Chapter 2: An Orc?
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“Hwaaaahhhhhh…”
Hmmmm… I am awake yet again in an unfamiliar place, does this mean I am in the new world that douc-...God spoke of? Regardless of whether it is or not it feels like I have been asleep for days, I don't believe I've ever felt this refreshed. As a matter of fact, my body itself feels much less sluggish, let's see what this new body I requested looks like.
…
“Heh”
I can't help but let out a small laugh, not because anything is funny, or joyful...no, a laugh that more so signifies “you're not serious right?”
When I hold my hands in front of my face all I see is green, an unappealing dark green at that. And no, it isn't because my vision is obstructed by anything, but because my hands themselves were this color.
From the tips of my fingers, to my wrists, to my elbows, all that I can immediately see shows my skin is rough, green, and even bumpy in some areas.
I immediately get up, ignoring the somewhat comfortable bed I was in, and the fact I had awoken in a room at all, and focus solely on what repulsive thing had been done to my body, or at the least my skin.
I notice I am fairly tall, that or everything in the room with me is abnormally small, my toes which I see clearly now that I'm standing up are all the same length, ending in overgrown toenails that would probably hinder walking around in any form of shoes.
What's more, my lower legs are quite muscular, but the thighs are wider in proportion and it's somewhat disturbing.
I notice there isn't a single hair on my lower body, which isn't the case with my stomach.
In my past life I was overweight and so as one could imagine my stomach was quite fat, however in comparison this body's stomach is quite wide and large, but also muscular, like a very stocky set of abs. Abs that feel like if I were to lay in bed any longer would immediately betray me and turn to fat once again.
I say 'this body’ because it is extremely hard to accept this monstrosity as my own currently.
Also it's noteworthy that the annoying amount of hair on my stomach almost makes the fact there are abs unnoticeable.
Once I start inspecting the chest area it seems to be normal, at least in terms of size and muscularity with respect to the rest of the body.
And then I come back to my arms, which I now realize since I've started standing up...are long enough to where my fingers basically reach my kneecaps.
I feel like I'm trapped inside of a freak.
The long grotesque fingernails aside, my thumb alone is probably almost twice as long as my pointer finger from when I was in my old world. That 'God’ said humans exist here, so do they all look like this and he was covering the truth, or am I not human, which would be entirely believable.
I ultimately skip past my shoulders which seem to be proportionately wide for this body, and go straight to the face and head. I can only feel suspense and anxiety. I consciously worked my way from the bottom up to mentally prepare myself but it did not work at all.
On the top of my head I can feel a short ponytail...already off to a bad start. Next I use these lengthy fingers to grasp my ears, they appear to be pointy at both ends and wait...what is this, is one of my ears pierced too? Ahhh shit it's the sus side too, hopefully that's not a thing here in this world, or else I'd have to fear for my life and my butt.
I was hoping joking to myself would calm me down...It didn't.
As I'm feeling around my jaw I notice I have two insanely large canines on my lower row of teeth only. I could feel the slight sensation on my lips earlier but now that I'm more conscious of it I can't help but focus on it.
Would I call these fangs or tusks? I don't even know or care anymore.
It seems as though my forehead is a bit tall, and my nose is also quite wide and covered in bumps, despite how weird this may sound the bumps themselves feel natural to the nose. I don't think it's an abnormality that can be gotten rid of either.
Great.
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At this point I have surveyed as much of my body as I can without a mirror or any way to see my reflection.
That said, I started to investigate the room I woke up in. Despite being a different world and all it is an extremely ordinary room, a bed positioned in the middle of the wall farthest from the door, a small dresser next to the door, an old rocking chair that looks as though it's a spawn point for a knitting grandmother or a poltergeist. A nightstand-ish table, and a small wardrobe. And finally one window on the wall between the wall the bed is against and the one with a door. Focusing on the nightstand I now see a large old timey lantern and candlestick. Which leads me to the ceiling, which given what was on the nightstand, understandably has no light.
“No electricity in this world then I suppose”.
Throughout this inspection I have constantly heard the sound of people outside which makes me feel as though I’m in a fairly populated place. I then head to the window to confirm my suspicions and open the curtains.
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
“...Dope”, I can't help but utter this with my eyes wide open in awe of what I see.
As I open the curtains before me is the view of what can only be determined as a city. It appears as though I'm on a second floor level, and because of this I can see over many of the adjacent buildings and clearly down the street-...well roads I guess.
“...huhhhh”
Even though I was skeptical that all humans had the physical aspects as I do, or that the species or whatever the hell I am were known as humans here, part of me still hoped for it. I see now that my skepticism was warranted, the origin of all the noise I had heard were in fact people, and among them the mass of people most were typical humans as could be seen back on Earth.
“Slightly...no, fairly depressing”
Despite the wave of melancholy I felt at that moment I also could not wallow in it entirely because the view was still keeping my attention, and for good reason. Past the buildings that seem to stretch quite far from where I am there are immensely tall city walls that are clearly there for defense. But despite that being a spectacle in and of itself what truly caught my attention lied even further in the horizon.
What appeared to be an enormous spine and what appear to be ribs attached(I mean I imagine it's an entire skeleton but the rest isn't in view) crest over the city wall. For that to be the case that skeleton would easily be the largest thing I have ever seen in person whether here or back on Earth.
I cannot begin to fathom how massive it must be up close to be seen peeking over the walls from this distance, the walls alone(although I can't be sure) are probably 50 meters high.
(Then again my math trash, and anything related to numbers isn't something I should open my mouth about.)
Having taken in the view of the horizon and the overall area I go back to looking at the people down in the street.
(I've been staring out this window for what feels like ten minutes, if anyone noticed they would definitely think I'm a creep. Then again people wrongly thought I was a creep in my old life too, so eh, what do I care?)
I now see that humans are easily the most prevalent species, if not in this world or country than definitely in this city. However I see what appear to be demi-humans no matter how you look at it. Beings who look like humans with some defining animal-ish traits, it's clear to me that there is definitely some sort of dog or maybe wolf-type species, people with cat ears and cat tails, lizard people, and midget-...dwarves? Midgets don't seem quite right...yeah no, I'm pretty sure in this case they would be dwarves.
“This really is like a generic video game or manga, valid.”
But…
“Hmmmm.”
As I'm watching the people in the streets I come to realize that there is no one that looks remotely like the body I'm currently residing in, the lizard people are close in appearance but they are obviously different from me, most notably my lack of a large tail.
After about another couple of minutes I retire from watching the window and decide to explore any remaining things in the room I have yet to see upon first glance. My first destination is the dresser, I open the first drawer to see that my actions immediately are rewarded. Inside the top drawer there is a small bag that is filled with substantially heavy objects for their size which I can only assume are the currency of this world. Along with a sealed envelope containing a letter that aesthetically perfectly matches the vibe of the era I see myself in inside this world.
-“Yooooooo, it's ya boi, God a.k.a. TwistyPeen447, inside the bag accompanying this letter are 200 Blips, as you could imagine that is the primary form of currency in the country you're in, 'Murica’.”
There's no way that is actually the name of this country, the letter continues-
“LMAO, nah imagine it had a lazy ass name like that.. ”
...uhhhhh…
-“No, but in all seriousness you're in the country of Xandronus, back to the topic of money, there is also gold coins and raw gold along with platinum, neither of which are used for daily transactions typically, which is where the Blips come in handy.”
I see.
-“If you're wondering why you awoke in a room it is because I made some arrangements for convenience sake, I don't have unlimited ability to interfere with that world but I can pull some strings, once you go to the first floor of the building you're in you'll find yourself in a tavern.”
Hmmm.
-“I've made it so the owner of the tavern, and the building itself, seemingly knows you, she thinks she has known you for years and will behave as such.”
Interesting, but I do have to admit that it is convenient. Finally this 'God’ does something worth my thanks.
-“But that doesn't mean you can attempt to clap her cheeks, so don't overstep.”
...Without fail, it's honestly amazing how they can flip my opinion of them back to a negative one so easily...asshole.
-“Btw, she will refer to you as 'Skrill’, it's up to you ultimately what you want to be called but I figured it's less boring than Robert...so…”
They aren't wrong, but I still feel offended. Finally I reach the end of this drawn out letter, concluding with:
-“P.s. I was weak up here when I saw your face upon you reacting to the fact you're an orc now...you can blame me all you want but you chose the low-drip life, not me. -Ight hoe, best of luck, G.O.D.”
(Without realizing I started to crumble the letter from reading that last part.)
After about a minute my rage subsides and I think about the content of the letter…
“An orc huh?”
Thinking about it does seem reasonable, orcs were a fictional creature back in my old life and they roughly fit the image of the body I currently reside in. However in most forms of entertainment involving orcs back on Earth they were typically monsters with either little to no intelligence, or even if they were intelligent were enemies to mankind. Will being in this body in this human dominant city, and most likely country, really be alright? Although that God said I would have basic knowledge of this world it doesn't seem to function as I imagined.
For example it felt as though I didn't know the name of this country until I read the letter, but upon reading the name 'Xandronus’ it felt as though it was something I once knew but just forgot. Thinking back further that was the case with the currency, Blips, as well, it's a feeling of 'Ah, I knew that, it was on the tip of my tongue’ type deal.
In any case thinking it over too much may not help, the best way to find out about the world I'm in is through people. I make up my mind to go downstairs and see this reverb and tavern owner, but first I should probably not leave the room in underwear alone. I check the wardrobe that I noticed earlier hoping that I had not been greased by that 'God’ and left with only the underwear I am in.
“Bruh-”
I don't know if this is perfect or disappointing.
In the closet in front me lies a tattered linen long sleeve shirt, brown hide vest, a belt, and brown tights...it's literally the 'Shrek’ starter pack.
“Well...I mean I guess there is no other choice”
(I mutter in a tone that sounds irritated, however it's clear I'm betraying what I'm saying by the excited smile on my face.)
Once I get dressed it will be time to start my new life in earnest.