I woke up to the same light in my face. After blinking wildly a couple times to get used to the light, I got up, picked up my bar, and walked towards the door. This door seemed to also be a door that hasn’t been used in centuries, what with all the dust around it, what made it different that the iron door I had to get through was that this was a WOODEN door! I grinned from ear to ear.

Looks like the God of Fortune is with me today, am I right? I thought, before rearing up for a strong grounded, well-placed kick and straight up popped the door out of its hinges. I just watched, beyond surprised at where my confidence came from to do that as well as how it actually worked, as the door fell and slid to a stop about five feet away. Shaking my head in bewilderment at my own strength after all this time, I walked out into a large room, head lifted and chest puffed with uber-manly pride at my newfound strength, imagining a badass entrance like the mysterious escaper probably had. The room I was in had many windows, allowing sunlight to flow in non-stop. Out of curiosity on why this door wasn’t opened in forever, I walked up to it and flipped it around. My eyes widened as I read the message carved into the door: “DO NOT OPEN -- Dangerous Alchemical Ingredients Inside This Room!!!”

… And this warning actually worked and no one ever thought to open it in that long? Wow, I chuckled. After setting the door back in place to make it look like it was still intact, I turned back around.

I looked around this room and knew that I needed to do something to fit in or escape: I had no other options.

And I will not escape. First of all, I have no idea where I am. Secondly, I have nowhere to go since I only had one home and that was destroyed… Thirdly, I can only find any hope for answers to explain the attack on my town right here. And lastly, I HAVE to get revenge on some motherfuckers! I swore. So, with that decision made, I slowly opened a large double door on the other side of the room and peeked outside to make sure that there was no one there, or at least in sight. Seeing just an endless hallway with a ton of doors on both sides, I nodded and closed the doors, going back into the room.

Now, it was time to explore this lavish room. The first thing I did was check myself out in the mirror.

Damn, I’ve got to say… I’m looking fine for someone who hasn’t taken a bath in ages, I whistled, admiring my new toned, sleek body that looked more like a natural athlete than someone who spent his entire life reading books and soaking in knowledge and understanding. My slightly longer messy hair as well as my currently growing confidence in my own looks made me feel quite sexy, in my humble opinion. After emulating the God of Ego for a few minutes — flipping around my hair, flexing my now-respectable muscles, and grinning devilishly into the mirror — I quit admiring my new look and opened a nearby closet. It was filled with girl’s clothes, so I hurriedly closed it and opened another closet, which was filled with boy’s clothes. After searching through all the closets in the room, I concluded that this large miraculous room was nothing more than another clothes storage to these spoiled nobles. It even had a large bathroom with a high-class tub!

For what felt like the hundredth time, I sighed and exchanged my current exceedingly dirty clothes with some cleaner ones that also happened to be very fine, strong material suited for nobles like the Galamon. But before wearing them, I took a good long bath in the grand bathroom attached. Checking myself out in the mirror, I made sure to keep my hair the same as before, since I quite liked that look.

Damn, with these fine clothes it looks like I was born a noble! I thought. Then, out of curiosity, I looked out all the windows just to gather my bearings and I was absolutely awed at the sights. It seemed as if I was in a large, interconnected palace with a courtyard in the middle and a moat around the outside. I also saw a decent amount of servants walking around or working, wearing clothes that looked like mine.

Oh, how ironic. I thought these clothes were fit for nobles yet are only worn by their servants! Well, that is a good thing anyway since it is much easier to fit in as a random servant than as a noble that just popped out of nowhere.

Now all ready, I left the room through the double doors and started exploring all the rooms I could.

If I meet someone, my excuse would be something like “oh, I’m so sorry for barging in. I thought no on was in here and I came to clean the room.” And if they ask about the bar… I’ll say I just found it on the ground and was finding a proper place to keep it. If they don’t buy any of it, then I will have no choice but to knock them out using my bar. Wait, I’m thinking too violently. Just because I got stronger doesn’t mean I should deal with every problem using force. Though I will kill if absolutely necessary; I cannot be compromised. Ah, whatever. I’ll just improvise based on the situation, I affirmed.

If there was one aspect of myself I was proud of, it was my ability to improvise. Especially after escaping the dungeon of this very palace by hook or by crook.

Many of the rooms I went into and searched were pretty useless as they were just extra clothes storage rooms and the like. However, the thirteenth room I went into actually had a sack in one of the drawers. I opened the sack and there were 3 copper coins in there, which I must say was a pretty good haul.

At least until a couple rooms later when I found a box with literally 52 gold coins, 176 silver coins, and 279 copper coins. Yes, I actually counted. I am not ashamed to admit that my greed had taken the better of me at this particular moment. How was the box just open for me and never found yet? Well, two things.

One, it wasn’t open. It needed a key, but laughably the key in question was hidden in the same room inside a random bag in one of the closets. I would have never found it had I not meticulously searched through every little detail for any valuables.

Two, the box was never found because it was stuck inside a jammed drawer that no one bothered to unjam. That is, until me, of course. I just stuck my bar in there and pried it off no problem. Compared to the iron door that lost against my crowbar, this jammed drawer was nothing.

Now, I realized that this box was too heavy to carry around, so I just took a large bag I found in one of the other rooms and fit in all the coins, which are now mine, of course, since no one claimed them in a long time. This bag I carried over my shoulder, and now my disguise as a working servant was complete. I looked exactly like a noble family servant taking out the trash. I even put my bar inside the bag to complete the image. Even the warrior with the torch that captured me would not be able to recognize me now since I would look, dress, and act so different.

After searching a few more rooms, I found myself in what seemed like a mage’s study space, sporting some glowing orbs on a majestic looking desk, an enormous bookshelf filled to the brim, and other scrolls, diagrams, and magical items around the room. I realized that no one has been here in a while since even the servants don’t clean this room apparently. I waved away some dust and smiled, knowing I had hit jackpot. I turned around, closed the door, and grinned.

Time to read ALL THE DAMN BOOKS!!! I couldn’t contain my excitement. In my local library, there never were any books on anything that could increase one’s power, including any books on Magic, Energy Manipulation, Martial Technique, Close Combat, Ranged Combat, or anything of the sort. Of course all these topics were referred to in many books, but was never explicitly taught in any of them. That is because the wealthy nobles, royalty, and other powerful people always kept these books under wraps as much as they could. In their minds, obviously, the less people that get power, the better, and books are the fastest way of spreading knowledge. Therefore, by censoring such books, they are much more likely to keep their power. Though I understand it from a political standpoint, I would never actually do it as I believe that everyone should have a chance at getting powerful on their own merit. I don’t know why more nobles don’t come to the light and smuggle these books into commoner circles, but I guess I’ll never think like a noble.

For now, though, it was time to settle in and get comfortable. It seemed like the mage literally lived in this room, as it had a bunch of old rotten food, a water dispenser, an attached bathroom, a luxurious bed, and… actually, that’s about all you need to live in a place, right?

It’s almost as if this room was made for me: the bare necessities, a bunch of interesting objects around the room I could play around with, and books galore! I thought excitedly, before grabbing a book from the shelf called The Essence of Elemental Magic, plopping down on the bed, and starting to read while chewing on a rotten Seescent fruit from the counter.