Currently standing inside an Orc fortress with his mother's kitchen knife.It must seem funny to him, the orc leader was crawling away from Joshua while he had a kitchen knife.

"Human! Why!? Why did you kill Orc kind?!" The orc leader spoke, crawling over to the wall. Leaning on it as Joshua slashed its limbs off.

"You killed my family. Only fair if I killed yours." Joshua said as he stabbed the neck of the Orc, pulling the blade slowly as Joshua's eyes met with it. He did not look away or blink or even be distracted by whatever the Orc spoke. Looting the same items of the Orc leader, including an item called 'Hint'.

Hint

The Garden of Thorns.

It can only be given to the seedlings that have reached the maturity.

For how can one have a garden, if the soil is in poor condition?

How can you provide nourishment for a tree without the right items?

Can you quench its thirst without water?

These nourishments are vital to ensure that you become inheritor to the Garden of Thorns.

For the Garden of Thorns chooses its master.

And to the one who has looked upon this.

You are the selected master.

The Garden of Thorns? What was it supposed to be? Joshua walked through the fortress. Seeing the corpses of orckin that had their bodies torn apart by his mother's kitchen knife. Who knew that a simple kitchen knife would be used as a means to fight through them all? Did not matter women or children but they were all highlighted in red. It felt different, like the shock of killing was lost to him. He didn't even hesitate when he cut them all open. It was odd and it was something that he never knew that he could get used to. It felt like Joshua had turned into someone else or something else. He didn't feel human at all. He should be screaming, he should be shouting and crying for all of this to end.

Yet, here he was. A calm that was unnatural and it seemed so easy for him. A normal person would be shocked, would be terrified and would be unsure if this was the right thing to do? He needed to look around for more details. The hint was very vague, but Joshua walked out the fortress that the orcs called their home.

Now walking to a nearby gun store, Joshua needed to stock up on ammo. He can't hold any other weapon aside from the ones that had the name of his family. Taking the shotgun shells that was abundant, including pouches for the shotgun shells. Even noticing the model of his sister's shotgun, Cass Regret was modeled after the Remington V3 Tactical Competition, it also had a hefty price tag with the words 'Customized for Cass Gates' So the shotgun that was in his hand, it was something Cass had for herself.

Then he looked at the number of magazines for the rifle. He had to look for the ones that fit 5.56, not just grab any other magazine if not it wouldn't fit. After sorting that out, putting it into his bag, Joshua went ahead to look for more magazines. Finding boxes of ammunition that he could use and carry around, those things were important. Then finding speedloaders and moonclips for the revolver. He did see a weapon by the desk.

Priest Alex's Blessings.

A pistol that came from the priest that has watched over the seedling.

"Oh dear lords above, can you at least make it easier on this child? Even just a bit?"

"I hope that his baptism is done properly. I was sick the day they did it."

Attack Power 30 Range 100 meters Capacity 17 bullets++ Ammo 9mm

Priest Alex was a Priest who spoke in kind words, and was kind to Joshua. Joshua looked at the pistol, then seeing a similar pistol next to it. A Glock 17 that was different from its basic counterpart. Serrated slides? Window cuts? A magwell? Stippling? A lot of the words made no sense to Joshua but perhaps it was a sign that he needed to learn more about the world. There were books for him to read inside the gunshop. Even an SD card that was filled with 'Reload Tips For Beginners'. Joshua put the SD Card in his phone. Taking multiple things with him. Extra pistol magazines, base plates? Speed loaders for the magazines and more instructional tips for him to look through. A good find in this gunshop, Joshua stepped out as he held Priest Alex's Blessings. So far there was nothing outside, Joshua continued trekking through where he found black elves that were hiding in the buildings. The words over their head 'Black Elven Mage' was an indicator of their classses. Mage, archers, musketeer, swordsman, warrior and spearman. Such words were there yet, their names were not in red. Their names were in white, that was something Joshua had not seen. The system itself did not explain what the change to the colour was and it took a while for Joshua to even see the names above their heads.

He only knew that Red was bad.

Normally Joshua would take cover and prepare himself to fight but the Black Elves seem to be different. From his previous encounters, they were smart and used tactics. The melee ones will approach him head on while the others went for Joshua's limbs. They toy with their prey and kill them with efficiency. Yet, they stood still as statues. Avoiding meeting Joshua's eyes, it was bizarre. Walking through the middle of the street as he heard voices. The Elves were speaking their own language and the system responded.

Unable to translate what is being said due to low INT.

That was the pop up appeared in front of him. Holding the pistol in hand was a form of comfort, the revolver was a bit heavy and it was meant for anything that was big and deadly. Having a pistol helps to lessen that burden by limiting it to injuring targets and snapping back to aim was easier. Lighter gun, lighter caliber and lighter damage but it would help Joshua in his current situation. Since he was moving in an urban environment most of the time. What he heard from his brother was something along the lines off, when moving in tight spaces. A pistol is a blessing than a rifle.

The pistol may not punch hard like a rifle, but there's a lot more options with it. The current situation made Joshua feel like they are giving him the path. They hid in the shadows, not a single one of the Black Elves were letting their presence be known.

Moving out of their territory, Joshua headed back to the park. It was untouched, perhaps the many creatures that died in his hands by this park had served as a warning to ward off most of tthe others. He had found a laptop with a plug socket in one of his other escapades. Joshua played the videos in the SD card. Learning some new techniques on reloads. One handed reloads, fast competition reloads. Positioning magazines to his belt set up. Apparently the set up changes with his gear. Something useful as when Joshua swapped to Barton's Burden, he could set the kit up for the rifle. Giving Joshua seamless options and to transition from weapon to weapon would be easier. But he cannot use two weapons at the moment which may be a downside but swapping weapons would be faster.

In Joshua's experience, if he cannot reload in time. Swapping to another weapon was faster. There was a catch, though all the weapons would be reloaded. The guns have a tendency to jam frequently in that state. Joshua does not know why, but it tends to happen. As Joshua watched the videos he would try and practice what they showed. From tactical reloads, to competition reloads that were meant to be fast and to let him return back on target.

It was tedious, he kept at it until his hands were sore and limbs were tired. Stopping to take a break, this time grilling more of the Orc meat. He lost track of time, but everyday would be a different sight. Nothing stays the same and at the very least, every day would be interesting. Though Joshua could see that his body was different. It was not as lanky as before, instead it was a bit more athletic. Though he was riddled with scars, Joshua was still stuck in this place. Still not understanding what the Garden of Thorn is. Not even a grasp of it. Something fell in front of him.

'Hint 2' was deciphered.

The Garden of Thorns.

Crimson on the top, thorns in between.

Clear glass above and stained glass below.

Clean water above and dirty wood between.

Cleaving winds and broken glass.

Gather the item, then find me.

That was the hint, Joshua was more confused. What kind of hint is this? It left Joshua more perplexed by the minute. He kept reading each line carefully. Taking it word for word, what does it mean? Did it mean literally or metaphorically? Such questions were important to ask himself. This hint felt more like a riddle than a clue.

"Gather the item, then find me? What is the item and what is the find me?" Those words had Joshua confused as he tried to piece things together. This was going to need some thinking but enough of that. Joshua went to sleep first. Covering himself in thick manticore hide to ward off the coldness of the nights.

The next day, Joshua woke up. Went for a quick bath, then proceeded to the nearby shopping mall. Seems like the electricity was on, he could see boutiques and various other shops. Even toiletries, this was a good time for Joshua to check in. In his path there were a few manticores but they seemed to be shifting away from Joshua. This was quite peculiar, Joshua does not know why because he's used to seeing such creatures with the red highlight to their names but now it seems he has found more of white highlights instead.

Not that was a big problem, Joshua had another concern. He smelled bad and he needed to find toiletries. Finding some of the shampoo, shower gels and even some facial cleansing products. His face was dirty and oily, he could even see a bit of his teeth being a bit yellow. Perhaps it was due to the fact that he was too busy thinking about surviving and not thinking about living. This shopping mall may be a good spot to stay for a while. The shops though had bodies of humans on some, they had a variety. From furniture, boutique and restaurants. Some more things he could use.

Joshua continued moving where he found an arcade. Most of the game still work. On the rail shooters like 'Clock Disasters' up to turret games like 'Baja Guns' and even racing games. Though what caught his eye was a claw game machine with a blue teddy bear in it. No money in his pockets, considering he was too busy killing everything. Finding some coins by the counter to use.

Something to relax his mind. Unwinding is important in situations like this. He cannot just stay panicked forever, it may leave his mind fatigued and be insane. Too much stress was bad and even this rigged claw game was a blessing. Even though Joshua lost 10 times, he managed to get that teddy bear and hugged it tightly. It was the size of his palm with a hook at the top of its head to attach to a bag.

Joshua then proceeded to a hobby shop that was combined with card games and entertainment consoles. Looking at the various game consoles that were available. The TV works, and even the variety of games that was there. He could even use the shutters to protect himself. He had an idea, why not go and get a mattress? Then some snacks?So that's what he did. Joshua went downstairs, seeing the elves and black elves just moving about. They were clearly staring at him and their names were all in white. They were looking at everything and perhaps this was bizarre even for them. He heard a few of them giggling as they slept on the mattress, some of them were sleeping on the display beds.

Joshua found some barbequed flavoured potato chips, then grabbing some bottles of alcohol. There was no one to stop him, and no one to prevent him from enjoying it anyway.

With his haul, he headed up to the hobby shop. Putting his stuff there, and grabbed a mattress from the shop opposite of it. Flicking the cork off the wine, Joshua then switched on the TV. Where there was streaming services for movies up to 2031. He decided to binge watch some fantasy movies. 'Master of Rings' and 'Game of Swords.' to space operas such as 'Black Stars'.

Just watching these movies brought a sense of familiarity to Joshua. Remembering how much love and care they brought as his family had their movie nights. Joshua wasn't rich, he had a roof over his head but never had the time to enjoy things like people do. Once he was done with the food and felt like he needed something to do before he slept. Joshua went to a nearby bookstore. Seeing a few goblins that were playing cards in it. They reminded Joshua of a painting of animals playing poker. Their names were all in white and they did not bother Joshua, so Joshua went in to get a pen and a journal.

Then heading back to the hobby shop, finding a toilet and a shower at the back of it. Now that's convenient. He lowered the shutters, and went to take a shower. This kind of thing actually helps with one's sanity but there was another problem. Human connection, Joshua did not have that. Whatever, he will have to write his thoughts in the journal anyway.

The shower with hot water was amazing. To think Joshua would be excited for hot water, even more excited to use some toiletries. Deep scrubbing his body and ending it with brushing his teeth. Something that helped him calm down and regain his sanity. Now that was convenient.