“The battle?!”

 I woke up gasping. Wait which battle was it again?

Actually where am I? Looking around I it looks like a hut made of wooden logs.

Wait a second who am I? I look at myself. I have toned muscles, not to the level of Arnie but they are there. I can also feel mana flowing inside my body; I try moving it around a little. It seems I’m capable of at least basic mana manipulation. Because I’m sitting I don’t know how tall I am but I would hazard I’m somewhere in the vicinity of 1.80 meters. Of course I can’t see my face but I’m sure I’ll need a mask because of how handsome I am… who am I kidding I probably have an average face. Feeling it with my hands doesn’t give me a clear image. Speaking about my hands; on the ring finger of my left hand there’s a gold ring. It seems to have some letters carved on it; the letters are “E.K.3rd.M.C.Prudan”

Okay let’s start with what I know 3rd that’s what comes after 2nd great. I made the most useless observation in the history of Glist. Glist is the name of the world by the way but who doesn’t know that.

Well back to the point I see a name among the letters perhaps that’s my name and the rest are my surnames. Would that make me a noble? Or maybe that’s the name of the manufacturer. Well either way it’s my name now.

Having decided on my name; I went back to answering my second question. Where am I? Now I pay more attention to my surroundings. I seem to be on top of a bed there are some bandages on the floor. I can feel the unmistakable aroma of meat being roasted. Drawn by the fragrance I look in the direction of its origin.

Then I saw it, that which I shouldn’t have seen. A monster as tall as a mountain, its back as wide as the sky, with raven black fur. There was no way that was a human. That is most definitely a bear.

Bears are smart animals it wouldn’t be strange for one to learn how to cook. Wait is it cooking for me or going to cook me…

While I was lost deep in my delusions the bear turned towards me. It flashed a smile and said:

“Oh, you are awake” {bear}

It spoke; then again bears are very smart…

Maybe it’s time I face reality and admit this titanic living being is a person.

Ignoring my surprised expression it/he continued.

“My daughter and I found you unconscious and badly wounded by the river bed; you were clinging to that mace over there like your life depended on it” {bear}

Following the fingers that pointed towards a corner of the room I could see a 60cm flanged mace. It appears to be mine, maybe I stole it? I don’t know and like with the name now it too is mine.

“Fortunately my wife has a light aura which made healing you easy” {bear}

Auras huh I seem to remember people with light auras had an easier time learning healing and protection magic. I wonder what my aura is like.

“But where are my manners I’m Roloth but most people call me bear” {Ro}

He said while brandishing a smile so bright my eyes started hurting, and here I was thinking he was some wild, yet highly intelligent, beast.

“Although my memory seems to have some blank spaces; my name is Prudan” {Pr}

Well it doesn’t have some blank spaces I can’t recall anything other than practical knowledge.

“Ah, that is a rare name for a young man like you, that name was very popular seventy years ago. I bet there’s not a single man from that generation that was not called Prudan” {Ro}

So according to Roloth the name I chose is popular old man name well whatever. I hope I don’t stand out too much.

“Do you know why it was so popular?”{Pr}

Feeling curious I asked, that way I could also get some info on the region.

“70 years ago there was a great battle on the river crossing of Emot river; Prudan was the legendary hero who single-handedly destroyed the coalition army or so the tale goes”

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I see so a lot of boys got named after the hero of a battle seventy years ago. As if naming him like the hero will make the boy more courageous or something. I can clearly imagine a conversation between boys on those days would have been a nightmare.

Boy1- Hey Prudan wanna go to Prudan’s house?

Boy2- Sure thing Prudan.

Man what a nightmare.

While my thoughts wander in a weird direction Roloth asked me a question that brought me back to reality.

“So are you an adventurer or a mercenary? Your body has too many scars to be that of a merchant or a craftsman.”{Ro}

Well right now I’m nothing, a blank slate if you will. So why not, I’ll become an adventurer and live as freely as humanly possible. I’ve always been carefree from the moment of my first memory until now (which was 15 minutes at most). That being said I don’t have the faintest idea of how to become one and what one does.

“I might become one; I don’t have any memories so any profession is good” {Pr}

Oops the truth slipped out well I don’t think he’ll care. Now then how do I become an adventurer?

“So you remember nothing huh? Well, you’ll have to get a permit from the guard in town. I’ll take you tomorrow as I have to sell some pelts” {Ro}

Well that answers that.

All this time I had been seated on the bed, but my legs were starting to feel numb. I wanted to walk. I checked under the covers to see if I was naked; fortunately I had pants on. I stood up and stretched a little.

“Do you have some clothes and or shoes I can use?”{Pr}

Although I had pants my chest was bare, same with my feet. Roloth pointed to a mended green gambeson and a pair of boots.

“You had those on when we found you. My wife mended the gambeson there were cuts here and there” {Ro}

Here and there was a little bit of an understatement. The gambeson had so many patches it looked like a cow, a military kind of cow given that the patches formed a kind of camouflage pattern. But you don’t a gifted horse’s mouth and you don’t look at a mended gambeson’s patches.

“Also where is the river?”{Pr}

I want to know what my face looks like, the reflection on the river should give me enough of an idea. I will also use the outing to test my abilities a little.

“Walk while heading east and it should be a 15 minute walk.”{Ro}

I picked up the mace resting on the wall. It had Palma Solaris carved on it. Somehow those words had a lonely and melancholic feel to them. Could it had been the name of my lover before I lost my memory; I guess I’ll never know. Without minding too much I went outside.

I gave the mace a few swings, it felt balanced and powerful. I was in good shape at least in this department. Next let’s cast a spell. I begin concentrating mana on my left hand once I feel I have enough I picture a ball of water flying out of my hand. Puff a water ball flew a couple of meters and hit the ground. Well missile type magic is simple all you do is gather mana, give it an element and an image and you are done for the most part. It’s relatively basic. That said the hardest part is mana manipulation as it is the moving of energies inside your body. More advanced magic requires increased levels of concentration which I don’t have the energy of achieving. I’ll leave the studying to the scholars.

I started to walk in the direction of the river. Please spirits, gods anything don’t let me have a bad face. As I approached the river my anxiety rose, well nothing ventured anything gained. I gathered my courage and saw my reflection in the water. Brown eyes, brown with flashes of red short hair, a typical western European face. I had a face so unremarkable that its lack of a prominent feature might have been its most prominent feature. At least I don’t have the face of a monster. Sadly I won’t be capturing the heart of any maiden either.