Richard woke up feeling sore, but like he had the best sleep of his life. Happy he did not have any bizarre dreams to traumatize him. He blinked looking up. His head was resting on a soft pillow. He looked around and noticed he was in a large bed.

He sat up and felt dizzy at first.

He saw that he missed numerous system notifications. But he was feeling very thirsty and hungry.

"Where am I?" he asked himself.

Then he remembered the fight. He remembered the brutal battle.

The first battle he had ever experienced. It was his first time fighting another person to save his life. He couldn't remember if he won or if he lost. He noted that he was not dead and he was in a bed. So obviously someone came to rescue them.

He was sitting on a bed in a room accompanied by a dozen other beds. The smell of herbs and medicine was pungent.

Hilda walked into the room and smiled warmly at him. She wore a white dress with a blue sash tied around her waist. Her arms were crossed as she approached him.

He was looking at the beds seeing both of the lizardman guards bandaged and sleeping. He noted that the arrow was no longer sticking out of Bostars leg.

"Richard?" she asked when she noticed I did not respond.

"Yeah, sorry. I'm just a bit dazed." I said as I looked at her. "Um, who are you? Where am I?" I asked not remembering how I got here.

She responded in a language I couldn't comprehend. I had no idea what she said.

"I don't understand you." I apologized.

Hilda sighed and then acted like she remembered something. She left and came back with a tunic a faded white tunic that looked similar to mine. I looked at her in confusion.

I looked down realizing I did not have my shirt on, I also had different trousers. these were a different shade of brown than my normal pair.

I realize that is my shirt, and I don't understand what is going on.

Hilda put the tunic on me rather than just handing it to me.

"Can you understand me better now?" she asked

Now I could understand her fine. I was perplexed at what just happened.

"Richard can you understand me now?" she asked saying my name perfectly.

I wonder if there is something special about my shirt. I wonder if it is how I can understand the local language. I feel a bit of dread if that is the case.

"That is a very unique piece of clothing you have there. Has a Linguist Enchantment on it. I don't know why anyone would put such an enchantment on a fragile piece of clothing like that but it is none of my business." she says shaking her head

"I can understand you perfectly now. What do you mean Linguist enchantment?" I ask looking at my shirt.

"Well, I don't know much about enchantments. it is far from my expertise as I am simply a healer. but from what I know about the Linguist enchantment, it allows you to speak other languages. From what I am told, this enchantment is exclusively for the Alnathian language."

she says. " Or at least that is what I am told."

"You're telling me that my shirt has an enchantment that lets me speak your language?" I ask hopefully.

"Yes. but unfortunately, I cannot tell you how it works. It's beyond my knowledge." she replies shaking her head.

"You are lucky most of the damage to it was easily fixed, if it was destroyed you may have found yourself in a difficult bind if you don't know the Alnathian language."

"Thanks for repairing it."

"Oh don't thank me. It was one of the village guards that repaired it," she says.

"What?"

"It seems he knew how to repair it he was the one who figured out it was enchanted. I had thrown it in the pile of ruined clothing for it to be burned when he pulled it out. He repaired it and brought it here to me."

She explains.

"So what happened to me I can't remember."

She smiled and shook her head. "You've been unconscious for two days. You were lucky that you had a healer nearby who recognized your wounds right away and applied the proper treatment. "

Two days? was I that badly wounded? Why didn't I wake up sooner?

"What happened?" I asked with concern.

"Well, you were involved in a fight with some bandits. I hear it was a terrible fight. The village guard brought you back here to heal all of your wounds." she told him.

I nodded. "Yeah, I suppose it was."

"And?" she prodded.

I noticed that Kai'illan was not in any of the beds. there is no way he could have died. Could he?

"What about the green lizardfolk? The smith's name is Kai'illan. Did he make it?" I asked

Worriedly.

Hilda's expression changed to one of worry. "Are you concerned about him?" she asked.

"Yes," I said softly.

"Why?" she asked.

I hesitated before answering, "Honestly he would be my first boss. I was to be his apprentice." I said sadly.

Hilda nodded and then turned to me. "Richard, you don't need to be sad because of that. Most of his wounds were superficial. He did get an arrow to the side but it didn't pierce anything vital. That old lizard is as stubborn as he is hard to kill. He insisted that he be allowed to return to his work."

I sighed in relief. "That's good news. Thank you."

Hilda smiled and patted me on the shoulder. "Don't worry you are in good hands here. "she said as she left the room.

I waited until a few minutes passed before going over to Bostar's bed. As I approached him he woke up and saw me. "Hey! How'd you manage to beat those bandits?" he asked excitedly.

"I honestly don't remember that much of it. What happened?" I asked.

He chuckled. "You don't remember?"

"No. Can you tell me?" I asked.

"I saw Duros get cut down, Gorrin was out of the fight. I saw the bandit leader coming to finish you. I was unable to come to help you due to the arrow in my leg." he replied.

"Is he okay?" I asked worriedly.

"Yes, he'll live."

I remember towards the end of the fight when I desperately tried to use the Wind Attribute. I managed to do so but only barely. I don't remember much but I do remember a bang and the bandit leader flying.

"You say I defeated those bandits?" I ask.

"Yes!" he replied happily.

"How?"

"The fight was over pretty quickly after you used some sort of wind magic. I was watching the entire time," he explained.

"Was it that impressive?" I asked him.

"Yeah, it was a lot more powerful than what I'm used to seeing You might just be able to become a Wind Mage one day," he said.

"It couldn't have been that powerful. I barely know anything about wind magic. I don't even know how it works." I said confused.

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"Well, you were using a lot of mana, which means you must have had a lot of experience doing so," he explained.

"No, nothing like that. I have only known I had the Wind Attribute for a couple of days." I told him.

Bostar shook his head and chuckled. "Don't worry too much about it. It's not important right now."

I nodded in agreement and then looked around the room. I thanked him for his compliments and wished him well. With a last look at Gorrin, I walked to the door to try to find the healer. She wasn't hard to find as she was working on grinding some herbs in a mortar and pestle.

As I approached her she raised an eyebrow at me. "Hello there Richard, do you need something?"

"Do you have any water? I am getting a bit parched." I asked.

She took a pitcher from a shelf and filled it with water from a nearby barrel. "Here you go," she said handing me the glass.

I drank it all in a few gulps. Nearly spitting it back out when I realized this treatment would probably cost money. Money that I did not have.

I wiped my mouth and sipped a couple more gulps. I was very thirsty.

"Ma'am I don't expect charity, but I have no idea how much the care you provided for my costs. " I say

I highly doubt there is any sort of government healthcare program here in fantasy land. At least not yet.

"Well, normally for a person that was in your condition including the mana potions... we'd be looking at around 15 Silver," she said.

My expression doesn't change because I have no idea if that is expensive or cheap. I know that Kai'illan was talking to me about paying some Coppers. If logic is to be expected Silver is a higher-tier currency than Copper.

"But, in your case, you don't have to worry about it." she continued.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because the Silver was paid in full already," she said.

That caught me off, guard. While I don't know how much Silver was worth, it sounded like it was not cheap. Was it Kai'illan who paid for it? I didn't know anyone else in this world. Surely the Goddess didn't just waltz in and pay my medical bill.

"Who paid the Silver?" I ask

"It was paid by the Commander. He came in to see that his men's expenses were covered and he also paid for yours," she informed me.

I was surprised. "Who is the Commander?" I asked.

"Oh Commander Ragnar. You should know him. Everyone in the village does." she replied.

"I do not know that name, never met anyone by the name Ragnar before," I reply.

"Well, I am sure he will want to speak with you at some point. He seemed rather interested in you," she adds.

"Really?" I asked.

"Yes. Well, I need to get back to work. The commander might come down here to check up on you or you can head home. I would say avoid getting your bandages wet though. If you get a fever or anything just come back here." she advised.

"Thank you ma'am for helping me," I say.

"Don't mention it. Just try to stay out of trouble," she said.

I don't have a home here. I have no idea where to go. Maybe I could seek Kai'illan for advice.

"Ma'am, is there a place I could sit while I think?" I ask her.

"Sure, there are a couple of chairs over there," she said pointing towards a table in another room.

I thanked her again and headed off toward the chair she pointed out. I sat down, took a seat, and reflected on what had happened recently. So, I was healed of my wounds, I was given water and now, someone had paid for all of it. It was very generous. I hadn't even known the Commander before, but he cared for his men.

I reflected on the battle and how I used wind magic. I was pretty sure I was grasping at straws when I used them. Probably was a reckless thing to do when I didn't even know anything about magic.

"System" I will up my system status. But before I can see my character sheet I see

I read the notifications realizing there is a small pile of notifications behind it that I have to go through

The notifications keep on going

I am shocked and reminded that I indeed killed people. Bad people..but I've killed them.

Did I learn a spell? I don't remember studying anything. Did I accidentally learn it?

I started noticing something. The way the system was ending the statements. Some of the comments were a little funny. Some were just corny.

Okay, that one was just stupid but informative.

Okay, that one was terrible. I am wondering where the system got these terrible one-liners when

I see my character sheet

─ Name: Richard Bell

─ Age: 23

─ Race: Human

─ Level: 3

─ Class: Unassigned

─ Skills:

─ (Common)Novice Smithing 1/20

─ (Common)Novice Daggers: 0/20

─ (Rare )Novice Stamina Burnout resistance 5/20

─ Magic attributes:

─ Wind

─ Water

─ Magical Proficiency:

─ Wind: Novice

─ Water: Unproficient

─ Spells:

─ Raging Tempest

─ Wind Clap

─ Health: 75

─ Stamina: 45

─ Mana: 218

─ Stat Points: 10

─ Strength: 10

─ Dexterity: 4

─ Intelligence: 18

─ Wisdom: 5

─ Agility: 9

─ Luck: 8

─ Willpower: 15

Appearance:

─ Skin: Pale complexion, reddish hair

─ Eyes: Blue

─ Hair Color: Ginger

─ Clothing: Light brown leather cloak, faded white tunic (Unidentified0), leather belt, brown trousers, light brown stockings, brown leather boots.

─ Equipment:

─ Tunic:

─ Enchanted: Enchantment of the Linguist -Alnathian, Ilonian, Drakish

─ Durability 45/50

I see many, many changes including the Magic attributes and spells. I see that My stats have gone up. My luck by 1, and willpower by 3, which increased my health by a whole 15 points. My level is 3 and I have 10 stat points to spend. I have no idea what I want to spend them on, but I feel now is not the time to make hasty decisions. I haven't made a lot, but they have been life-threatening.

I notice my tunic has some details changed I see an Unidentified mark next to my Tunic.

However, there is also a note about it in my equipment section. I see the Enchantment of the Linguist. Next to it are 3 words. Alnathian which I now knew was the language the locals spoke. Probably most of Alnathia given the name of it, but there were two other languages Drakish and Ilonian.

Drakish sounds wierd. Like dragons or something? All I can think of are drakes from books and movies. Ilonian I am at a loss for. I have no clue what that language could be.

I decide not to think much about it because thinking about it won't help me.

I ask for the System Condition

─ Richard Bell

─ Status: Healthy

─ Condition: Normal

─ Location: Findrel

─ Time: 12:00

─ Weather: Sunny

I see a bunch of old notifications but none that seem to influence my current status. And as for how I ended up here. The healer told me herself that she had to use mana potions.

However given that she used some mana potions and my mana has not completely recovered, I realize that my body must regain mana at a slow pace. From what I understand it has been a couple of days since the fight and I still have around a quarter of my mana to go.

I look beside my level and wonder if there is a hidden xp stat or something. I try to request more details on my level from the system but nothing comes up. So I guess that xp is either hidden or simply not a thing. I know I should ask someone about that eventually.

I decided I should probably leave and get some fresh air. Maybe see if I can find my way back to Kai'illans smithy.

"Hilda?" I ask the healer.

"Yes, Richard?" She asks. "What do you need?"

"You said I was okay to head home?" I asked despite not having a home. Maybe Kai'illan will let me stay there.

She nods. "Yes." She says. "You should be okay to go. Just come back if you need any more help. Or if you get wounded in the future. But please don't be a frequent customer." She laughs lightly.

"Fair enough," I say. As I walk out of the healer's place and step out onto the street, I can feel a breeze against my skin.

The weather seems fine. I can already smell the fresh air but I do notice a hint of stale air. Not unexpected in any town or village in a rustic style like this.

I look around the street. A few people are walking by, though they don't seem to pay me much mind. Most of them are just going to work, or coming back from work. They all seem to be dressed similarly to me, wearing simple clothes. I see some wagons being transported by horse or mule. A simple place, but one with a lot of traffic.

There is a market in the distance. It looks like it is mostly food stalls and shops selling various goods. That might be fun to check out, but I have no money to buy anything and sure as heck will not beg.

As I continue to walk down the street I see a small inn. It doesn't look too fancy, but it does look welcoming. I figure that is one of the inns that Kai'illan was talking about.

I walk over to the sign and read it. It's called the White Lily, which sounds nice. I continue walking down the street trying to figure out how I will find Kai'illans smithy. As I am looking down the street trying to pick a direction to search I hear footsteps running behind me.

I turn around and see a rather short person running towards me. He looks like a full-grown man but miniaturized. He is about 4 feet tall with a brown beard and hair. I see he similarly is in armor to the village guards. His armor has a chain mail skirt, and a vambrace but nothing covering his head. I start to wonder if this is a Dwarf. Hopefully, I am just not mentally shaming a person for his stature.

"Hey, excuse me!" He yells. "Are you By any chance Richard?"

"Um... yes?" I ask, confused noticing a gruff accent.

"Oh good! I would have had my hide tanned if I missed you leaving Hilda's place." The short man says. "I was s'pposed te stand n watch der healers shop n bring ye te der boss. I was bored n stepped away fer e pint."

I struggled to understand what he said. It sounded like a very broken attempt at speaking whatever he was trying to. Maybe it was just accented Alnathian?

"I am sorry sir, I don't understand what you are trying to ask me," I say in response. The only words I understood were something about standing and watching and something about being bored and stepping away for a pint.

The dwarf stops running and slows down to a stop. "Ah, I see," He says. " Wait ye can speak Ilonian?"

I nod. "Yes, I can." As I am remembering something like that on the details of my enchanted tunic.

The dwarf changes the way he talks speaking in a way..but I can't hear a difference. Maybe it is his accent.

"That makes this easier. Not e many humans speak Ilonian." He says trying to catch his breath

He then gets closer to me. I see the oddest thing. This guy is so short that he is practically standing on his tip toes to talk to me.

"Meh name is Darnak, Darnak Ironlegs, but everyone her calls meh Ironlegs er Darnak." He says. "I guess ye could call me yer guardian angel."

"Guardian..." I say a bit confused. "Why do you think that?"

"Because if I didn't catch up te ye, ye would have probably been arrested." He says as if it should be obvious.

"Arrested for what?" I ask.

"It is not ne place te say. I was s'pposed te bring ye te Commander Ragnar once ye were healthy enough te leave de healer."

"But i am not even sure who this person is. Who is Commander Ragnar?" I ask.

"He is de commander o all de village guard. He had some questions fer ye. It sounded pretty serious."

"What kind of questions?" I ask.

"I haven't de foggiest idea. But that is why yer here with me right now."

"Alright," I said unsurely. "I guess you will take me to him?"

"Of course!" Ironlegs says enthusiastically. "I'll walk with ye. You need someone ta guide you through this place."

We start walking towards a large building in the distance. It's a relatively new building compared to everything else around it. There is a wooden sign out front that reads "Findrel Guard". We approach and enter the building. A man wearing armor stands behind a desk. His helmet is off and he has an axe strapped across his back. He looks up from whatever paperwork he is doing when we come in.

"Ah, Darnak, I wasn't expecting to see you here today," he says looking over at us.

Ironlegs walks up and salutes.

"Sir, I have brought meh charge te thee." Ironlegs says. "This her is Richard. De one de Commander wishes ter speak te."

The man turns to look at me. When he sees me he frowns. "Oh...uh." He looks back down at whatever paper he was working on before. "Well, let's go talk to Ragnar."

Ironlegs is dismissed as the armored man orders" You are dismissed, dwarf. Take the rest of the day for leave. You return to your duty tomorrow morning."

"Yes sir!" Ironlegs says, saluting again as he leaves.

The man looks back up at me. "The Commander is going to want to speak to you. " He grabs me by the arms swinging me around and putting something cold and metallic around my wrists. "Follow me," he says and begins heading towards another room.

Inside there is a single chair. the room is not big, but not small either. No windows. Just the door. Behind the chair are metal rings on the wall. I realize now that the metal things on my wrists are handcuffs but bigger and heavier.

The system was not helpful but I had no idea what was going on. Magic Binding Shackles? Did I do something on accident and not know it?

The man led me to the chair where he sat me down. Not forcefully but not gently either. He connected the shackles to an anchor in the wall.

"Um, sir?" I said confused and a bit worried. "Did I do something wrong?"

"That is for you and the Commander to discuss. He will be in here when he is ready." He then left the room. The door shut. A metal lock sounded with a clang.