Once the older dwarf, Begnik, started talking, he didn't stop... Apparently, the teen, Nelat, was Begnik's son and their family had a tradition of being guards or soldiers.

Finally, after promising to meet over some drinks later, they let us into the city. As I suspected, the whole town had a medieval feel to it. The cobblestone streets were surrounded by stone houses with the occasional wooden dwelling in their midst.

Lamp posts stood on every corner, coloring the city in dim yellow light.

Most of the citizens were already turning in for the night, leaving only a few to wander the streets, all of which were dwarves. I received more than a few curious glances from them.

For some unknown reason, the scene filled me with a strong nostalgic feeling. As if I'd just returned home after many years away.

I was just standing there, basking in the feeling, until Bassir's deep voice broke me out of my stupor: "So, what are ya planning on doing now?"

Thinking of an answer, I was feeling lost. I had kind of just gone with the flow until now. I wasn't sent here for any grand purpose, or at least I think I wasn't...

"I don't know," I answered honestly.

"Hmm yes, the 'bit lost' thing and all..." Bassir pondered: "If ya have coin, I can recommend some inns for ya."

"Well, the thing is: I don't have any money," I answered apologetically.

When I was transported, my clothing had changed from the hospital gown into a simple white cloth tunic and brown pants with leather boots and a belt. I had checked, but there wasn't anything inside the shirt's pockets.

My words caused Bassir's face to tense up a little as he considered something. Finally, after many seconds he spoke again: "Well, I can't, in good conscience, let you sleep on the streets, so you can stay at my house for a while as ya figure out what you need to do."

"Wow... Sincerely, thank you. Bassir, I'm seriously in your debt. Just ask if you need help with anything..." I was feeling a bit speechless at the man's generosity. He could clearly see I had nothing to offer him, yet he helped me get to the city and even let me stay at his house for fre-

"Now, now. Don't get so emotional. I never said it'd be free..." Bassir interrupted my thought process with a dose of reality: "You'll be working as free labor while you're staying at my place, got it?"

"Ah... Well, that's reasonable," I muttered, clearly disappointed that my idealistic views of his nature weren't so accurate.

Bassir seemed to interpret my disappointment as something else as he quickly began laughing: "Haha, kid, don't be so depressed! It'll only be some small errands! Now let's get going!"

Bassir waved me along and started walking away, still occasionally chuckling.

Just as I was about to rebuke him calling me a "kid," I remembered, I was in the body of a 21-year-old man, so I could only swallow the disrespect and follow.

We continued forward from the gate for a few blocks, after which we turned right into a smaller alley where a two-story wooden shop stood. It was built so close to the other houses there was barely even a gap in between.

"Bassir's hide and scale," read on a sign above the door.

"So, you live here?" I asked Bassir as he stopped in front of the door and pulled out keys from his pocket.

"Yup," he answered, opening the door and gesturing me inside: "Make yourself comfortable."

The inside of the shop was cozy and about 3x5 meters large. The room was divided in two by a counter. All the walls were filled with shelves full of various leathers, scales, and furs. There were also jars of teeth and claws with the occasional stack of bones. From the low ceiling hung a few filled birds, one of which was a smaller specimen of the phoenix birds.

"Wow," I said instinctively.

"Cool, isn't it! The furs really help keep the house warm during the winter," he explained as he passed me, going behind the counter into another room.

After a few seconds of me just standing there, a shout came from the other room: "Ya coming, or do ya want to sleep there?"

I quickly made it into the other room, where a kitchen/living room/dining room stood.

This room had hung up brown fur as wallpaper and a table with two chairs in one corner. In another corner, there was a stove and many cabinets. The last corner was occupied by a staircase so steep it could be called a ladder. A neatly stacked pile of firewood was tucked under the stairs. There was a big fur rug on the floor as well. This guy really had a thing for fur.

"If ya go up the stairs, there's a guest room where you'll sleep, but first, let's eat. You'll need to be in top shape for tomorrow," Bassir said, muttering the last part.

'Well, that's a bit ominous, but I'm sure it won't be too bad...'

❖❖❖

It was bad.

We had already been running for over an hour, yet Bassir, even with his short legs, was only speeding up. We passed the clear lake at the 10-minute mark and now were well into the forest.

"Come on! How can you possibly be in this bad shape?" the dwarf shouted behind him.

"I'm not in bad shape! You're just a monster!" I snapped back, wheezing in between every word.

"Haha! Fine, let's take a break!" Bassir laughed, clearly taking the jab as a compliment.

I immediately fell face-first onto the soft forest floor, gasping for air. I felt as if I was choking. Status!

A blue screen appeared a meter from my face, which in this case, meant that it was inside the ground. Apparently, it didn't matter if there was something in the way. The screen would just shine through the obstacle, which made perfect sense when you knew that the screen didn't exist but was an illusion.

Status

Human - Level 1

Name: Derek Carter

Age: 21

Sex: Male

Stats

HP 98/100 - MP 100/100 - SP 22/120

Vitality: 10

Strength: 10

Endurance: 12

Agility: 11

Perception: 11

Mind: 10

Free stat points: 0

Skills

Passive:

Linguist - MAX

Mental fortitude - Lv. 2 (new)

Active:

Guide - Lv. 1

Intimidate - Lv. 2

I had been getting several notifications as I ran, but when I'd tried to read them, I had immediately face-planted onto the ground. As it turns out, it is pretty hard to run at full speed in a forest while also reading.

From the looks of it, Endurance had leveled up 2 points and Agility 1. I was running a lot faster at the start but then got winded, and it turned into more of a marathon, so the stat point spread kinda made sense. The 2 added points in Endurance raised my Stamina Points by 20, making me believe it was a 1:10 ratio.

Also, the mental fortitude increase didn't surprise me at all. That run was hellishly tough, and my stamina was dangerously low.

I waved the status panel away and grabbed a water skin from my new backpack. Well, it wasn't mine. I was just burrowing it. Bassir had made me carry some supplies, which, to be honest, was fair.

After drinking my fill, I glanced at Bassir, and he wasn't even winded. This inhumane strength was pissing me off. Once he saw my glare, he sent back a grin, making me even more upset.

"It seems you've recovered now! Let's go! That Lurker won't hunt himself!" Bassir shouted and started running.

I resisted the urge to puke and stumbled after him...

'Hey, at least I'm getting some improvement...'