《An old man's new world》Chapter 4 - Hell
Advertisement
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."
Advertisement
"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.
Advertisement
"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...'
Advertisement
I Reincarnated as an Alien Monster
Kikuchi Yukiko, died at age 24 because of brain cancer. When he reached Heaven, "God" told him about the reincarnation cycle and told him to live a new life in another world. He just went along the flow and accepted, just before he was told that his reincarnation body would be set as random. Hoping not to be a lowly worm in the next world, he spun the Wheel of Life and ended up chosen as a [Monster].
8 113Khaldir's Observer
Markus Kuberski, a 21-year-old mechanical engineering student at the Vienna University of Technology and a weeb, is bored by life. He has no girlfriend he cannot meet up with his friends because there is another Covid-lockdown and getting a side-job is also unsuccessful. Therefore, he has started to write a web novel. “If I cannot be the main character with magical powers and a harem full of cute girls in real life then I will create my own universe and be its protagonist.” Although that has been his first thought, he neither dare to use himself as the main character’s template nor write a harem story. “I am not that desperate!” he muses to himself. Little does he know that he will get more than he asked for when a mighty existence becomes interested in his story and makes it a reality. Hello, this is my first attempt at creating something like a novel. English is also not my native language, so expect some grammar and punctuation issues. I am using Grammarly to help myself in this regard, but in some areas, the free app cannot correct everything.There is currently no fixed schedule, although I believe that two chapters per week should be reasonable. Depending on how much time I have, I can write more.
8 157Reincarnated as the goddess of the sea.
A new goddess creates her first world. To run the world she needs help, she gets this help by reincarnating three people into the three nature goddesses of the sea, land and sky. Follow as the protagonist learns what it is like to be the goddess of the sea in this new world. Any feedback is appreciated. Cover made by Maze_Runner on Scribblehub. Originally posted on scribblehub under the same title and author name.
8 120Between War and Magic
In this world of magic and war, death is common place, the only ones who can safely survive are those who command and understand magic. Rayen is an orphan kid of humble origins whose goal is to become a great mage. To achieve this he must adventure around the mysterious world and meet a lot of interesting people and places. But unprecedented changes are about to occur. Changes that will shake the world and bring dangers by which not even the best mages will be safe anymore. And he will be in the center of it all. Will he be able to survive? Will he become a great mage?
8 134So What If I'm Trash? Who Needs Cultivation?!
Qing Shan Long. They say he isn't human. An escaped experiment from some government facility, a reincarnation of a saint, a freakish superhuman. Whatever he was one thing was clear. Be it Music, Martial Arts, Science, whatever he does he excels. He was a whimsical man. A great man. A man who craving for knowledge and excitement knows no bounds, whose collection of books and personal library would even make Alexander the Great green with envy. He donated to all manners of charities and funded many projects for helping the poor and disabled. A self made man who single handedly founded one of the largest corporations in the world, Wen Qu Technologies, whose influences reach from vast fields of expertise. From objects of war such as the newest aircrafts, droids, and body armor; to life saving medicine and vaccines; to even the mundane such as video games and the fast food industry. A legendary example of determination and hard work. He was in his car being driven to a business meeting to disclose a deal that would help ensure the country could have access to clean energy and help reduce the pollution that has been plaguing his homeland for the past millenia when he was assassinated and woke up in a strange new world. How will Qing Shan deal with his new environment where the strong suppresses the weak? From the top of the world he suddenly finds himself free falling to rock bottom. Unable to cultivate, a weak body, and all but disowned by his family. (For those who read comics and watch cartoons, imagine him as being Tony Stark, Richard Reeds, Jimmy Neutron, etc level of 'Genius'. ) My own spin on some familar tropes. Another reincarnation into another world story. The MC will take over the body of someone with a trash body that can't cultivate and will be hated and neglected by his family. Pretty typical so far right? Except there won't be some amazing miracle to heal our MC, there isn't some magical grandpa to teach him some OP thing which only his trash body can use, there isn't a hidden op bloodline, and he is not from a super amazing assassin clan or genius doctor. He isn't the chosen one, he's just a guy trying his best to make something with a crap situation. First attempt at a wuxia type story! I like playing with common tropes, maybe adding a twist, to playing it straight as a classic. I have absolutely no idea where this is going to take me but please do give your input and I'll do my best so that everyone has a say in where our journey will go. I'll admit the only knowledge I have of chinese history and ancient society is from reading light novels translated to english and some old dramas, so if I make some social passe just take it as because this is another world, not exactly an AU where magic and stuff actually exist. I'm also not actually Chinese and will basically using google to help me with names and other such, if I make a mistake please let me know! (Even if you don't like the story or couldn't bare to get past chapter 1 please leave a comment so I can find out where to improve, thank you!)
8 92Pineapple Awards - by Avneet Kaur {CLOSED}
Awards Awards AwardsWanna show the world who you really are through your books 📚 Pineapple Awards By Avni ♥️
8 62