Chapter 1: Arthur
Gawoo... Gawoo... Gawoo... In a blue sky burned by the sun, a group of crows were circling and screaming. Their eyes were watching the corpse lying on a barren red land, as if it were a feast waiting to be devoured. Beside the corpse, a black medieval-looking carriage had crashed into a huge reddish-sandy rock.
One of the crows descended toward the corpse's hand and began pecking it slowly. Suddenly… the fingers twitched. Then moved. And the closed eyes shook, as if forcibly summoned to life.
—--------
John:
In a flash, my eyes opened and I quickly lifted the upper part of my body. Cold sweat ran down my forehead. Then I raised my hand to cover my face, leaving only my eyes to scan the place in astonishment.
"What the hell…? Where am I? I remember that I… Argh!… What?" Suddenly a painful sensation struck my mind, making me roll on the ground like a madman for a while.
After a while the pain stopped and I took a deep breath, and stood up with difficulty, sweat dripping from me, while new information was flowing into my mind.
"It seems… that I died, and was revived in this body… just like in the fantasy stories I used to read."
The name of the previous owner of this body was "Arthur," a son of one of the great families in the nearby city. I moved toward the wrecked carriage to inspect it:
"Hmmm… What happened here? I don't remember. Arghhh… the sun is really burning hot here." I raised my hand and began to search for a cover to protect my head. After not a long search I found a cover, wrapped it around myself and looked around me, then looked at the wheel tracks of the carriage. Without much thought I followed the tracks through the sands in a chance for survival.
In the middle of the barren desert, with the fierce wind scattering dust, there was a body staggering as if it would collapse with every step. His lips were as dry as the ground.
I frowned: "How much do I have to walk? Is the city still far away? I refuse to give up and die here."
I walked staggering, like an old man leaning on his cane, my back bent, my face pale, my eyes dark like a lifeless body. The cracks increased on my lips, and my skin reddened from the burning sun. I smiled a faint smile and said to myself sarcastically:
"Will I die…? What a ridiculous end."
After more hours of walking, my steps were slower and heavier. My legs dragged barely, and my strength was draining. In unawareness my leg hit a rock, and I fell on my face in the sand, my nose filling with dirt and reddened from the blow. I tried to lift myself, but my body refused to obey.
"It seems… I will really die… I didn't reach the city in the end…"
Before my eyelids completely closed, I glimpsed a square-shaped thing in front of my face, blackish-gray, with strange writings on it.
[Assistant System]
[You have met the requirements to activate your ability]
[Your Body Learns]
[It is foolish to walk in a desert without water, and from that you learned an important lesson for which you will be rewarded]
[Skill]
[I Am Not Thirsty (Level 1)]
[Description: Reduces water consumption by your body, for fools like you]
[Level 1 —> Level 2
Requirements: Do not drink water for three days]
"Haha… What is this? A skill? An ability? An assistant system? I don't have time for this, I need sleep." Then I went into deep sleep.
—----
And in another place of the desert, a cloud of dust rose. A luxurious carriage drawn by strong horses, decorated with beautiful ornaments and shiny golden lines. On the driver's seat sat a man covered with a brown robe protecting him from the sun and dust, and beside him another wearing armor full of scratches, a sword hanging at his waist, his face covered with a light veil. He looked like an experienced mercenary, guarding the carriage and repelling dangers.
And while the carriage was moving, the mercenary spotted something mysterious on the sand from afar. He ordered the driver to stop immediately, and jumped from the carriage quickly to check.
—-------
Merchant:
Inside the carriage, sat a thin man, not fat but overflowing with authority. "Why did we stop?!" Angry at the sudden stop, I shouted at the driver. He came to me quickly: "Sir, the mercenary ordered me to stop."
"And why?!" I interrogated him after his answer. The driver replied: "He found a fallen person nearby…"
"Where is the mercenary? Send him to me immediately."
After minutes of waiting, the mercenary returned carrying on his back a pale body. Upon seeing him, I burst in a scream:
"You fool! Why did you bring a corpse here?! And do you act without my orders?! Didn't I hire you to guard me, not to collect the dead?!"
But the mercenary answered steadily:
"Sir… he is still alive. Do you order me to leave him to die like this?!"
Veins appeared on my forehead, and I clenched my teeth together.
"You… you! And what if he is alive? Hmmm?!"
I stopped suddenly. This face, I think I've seen it before. Don't tell me hahaha.
"Oh…? Well then… good job. Bring him into the carriage immediately. Put him beside me. And move quickly."
I am very happy, this is really my lucky day.
"Yes, sir." Then he placed him before me inside the carriage and returned, and the journey continued.
I brought some water and sprinkled it on his face. The young man woke up, panting heavily, his hand on his chest.
"Here you are awake!… It seems you have suffered a lot, at least from the way you rose I can tell."
The young man sat quietly after catching his breath, adjusted his sitting on the opposite seat and said in a deep voice:
"Thank you for saving my life… I am indebted to you."
I laughed lightly. "No need for thanks. It was just coincidence… your good luck that I found you lying on the ground before the sands swallowed you."
A faint smile appeared on the young man's face, as if the tension was beginning to fade. Then a short silence prevailed between us.
"You must be thirsty, here's water." I pointed with my hand toward the jug on the table between us.
The young man quickly extended his hand and snatched the jug, then drank from it madly, like one who hadn't tasted water for days. He didn't care for table manners or the gaze of his host, but drank to the last drop.
I looked at him in astonishment.
"Sorry… I couldn't control myself. Thirst made me forget even the simplest manners… haha." The young man apologized.
"Never mind… I understand your situation well."
I saw relief a little on the young man's heart after those words.
"What is your name?"
"I am Arthur… Arthur Field, from the Field family."
I froze in my place and changed my voice, to seem shocked but I already knew it was Arthur Field.
"I didn't expect you are from the Fields… forgive me if I offended you."
Arthur watched my reaction with a light smile, for he expected such fear. He said in a calming tone:
"It's okay… didn't I say you saved my life? The important thing… who are you?"
I stammered a little saying: "I am David Stonebeck… just a simple merchant, on my way to your city for trade purposes."
—---
Arthur:
I sighed, feeling for the first time since I woke up a sense of reassurance. My mind went back for moments to the recent past: the harsh life I lived in my previous world, endless toil and sleeplessness, then an early death before I could taste any girl. But fate gave me a second chance, in a world where I own a strong and wealthy family.
I looked at David, with his brown clothes striped with golden edges.
"Well David, since we are on the same road, leave aside titles like sir and such… you saved my life, and that is enough for you to be a brother to me from now on."
David's face shone with joy as he said enthusiastically:
"As you wish… young master Arthur!"
I frowned and said coldly: "Hmm?"
David laughed nervously. "As you wish Master Arthur."
"That's good." I laughed a muffled laugh in my heart.
And so an hour or two passed full of talk and laughter, until I suddenly turned to the window, my eyes widening in astonishment.
David followed where I looked and said: "Here we are approaching the city."
But wait isn't it a little strange?
"Strange… weren't we just now in a barren land and a hellish lifeless heat? How did it suddenly turn into a green forest, full of animals and grass?"
David smiled slyly and answered:
"It is said that a great battle took place here long ago, between a king and a giant dragon. The barren desert is nothing but the trace of that battle. But no one knows if the dragon really existed… the king never returned from there."
He raised his finger upward and continued in a realistic tone:
"The truth? It is nothing but veins of fiery mana under the ground, emitting heat that devours life around it. Just a logical explanation no more. As for dragon tales… they are just myths."
He sighed as he added:
"But your luck was good… if any monsters had appeared to you, my saving you wouldn't have helped."
Speaking of that, before I lost consciousness, a strange screen appeared before me that seemed like an assistant system for me in this world or what?
[More precisely I am the assistant system that came with the activation of your ability, due to its complexity]
What? I looked at the gray screen and the writing on it with great astonishment.
[Yes I am an assistant system, not a cheat system as you expect, and between brackets I know that you came from another world]
[Look at your statistics]
[Status]
[Name & Surname: Arthur Field
Race: Human
Ability: Learning]
[Properties:
– Strength: 3
– Agility: 5
– Defense (Vitality, Resistance): 4
– Intelligence (mana): 10]
[Skills:
– [I'm Not Thirsty (level 1)]]
[As you see your ability is learning, I am just an assistant to help you learn your ability]
"Hmmm are you listening to me young master Arthur?"
Damn I forgot about him and drifted with the system.
"Interesting… thank you for the explanation David."
The merchant replied with a wide smile:
"I am always at your service."
And as I was checking the system and its properties I found it wonderful and annoying at the same time. It can read thoughts. Ah I forgot.
[Yes I read what you are thinking now, if it is annoying I can delete myself. What do you think?]
I apologized, I didn't mean it, cold sweat appeared on my back from his words.
After a while I learned that it can answer me on everything I want. For example, hey system I want to know how much time remains to raise the next level in the skill [I'm Not Thirsty (level 1)].
[2 days 20 hours 52 minutes]
Thank you assistant system.
[Always welcome, always at service]
"Here is the city… within sight!" David spoke.
I approached and looked, and I saw a great city surrounded by towering walls, topped with four huge gates from the four sides. In front of it extended farmlands rich in crops, and on its edges small houses of straw and wood, shelter for the poor not allowed to live inside the walls. And on the side of the wall flowed a wide river carrying large ships without obstacle, connected by wooden bridges to houses on the bank.
The road leading to the gate was filled with carriages and people. Until the carriage I was in with David lined up in a long row. From the window, I glimpsed a big sign above the gate written on it in ornate script: "City of Midnight."
Carriage after carriage passed until our carriage moved toward the gate guards.
David took out from his pocket a sealed letter to give it to his driver.
"Deliver it to the guard… so it reaches the one whose name is written on it."
I didn't understand the meaning of his words deliver it to the name written on it but I assume he has a business since he is a merchant after all. Doesn't matter, I am a young master of this city, impossible the guard will recognize me. I won't appear until David fails. And indeed the gate was opened immediately without inspection or tax demand.