FIRST CONTACT

"So then I walked for 6 days and nights, using as little of my water and food as I could."

"Uhuh..."

"Well, I ran into some beasts, but I managed to outwit them and escape, thank the heavens."

"Uhuh..."

"And that's how I eventually came upon your turf. I swear, it's an honest mistake!"

"So, is that all you have to say?"

"..."

Turns out, North was the worst possible direction I could have headed in.

----------------------------------------

Indeed, my six day trek was grueling, with nothing to do but walk north for as long as I could during the day, and sleep out during the night. Thankfully my Fully Adaptive Clothing were able to transform into very cozy pajamas that kept out the desert cold, and had a built-in pillow.

When I finished my first can of coke, I thought to just toss it, but wondered if I could get something for the can, like recycling or whatever, so I stored it away. But after a couple days I had a few water bottles and soda cans, and no where to put them. That's when I found the Hi-Spec System Storage (106,000p), which provided a fairly large and configurable pocket-dimension to use for the storage of items. Figuring this would come in handy, I went ahead and bought it, before dumping my trash inside.

Now, after buying 6 Bottled Water (1p), 6 Canned Coke (1p), and 2 Fried Chicken Set (4p), I was now left with 5,344,979p. So I was off to an OK start, I'd say.

There was just one little problem.

"Put him in the crypt. We'll figure out what to do with the human after the festival," the dark skinned man before me spoke.

At his word, the three spear-men surrounding me approached, and roughly tied my arms together. Unsure of what else to do, I obediently cooperated with the elf-like people surrounding me. I decided that these spear-men were some kind of police equivalent

Half an hour ago, I realized there was a settlement here when it was registered on my map, and I was barely able to make out a speck in the horizon. It was built on an oasis alongside a river, and was named "Alrakne".

However, as soon as I noticed the settlement, I saw a number of dots on my map begin to approach. Unsure of whether this was a welcoming committee or whatever, I kept my magic handgun around just in case.

When they surrounded me with spears, there was the slight issue of not knowing each other's tongue, but after I obtained Omnilinguistics for 21,005p (it being at a 93% discount for off-worlders) communication went (mostly) smoothly, and they told me to explain what I was doing in their territory.

At this, I was mostly relieved that I didn't have to fight off or kill anyone so soon after arriving in this world. These strangers were willing to talk, so I spoke.

I did my best to tell them how coming into their turf was all an accident. I left out anything about the Pay Store and Map, hid away my gun for now, and gave an abridged tale of how I was kidnapped, had all of my valuables sold, and left in the desert with practically nothing.

It didn't seem like my story really helped though, and I ended up dragged along to the village in rope. Well, not dragged, but kinda pulled along...

I considered at multiple times to make a run for it—even if I wasn't the most physically fit of people, I had the points to change the situation at any time. My situation wasn't as bad as it seemed. In a way, I pretty much allowed myself to be captured so I can learn about what sort of world I was sent to.

What have I learned so far?

There are elves, and they apparently have a festival soon. They plan to decide what to do with me after it.

Actually, I don't know if these are elves. Are they elves?

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The folk all around me had a sort of caramel skin, sharp eyes and black wavy hair, but of course their pointed ears is why I called them elves. But that's not all. As I'm dragged into the village and gaze around, I notice that everyone looks rather youthful. It appears to be a village of young people, no older than their twenties, although there were a few strange people mixed in with white hair.

Perhaps this youthfulness was a result of that mythical, elven longevity?

But, beyond their appearance, it felt like a normal sort of town. There were poor and wealthy all around, with a wide variety of walks of life. Actually, it felt somewhat lively, with an excess of people moving to and fro, possibly due to preparations for the aforementioned festival.

It didn't feel like these people were some High Fantasy race of Elves.

At least, it wasn't how I expected a town of elves to be like.

For a moment I wondered if people in this world just had pointed ears, but the guard back then referred to me as a "human". I trusted the Omnilinguistic ability I bought, enough to conclude that even though they said something like "firrem", I intuitively understood that he was referring to a race of foreign people that match my features.

Question is, are humans seen as some kind of "bad guy" race around here? There's no shortage of fantasy stories that depict humans as some corrupt evil. Of course, the simplest answer is that these elves are merely a bit xenophobic...

"Hey, umm..."

"No talking," the guard pulling my rope along said.

"I just wanna know what'll happen to me is all."

Silence.

For a long few moments, I walked without saying a word until we reached a stone building. There, plenty of warrior-like people frequented, dressed in light armor and long spears as they entered and left the building ahead.

"This some kind of barracks?" I asked.

"Quiet," he repeated.

I grumbled, being pulled along towards a flight of stairs leading underground. Here, the other two guards that were escorting me parted ways, and I was guided into the crypt. As we headed down the stairs, now completely alone, I decided to ask again.

"So what's gonna happen to me, anyways?"

Silence once more... or so I thought. As we reached a sort of prison cell, the guard spoke.

"You'll probably be ransomed off to the nearest human city, or any passing merchant. Whichever is willing to take you."

Now that's weird... "I can't just stay here?"

The guard opened up the gate and guided me in. "Who'd be foolish enough to allow some foreigner with no one to vouch for him, walk about unattended?"

Ah… I see… So that's how things work around here.

I could be some kind of foreign spy or criminal, so given I'm some weirdo walking out in the desert, they plan to give me to any human that'll take me.

"If you're lucky maybe one of the High Elves will fancy you," he explained as he shut me in the cell, and began to undo the rope around my wrists. Wait, did he just say High Elves? That alone has a lot to digest. But…

I didn't like what he was saying. "What, I might become a slave?"

"A what?"

Oops. It appears they don't have a word for "slave". I could understand anything other people said, even if they say words and ideas I'd never heard of, but there was no guarantee for the reverse to be true.

"I mean, like, a forced servant?" I tried to define what I meant, but the guard shrugged.

"Maybe." That wasn't very reassuring.

Having explained as much as he felt I deserved, the guard walked off, leaving be behind in this dark underground hole with only the faint light of torches and whatever light from the surface made its way down here...

At the very least, I was glad I was being given some kind of shelter, and had the opportunity to talk with someone. I also learned, that despite the unwelcome reception I received, I wasn't going to be executed.

I wasn't too bothered by the accommodations I was given, either.

It appeared the town didn't have many prisoners, either because few crimes were dealt with by imprisonment, or because actual criminals were kept at a separate locale. Regardless, I appeared to have this little dungeon to myself, and if they intended to ransom me off to others as a slave, then they probably intended to keep me fed, so I didn't have to waste my precious points on food… probably. It was better to not spend points on things I could get without them.

My only complaint thus far, was the possibility for enslavement.

There might not be an institutional system of slavery, but it appears the elves don't differentiate much between different kinds of "servants". I'm not sure what that entails for me. I hope this society didn't have anything like magic obedience collars, or whatever.

Anxious of what the future may hold, I began to look through my catalog for countermeasures against various situations. For now, I'm playing along with this world's rules, but I'm ready at any moment to turn the tables on the situation, if I need to.

Of course, my worries may be for naught.

Heck, maybe instead of becoming some sleazy merchant's towel boy, some cute High Elf girl will come get me.

…For the record, I didn't expect that to actually be the case.