Chapter 2 – Forgotten

Of course I run into monsters not even a minute after I start walking towards the river. Thankfully they didn’t notice me just yet.

[Gremlin] – Lvl. 2

A subspecies of Goblins. They are dumb cowards and prefer attacking in large groups.

There’s four of them in total, three at Lvl. 2 and one at Lvl. 1. They are small, gray hunched over creatures with long pointy ears and sharp fangs and nails, not as dangerous as the Corpse Eaters but they have a slight number advantage. They do look thin and frail, so perhaps a single bullet will be more than enough for them.

I tightened my grip around my rifle and finally stepped over the hill I was hiding behind to observe the four monsters, who were currently just… smashing rocks together for whatever reason. Dumb indeed.

I shook my head with a slight smile and aimed my rifle just as the Lvl. 1 Gremlin took notice of me, but I pulled the trigger before it could even scream.

Bang!

The Frost Bullet smashed into it’s shoulder with enough force to tear off it’s entire arm, causing the Gremlin to fall on it’s back and release a scream of pain as it started trashing around.

I pulled the trigger again and again, releasing two more Frost Bullets towards the nearest Gremlin. One hit it in the chest while the other one pierced through it’s throat, killing him pretty much instantly.

[Gremlin] – Lvl. 2 has been killed!

Experience has been rewarded for killing an enemy!

This finally made the other two Gremlins react, and I scoffed softly when they started running away after throwing just a glance towards me.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

[Gremlin] – Lvl. 2 has been killed!

Experience has been rewarded for killing an enemy!

I clicked my tongue softly as I lowered my rifle and walked towards the screaming Gremlin on the ground, then finished it off with a Frost Bullet through the skull. One of them managed to get away, and that’s mostly because I don’t have a good aim just yet.

I ignored the notification inside my head since I didn’t Level Up, nor did my Frost Bullet. I’m really starting to wonder if there is something else to it that I am missing, unless the requirements are just incredibly high.

I shook my head and ignored the dead corpses, then resumed my walk towards the river after throwing one last glance in the direction the other Gremlin ran. Hopefully the little monster doesn’t come back with a much bigger group, else that would truly be troublesome and annoying.

There aren’t many monsters around here for some reason, and all I see are Gremlins or some large ants called Rock Ants, some of them being even Lvl. 7 and were even bigger than the Lvl. 5 Corpse Eater that I killed some time ago. Good thing I saw very few of them around, especially since their nests are easy to notice and I can just walk around them. I doubt my bullets can get through the rocky protrusions on their bodies.

I finally reached the flowing river after a few minutes of walking, making me release a content sigh as I knelt down at the very edge and leaned forward, then blinked at my own reflection.

So that’s how I look like. I hummed to myself as I stared at the bright lilac eyes staring straight back at me through my reflection. I already knew that I had long pitch black hair, but I didn’t think that I was such a beauty.

Fair skin, beauty mark under my right eye, full cherry red lips… and a very curvaceous figure.

I frowned and grabbed a handful of my large chest and hefted it up and down with a thoughtful hum. Wouldn’t these get in the way of fighting? I’m sure that I was made for battle purposes, so why give me such a big package? Unless my purpose changed midway through the manufacturing process for some reason.

I shook my head and shrugged, then I quickly glanced around to make sure it was safe before taking off my dusty tattered shirt. It felt heavier than it should be, perhaps woven with reinforced materials as some sort of armor. It may be stupid of me to try and get a bath now in the middle of nowhere, but i can barely breathe well with all this dust on me and my clothes.

[Low Grade Armor: Reinforced Iron Silk Armor]

Once a Medium Grade set of armor, but the grade has been lowered due to time erosion. Very low durability.

As I thought, it is indeed reinforced armor. Or well, was. Right now it can be barely called armor. Just dusty rags.

I give it a few shakes to get rid of the large amounts of dust on it before setting it aside alongside my rifle, then stood up to remove my pants, which were reinforced similar to my shirt, but were instead made out of leather instead of silk, same with my boots.

I shuddered softly as I slowly stepped into the cold waters of the rivers, but I quickly got used to it and dived in before reemerging a few seconds later. I really needed this, I had that heavy dusty smell on me since I woke up and it was getting annoying.

This may not be as good as a nice soapy bath, but it’ll do for now just to wash the dust away and leave me clean for a while.

I stretched slightly with a relaxed smile before walking back to the shore, then I quickly gathered my long hair together and gave them a nice squeeze to get the majority of the water out of them. Too bad I have no way to light a fire, else I would try and catch some of the fishes swimming by.

I’m really starting to regret picking up Frost Bullet…

I shook away those thoughts with a wry smile and flapped my wings, giving them a nice shake to get the water off of them too before I took a seat beside my things and grabbed my rifle just in case anything tries to sneak up on me while I dry off.

I don’t really mind being seen naked if I am honest, but then again, there’s all kinds of people out there and some would surely try to take advantage of a naked woman in the middle of nowhere.

Luckily I didn’t need to wait long for me to dry up, so I spent that bit of time cleaning up my rifle as much as I could and with extreme care before getting dressed up again and setting off towards the forest this time, but I had to follow the river to find a spot that was good enough for me to cross over without having to swim or get wet again.

I paused as I reached the top of another small hill and looked towards the now much closer forest. Just a few more minutes of walking and I’ll be able to reach it. I think I see a paved road right in front of it too, alongside… is that a wagon?

I blink, then narrow my eyes to try and make it out better, and a smile soon spreads across my face when I notice two horses in front of it. It most definitely is a wagon, perhaps owned by a merchant, so hopefully I can hitch a ride with them.

I quickly break out in a run, my eyes narrowing when I notice how the antennae on top the heads of the Rock Ants around me snap up and twitch, making them all turn in the direction of the wagon. They are ignoring me and are instead focusing on the wagon in the distance, but why?

I notice some of them start moving in the same direction as me, but they move very slowly so I easily overtake them. The wagon grows closer and closer as I speed up, and I quickly notice that it’s not moving anymore and that there are a few Rock Ants around it, and I think I also see a man brandishing some kind of weapon to try and ward them off.

Since I’m going to fight them now I might as well Analyze one of them to see if they have any kind of weakness I can use.

[Rock Ant] – Lvl. 4

A subspecies of Killer Ants. They are peaceful creatures that live underground, but they quickly become aggressive whenever they sense any kind of tremor around them. They have a hard rocky armor around them other than over their bellies.

[Analyze] Has Leveled Up!

Good, so kick them on their back and shoot their bellies. Easier said than done, but I’ll sure as hell try it, especially since it could help me gain a lift to any nearby civilization.

I quickly lift my rifle and release a shot towards the sky, using the loud gunshot to draw some attention from the nearby Rock Ants and stop their advance towards the carriage, and I smile when it actually works, making them all pause and turn towards me as I keep on running.

“Get back on the wagon!” I call out towards the man using a large shovel to push back the four Rock Ants near him, causing him to look at me in surprise. I faintly notice a woman peeking out from within the wagon before I focus on the nearest Rock Ant and give it a vicious kick on the side to topple it over.

I wince slightly at how hard their rocky exterior is but I ignore the pain in my foot and aim my rifle towards the now exposed yellow skin beneath them.

Bang!

I ignore the notification and rush to the next one as the man finally recovers and limps back, making me notice the nasty cut near his right ankle. Good thing the Rock Ants aren’t poisonous.

The Rock Ant I was going to kick flipped towards me and clicked it’s sharp mandibles at me, but I simply unfolded my large left wing from around my legs and lashed out with enough strength behind it to topple the Rock Ant on it’s side, giving me an opening to shoot it twice just in case.

“Get on!” The man shouted from behind me, the two horses now having finally calmed down enough to let him grab the reins and have them start walking once more.

I didn’t waste anymore time and turned around to rush towards the woman at the back of the wagon since she was frantically waving for me to go to her, and one last glance behind me told me exactly why she was so agitated.

Dozens of Rock Ants are making their way over towards us, some being very big too. They are like a giant wave, but luckily they’re incredibly slow so the horses are finally able to pull the carriage forward and away from the nearest ones, but I make sure to keep a watch and stay ready for anything until we are finally out of danger.

“That was close…” I sighed softly as I lowered my rifle once I notice that the Rock Ants are stopping and turning around. I turned around and crouched low before stepping into the small wagon and slumping down against the entrance to catch my breath.

“Thank you for the help Miss.” I turned my head to meet the brown haired woman’s eyes and gave her a soft smile, then quickly took in the inside of the wagon and notice that there are quite a few sealed boxes, proving my thoughts of them being merchants.

My eyes soon landed on two children huddled up together near one of the boxes, one of them being a newborn while the other was probably a girl around ten years old.

“It’s the least I could do.” I told the woman with a friendly smile as I sat my rifle aside. “I was actually lost, so I’m glad I ran into you all.” My words caused the woman to blink in confusion at me, before her eyes slowly widened.

“Are you perhaps a ‘Forgotten’?” She asked softly, making me frown slightly. Forgotten? What’s that? “Were you perhaps within that ancient city that suddenly disappeared?” So they saw the city? I mean, it is easy to see something that big even from a distance so of course they would have.

“Yes, I was. I woke up inside that city not long ago, and then it just disappeared after I exited the gates.” I told the woman, making her nod her head as she sat down beside her children, bringing them into her embrace with a warm motherly smile. “But what do you mean by ‘Forgotten’?” I ask, folding my wings around my legs once more as I do so, and I smiled when I noticed the cute curious look the small girl has in her eyes as she stares at them.

“’Forgotten’ is the title we give to those lost to time. They have no memories…” She paused to give me a look, and I nodded to confirm her words. “And they all come from Time-Space Anomalies. This world is…” The woman grimaced softly and pulled her children closer as her eyes grew unfocused, and I couldn’t help but frown softly at that. “It’s messed up, and you’ll soon find out why on your own.” I quickly realized why she refuses to go into deeper details and just nodded gratefully at her. It’s best to not talk about these things when children are around.

“Speaking of memories, do you know your name dear?” She spoke up again after shaking her head and loosing that unfocused look in her eyes, and I faintly notice how she seems… restless. Her fingers are twitching and her leg is bobbing, as if she wants to do something but is holding herself back. “I am Meredith. This little one is Aisha, and the other one is Fredrick.” She introduced herself and the her two children with a fond smile on her face, and the Aisha gave me a shy smile and wave when she was introduced. Truly adorable.

“I am Kaera.” I introduced myself with a friendly smile before I pause as I suddenly remember something. “The man driving the carriage was injured by one of the Rock Ants, will he be alright?” Meredith blinked at my words, then her eyes suddenly narrowed dangerously. I... think I just put the man into great danger without meaning to.

“Dear, are you injured?” Meredith called out loudly, and I smiled when Aisha covered her mouth with her little hands and started snickering to herself. I’m surprised that she didn’t see his injury when she peeked out from the wagon, but he was probably out of view for her by then.

“Not at all! I’m completely fine!” Came the voice just a few seconds later, and I held back a snort when a cold smile spread across Meredith’s face while her daughter merely giggled some more. This most definitely happens quite often.

“We’ll see if you’re completely fine once we stop.” The woman snorted under her breath, and I chuckled softly at their antics.

I turn my head to stare out of the open wagon door and quickly notice that we are now within the forest. I guess the paved road leads to a nearby village or settlement, and that makes me very happy since I am famished.

Wait, I have no money! Crap!

“I just realized that I don’t have any money on me.” I sighed and ran a hand through my long hair. “Is there perhaps any way for me to gain some sort of allowance?” I decide to ask Meredith while I also make a mental note to learn more about how this world works as soon as possible.

Important things like the history of this world, and what being a ‘Forgotten’ truly entails as I believe that there is more behind it. I’d rather not ask too much from Meredith since her daughter is here, just in case there are some things that must not be said.

“Well, I’m sure you could become a Mercenary since you have a combat related Class.” I perked up when Meredith spoke, and I honestly shouldn’t really be surprised at the fact that the System is well known. To think I was even planning on keeping it hidden. “It is a dangerous job, but the Guild pays very well for each completed Quest. I probably would have become one myself, but I ended up becoming a Cook.” She snorted softly and I couldn’t help but chuckle at that.

From I do know the System grants a Class depending on what item you end up grabbing or happen to be holding in your hand, but I just don’t know when the System actually does that. Is it sudden or is it marked with age? I believe it might be sudden because otherwise everyone – or the majority of people – might aim towards gaining strong and good Classes by preparing themselves for the time when the System activates.

Still, Mercenary huh? I already had a plan of becoming one if needed, but I’m glad to hear that it’s a job that pays well. Albeit it kind of sounds like it’s different from what the Mercenaries I know, they never took these ‘Quests’ as far as I know. They were just hired, simple as that.

Perhaps it’s just me. This lack of memories is truly vexing. It’s like sometimes they are there, but then they instantly vanish the moment I try to focus on them. I’ll need to get used to the fact that so many things I know might not be common now as I don’t know how much time has passed since my time.

Hell, I’ll need to be careful with my rifle too. Some might covet it for whatever reason since it might be a rare or unique weapon, even if they won’t be able to use it.

“We’re almost there!” The man’s voice came from the head of the carriage, making Meredith visibly relax, yet she still looked restless for some reason. This is worrying me a bit, but I better not overstep my boundaries, she might just be a naturally nervous person and doesn’t know how to act around me.

It didn’t take long for us to finally enter the small village, and I couldn’t help but frown as I stared out of the small door of the wagon. The village looked incredibly decrepit and on the verge of collapse.

Old houses, some barely standing on their foundation, some already collapses. Large wooden walls that looked like they’d crumble with a touch, no guards or soldiers around, people dressed in rags everywhere and covered in dirt.

The ground was covered in mud everywhere, there was no paved road or anything like that, even in front of the houses. To not talk about the bad stench that is lingering around.

“A horrible sight isn’t it?” Meredith hummed, a small sad smile on her lips as she stroked Aisha’s head with motherly love. “Almost all villages are as deplorable as this. Only the bigger cities have better living conditions, mostly because the stronger Mercenaries are there. As for the people here?” She pointed her chin at the door of the wagon, and I gulped softly when I noticed the angry sneer on her face.

“They are all left to die.”