amounted to a small shovel to clean up his mess. The undead he left on the floor for now. He was in no condition to move bodies right now.

Adrian pushed most of the puke onto the shovel and threw it out the window.

“Take that,” he said, his voice lacking in passion.

It was still morning but he already felt like a whole day had passed. Now at least he had fuel.

And there was more.

How on Earth…, he thought as he went through the cabinets. Many of them held various ingredients that still looked at least somewhat edible. Various spices mostly, and flour. There were other cabinets nearly fully covered in growing fungus.

He had no clue why the nuts and berries had survived and many other ingredients had not.

Magic maybe? Or just a lucky coincidence.

With the dust on everything else, it almost seemed like the former was more probable.

For now he just grabbed everything good he could carry and put it on a random counter.

If it stays fresh here then maybe I should leave everything where it is.

It still made more sense to him to get it into his room.

Here he finally found all the plates, cutlery, pots, and pans he could ever wish for. Water wouldn’t be an issue now, as long as he had things to burn.

There were ovens too. Ovens, hot plates, even a grill. There were dials as well, with symbols on them that he had actually seen before.

Numbers, he thought.

Adrian refrained from turning any of them, not about to cause a gas leak and subsequent explosion. Not after the win of finding an actual kitchen with food.

And I reached level one.

Guess I passed the tutorial level then, he thought and laughed to himself.

“Fabulous vacation spot, hmm?” he asked one of the undead as he leaned onto one of the counters.

The creature did not reply.

He turned and looked out the window, seeing nearly the same view as he did from the terrace, his current position located below and to the left of the area he had arrived in.

Adrian decided that the earlier slaughter was enough for a day. He found his sword and rinsed it, using a dusty cloth nearby to wipe off the blood.

No dishwashers, he thought as he focused on the cleaning task for the next five minutes. The result wasn’t perfect but it hardly mattered in the grand scheme of things.

He sheathed the blade and grabbed a nearby pot, one that wasn’t quite as heavy as the cast iron variant he had used as a weapon.

He filled the thing with bags of nuts, dried berries, flour, and spices.

The pot ended up quite heavy. He grunted just trying to lift it but managed to power through.

The hall remained empty, Adrian carefully moving towards the stairs with his valuable newfound loot. It proved a challenge to navigate the tight stairwell littered with bodies but with time and determination, he overcame the obstacle.

He finally reached his bed again, the sun already somewhat high on the horizon.

“Shelter, food, and water,” he said to himself, looking at the pot now sitting on the floor.

“Can I go back now please?” he asked, looking up.

“Not that easy, huh?” he added when nothing happened.

If these monsters don’t patrol or get reborn, I could just stay here in this room for a while. A few weeks maybe, months if I ration everything and make bread.

He knew the worries would remain. And still, he allowed himself to breathe. This wasn’t a game and he would certainly not continue with the same slaughter for another minute.

Now that his most important needs were met, he could think about a more methodical approach.

Should have learned how to make traps, he thought.

Maybe I can still figure something out… there was a bunch of stuff in that kitchen and I have a crossbow.

It wasn’t exactly much to work with. Not for him that was. Bruce Wayne could already conquer the world with the tools Adrian had found.

But what can’t he do?

Not important right now.

He smiled, sitting down on the bed. One thought not occupied by fear and terror.

It was bad enough to be stuck in this place with the horrendous monsters but his behavior earlier really showed how dangerous hunger really was.

He had won those battles but that was mostly his adrenaline and pure fear taking over, pushing him forward. Most of his actions hadn’t been as deliberate as he would have liked them to be.

The soldier had fallen and he had lost it, both in the physical and emotional sense. If that room hadn’t been there.

He didn’t want to pursue that thought.

His reckless charge into the kitchen could have ended far worse too. He was incredibly lucky that there were only two servants in there, unarmed and uncoordinated.

“Way more lucky to actually find a kitchen and food that isn’t rotten,” he said to himself.

He grabbed a bit of food, smelling on the nuts and dried berries.

Doubt there is poisonous stuff in that kitchen, he thought and ate some more.

It really just tasted like nuts and berries. Nothing too surprising but also not like any specific variants he had ever eaten before.

Maybe it was just his imagination but Adrian was somewhat sure that these weren’t just raisins and cashews. They looked similar enough but foreign at the same time.

Am I really not on Earth anymore?

Somehow he could believe that there was some eccentric billionaire out there willing to build a castle city on a hidden island or valley deep in some third world country just to enjoy the suffering of some poor kidnapped soul.

Even the undead monsters could be explained with some kind of virus.

And yet he couldn’t wrap his head around the reason to nurture new kinds of nuts and berries just to make the whole thing more authentic. Tolkien had come up with new languages and Jackson had added the life like sets. But did he cultivate middle earth fruit just for the movies?

Probably not.

Hell, maybe they did.

The realization was scary.

He laughed again. Could just not know this kind. Not like I can claim to know every kind of nut in the world.

Berries are weird but magic isn’t?

He shook his head.

A simulation is probably still the most likely scenario.

Then again that’s true for Earth as well.

No matter what it is, this seems to be my reality. For now. Until I break out or get back.

He wondered about how that could be possible while lying in bed and eating a few more raisins and cashews.

This being Earth is pretty unlikely by now. If it’s a simulation I could just be stuck here forever. Might just be an experiment for some sick fuck. If it’s a game, then I could try to beat said game.

If this is a real place somehow supported by science, then there must be something or someone out there that got me here. There are answers that I can seek, magic that could bring me back.

He didn’t consider the possibilities without solutions, instead focusing on those that presented options.

I know for a fact that I can get stronger by leveling. And I can find better equipment to aid me in whatever this journey will be.

His long term goal remained the same but he was a little stumped as to his short term ones.

Adrian had found water, food, and a somewhat safe shelter. For now.

The things he had gone through in the past three days would never leave him. He knew he would wake up in the middle of the night, sweating as he would scream at the memory of the rotten faces of the monsters he had slain.

And yet he had reached a state of relative control and safety far faster than he had dared to think possible.

No that there was much time to actually sit down and think.

As much as I hate to admit it, I have to explore more, level more, train, and learn to read.

He had no clue how to go about the last thing. It was by far the most important part in his opinion but without a teacher he thought it downright impossible.

If he had been a language professor, then maybe. In a few years he could probably figure it out. As he was, the task was simply unreasonable.

So I need to find a teacher in this place.

At this point the locals weren’t quite welcoming enough for him to consider asking them for help.

His body was still aching. He remained exhausted and overwhelmed. His spirits were up however, based on everything he had achieved that morning.

Adrian knew that the feeling wouldn’t last. Now that his driving needs were satiated, the looming danger of falling into lethargy felt very real to him.

Instead of leaving it to chance, he got up and went to work.

First came his crossbow and the bolts. Two of them had bent or broken, one hitting the stone wall behind the first undead he shot and another hitting the wall when he had missed.

That left two bolts in working condition. Enough to kill two things.

He continued with the kitchen, leaving his charged crossbow near one of the doors and facing outwards. Just in case something ambushed him.

The kitchen itself had two entrances, both had been open already when he found the hall. On the other side there were two doors as well, both of them closed. Another circular stairwell lead down at the end of the large room.

Adrian first moved the two bodies and threw them out the window. He closed both doors and cleaned up the blood and bits of rotten brain and bone.

Whatever had inflicted these people went deep.

He had read enough about the scientific possibility of a zombie virus to know that what he found here shouldn’t be possible. And yet here he was.

Baxter had often helped him clean up because he found it difficult to see the big deal with dishes that piled up, the slight smell of food, or the occasional fruit fly infestation.

Brain tissue and rotting bone was where even Adrian drew the line however. It was his only kitchen after all. He didn’t want to catch whatever these people had because of lacking hygiene.

Might already be too late.

He didn’t think about it. If this was a different world, it was a wonder that he wasn’t already sick.

Then again… we had thousands of years of human society to get immunity to a bunch of truly nasty bugs.

It felt wrong to be happy about that particular branch of history.

He just hoped that the red magic juice would fix whatever illness might befall him.

Maybe I should try and administer it to one of the servants, he thought.

There was a slight chance that their affliction could be cured. That was if they really had been human at some point. The architecture, writing, clothes, and weapons suggested at least that the people here had been sapient, be they human or other.

He thought the chance slim, mostly due to the decay of their bodies.

Nor would he waste his last medicine on a bet like that.

Adrian considered for a moment what he would do if he actually found a sane and healthy person here. Just the speculation brought so many questions with it that he didn’t want to think about right now. Instead he settled on the more simple goals of working out and exploring more of the castle.

Not today of course, he thought, instead finishing up with the kitchen. It wasn’t perfectly clean but good enough for him. He simply ignored the closed cabinets, not seeing a reason to clear out the mold filled cabinets.

Maybe I should try the stove, he thought as he looked at the thing. There was no discernible opening for gas so he assumed they used something else.

The conflicting evidence he found made it unclear how long it had been since someone maintained or even used these facilities.

In the end he decided that facing monsters was quite a bit more risky than trying out a hot plate. He would save a lot of time and annoyance if he had a way to cook water here.

He crouched in front of the thing and hid behind his shield, feeling a little silly as he turned the knob to what he assumed meant one.

Adrian heard a soft sizzling noise come from within the steel contraption but nothing else happened.

He chuckled at the situation but kept his shield firmly in front of his face and chest. A quick check of the plate revealed that it indeed became warmer.

He dialed it up while filling a nearby pot with water. Here it almost looked like the liquid wasn’t as rancid as upstairs. Maybe he just imagined it.

Might just be the pipes here held up better, he thought and placed the pot onto the plate.

It didn’t take long for the water to start boiling.

He couldn’t help but smile at all the time he would save by not building fires.

There was no discernible ventilation system but he just left the windows open. The previous search had revealed a few flasks too.

He took three of the metal containers and carefully filled them with the boiling water. Each held a little more than half a liter, he estimated.

After letting it sit, he dumped the water and repeated the process, deeming that clean enough.

The flasks had stoppers made of a material he couldn’t quite place but coupled with all the other tools he found, it suggested the people here had some pretty impressive technology. Far beyond what he assumed people in the middle ages had access to.

Probably a pretty skewed view. The Greeks and Romans had some pretty advanced things already.

At least there had been no TVs, guns, and phones so far.

Perhaps it was a good thing too. If every soldier had a rifle, his endeavors would’ve not been quite as successful.

Thinking of soldiers, he thought and left the kitchen. He carried the hot flasks in a pan and left them to cool in his room.

Next he found the second soldier he had killed and stripped his gear, laying everything out on the terrace to get away from the stench that started to permeate the stairwell and hallway before.

Helmet – Faenhold Soldier Helmet [Common]

Chest – Faenhold Soldier Leather Armor [Adequate]

Vitality +2

Arms – Faenhold Soldier Bracers [Adequate]

Magic Projectile Speed +1%

Hands – Faenhold Soldier Gloves [Adequate]

Skill +2

Belt – Faenhold Soldier Belt [High]

Strength +4

Warrior Soul Skill Cost -2%

Legs – Faenhold Soldier Pants [Common]

Boots – Faenhold Soldier Boots [Common]

1h Weapon – Faenhold Shortsword [Adequate]

Vitality +2

Adrian felt like an idiot, holding each piece to his face as if he desperately needed a few pairs of glasses.

There were a few obvious upgrades in the bunch. With them came a few implications, answers, and new questions.

One thing was clear. The gear wasn’t the exact same, despite the names suggesting such. The bonuses were different. The High quality indicator suggested the item could have more than a single property. And a higher roll too, as the belt showed.

Adrian hadn’t exactly found enough gear so far to make definitive statements.

The warrior soul skill cost reduction bonus suggested that the skills would cost some kind of resource, whatever that was. Mana and endurance were the usual suspects, both things he could imagine correlated with his Endurance, Intelligence, or Wisdom stats respectively.

He wondered if there were more wacky things like the power of the moon, literal usable rage, or blood itself to power magic.

There were no numbers or mentions in his mind’s eye however.

He preferred Vitality over Strength, switching out his leather chest piece and sword. Immediately, he felt like his body wasn’t quite as battered. The weapon however felt significantly more heavy.

So fucking weird.

The helmet was actually a better fit but he still chose the one with the bonus.

His silk gloves were funnily enough still better than the new ones he found. The belt on the other hand was a definitive upgrade, making up for the loss of Strength on his chest and weapon.

He put on the new undamaged pair of pants above his knight pants before he looked at his weapon.

A huge upgrade, he thought with a smile.

Could I?

He glanced at the second sword and grabbed it.

It didn’t show up in his off hand slot at all, not that he really deemed it a safe way to fight anyway. He much preferred his trusty shield.

Soulbound:

Essence – 32

Level – 1

Vitality – 11 [16]

Endurance – 10

Strength – 9 [13]

Skill – 8 [15]

Intelligence – 12

Wisdom – 11

Soul skill – Slot 1

Equipment:

Helmet – Faenhold Soldier Helmet [Adequate]

Vitality +1

Chest – Faenhold Soldier Leather Armor [Adequate]

Vitality +2

Arms – Faenhold Soldier Bracers [Adequate]

Fire Magic Resistance +2%

Hands – Royal Faenhold Silk Gloves [High]

Skill +4

Rogue Soul Skill Damage +3

Belt – Faenhold Soldier Belt [High]

Strength +4

Warrior Soul Skill Cost -2%

Legs – Faenhold Knight Pants [Adequate]

Skill +2

Boots – Faenhold Soldier Boots [Adequate]

Skill +1

1h Weapon – Faenhold Shortsword [Adequate]

Vitality +2

2h Weapon –

Off Hand – Wooden Shield [Common]