Boy of regrets. Desperate for a second chance. Achieve what he failed to do, no, what he didn't want to do… Let your wisdom guide you throughout your journey!
Lorian jolted up in terror, tightly gripping his stomach where the bullet had pierced. "AGHHH.. Agh…" The brown-haired boy recalled the tragic scenario before scanning his environment, trying to make sense of what was before him.
He found himself in an old room with streaks of cracked wood along the walls. A faint sense of dust lingered in the air, resembling a room that hasn't been used in ages. Lorian heard deep footsteps creak against the old wooden floor outside the room until the door swung open to reveal a hunched-back old man carrying a tray of what appeared to be potato stew with an unfamiliar meat coating the surface.
"Ah, it seems you're awake, heheh, honestly there was no telling just how much you'd sleep." Lorian scrutinized warily as the old man approached him with the tray and set the food atop the dresser just aside Lorian's head.
"Names Rodrigo Braith. I found you in the plains a little outside the town unresponsive when I was making rounds around my farm, so I brought you to my home. Heh, it's not much but…"
Rodrigo gazed at Lorians' disheveled state and continued,
"Anyways, who might you be young man?"
Found me in the plains unresponsive…?
Lorian quickly caught himself and spoke in a somber voice,
"I-I'm Lorian. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
It's best if I come off friendly. I don't know where the hell I am anyway.
"Likewise.."
Lorian surveyed the man's sheepish expression, leading him to believe he had ulterior motives.
"Heh heh, Yknow… If you appreciate my generosity, if it's not too much for this old man to ask, could you help me with a quick task around the farm when you're done eating? Nothing difficult, I promise."
There it is. Nothing is truly free, no matter which world I land in; that fact doesn't change.
"I don't mind. It's the least I can do after your generous hospitality."
Rodrigo emitted a content smile at the boy's decision and replied happily
"I greatly appreciate it. This old man doesn't get much visitation anymore, now that my glory days at the guild are long gone. Sigh, well, I suppose the farming life ain't too bad."
Guild??? You only hear of those in novels. This place, could it really be… A fantasy world?!
Rodrigo retreated to the door before opening it,
"Well then, I'll leave you to it."
And with that, he shut the door, leaving Lorian to his lonesome in the old room with nothing but the warm potato stew to keep him company.
Lorian grabbed the stew, coupled with the wooden spoon, and ate voraciously, with a million thoughts running across his head, leaving just as quickly as they entered.
He thought about what the old man had said about his glory days in a guild. If he were truly in a world where such things as guilds existed, then that would mean he had transmigrated into an unknown world. It was just like those novels he used to read in his free time when he wasn't brooding over his college predicaments. Lorian took a big spoonful of the potato stew, letting out a sigh of delight; perhaps a meal after experiencing death hit the soul more than ever before.
Man, this is unlike any potato stew I've ever eaten… Must be a recipe exclusive to this world.
He had also thought of the possibility that this might be a dream-like state and that he was in a coma from the gunshot to his chest. No, definitely not possible, considering the bullet had pierced his heart. He had felt it. If anything, god must have recognized his desperate plight and transported him to a world where he could truly live his life to the fullest. Yes, A second chance.
Lorian finished the meal and placed the bowl atop the dresser, stumbling a bit after getting up.
Seems my brain's still getting accustomed to being alive.
He walked out the door and found himself in a narrow corridor, and spotted Rodrigo outside the house plowing his field through the window. He made his way out of the ranch and proceeded onwards towards the old man.
I should ask him a bit about the meal; maybe he'll reveal something about this area I'm in.
"I have to say that was quite the meal. Is it a family recipe? I'm curious to know where you got that delicious meat from."
Lorian's question caught Rodrigo by surprise, and he chuckled before responding,
"Heh, you've got a good tongue on you. That was Dusktail Pheasant. Tricky bird — only shows itself in Moonveil Grove after dark. Used to hunt a few myself back in the day, but most folk just buy it when they can. Around Willowfen, it's something of a trademark meal. A taste of home, you could say."
Lorian, being an outsider from this world, naturally didn't know of the things Rodrigo spoke of. Dusktail Pheasant? That's unlike any bird he's known of. He said it was native to Moonveil Grove, which he assumed might be a forest near the town.
Hearing of this town Lorian decided to prod deeper, having already made up his mind to visit when he found the chance.
"Willowfen you say? Can you tell me a bit more about it?
Rodrigo found his question strange; he already knew there was something different about the boy, even compared to the usual rag-tag vagrant he crossed paths with from time to time. But to not even know the most inhabited town in this region of the Empire? It left him with an urge to know more about the mysterious youth before him.
He stuck his plow into the field and leaned into it, making a makeshift crutch.
"You're really not from around this area, are ya?..."
Rodrigo rubbed his chin with his off hand and continued
"You're on the outskirts of Willowfen Town, a settlement built by past colonialists from the Incentian Empire. It was part of an effort to expand further south to defend against enemies like the Ashmaw Tribe and the opposing Empires. Heh, granted, they only reached here since the heat further south is downright uninhabitable for normal people. Only those Ashmaw bastards are capable of living there.
"If you're interested in paying Willowfen a visit, I don't mind accompanying you. I have some ole business there I've been puttin off anyway."
Lorian felt a bit of relief not having to bring up the matter himself,
"Yes I'd like that."
Rodrigo picked up his plow with a heave and replied.
"Well then, just stay here while I go tidy myself up inside. Won't take long."
Having said that, he walked back into the cabin, leaving Lorian to contemplate the new information he had just received. It seems I've found myself in the Incenian Empire. Judging from what Rodrigo said, there seem to be opposing factions in conflict with one another in this world. It's too soon to judge, but from what he said, this Empire seems to be like one I would read about in the history books on earth, colonialist empires and barbarians… A truly interesting world!... I'll have to use this opportunity to learn even more at Willowfen and perhaps find out which role I should take in this new world.
Lorian clutched his shirt where he had suffered the fatal blow in his previous life, and a wretched smile was plastered on his face. This won't be like before. A life of good, a life of evil, all that means nothing! I will walk my own path regardless of what others will think. And if any plan to intervene, then hmph, I won't show mercy.