This time around, Han woke up to the sight of a ceiling. It was a wooden one, so it wasn't his real home. Sitting up, he found himself in a small room—just enough room for his tiny bed and a table and chair.
Where was he?
A knock sounded along with a female voice, "Are you awake?" The door creaked open as a lady walked in. "Oh, you are!"
Han met the sight of a young woman, in her twenties with auburn hair and eyes. She was carrying a tray with a bowl and plate of a meal. "Um, hi?" He greeted warily, he finally woke up with a woman meeting him, but he couldn't help but feel that he'd get thrown into an oven with one wrong move.
"Glad you finally woke up, your grandfather and brother were worried about you." She nodded at him and placed the food on her table. "Would have invited you down, but your leg isn't exactly in the best of shape."
Grandfather and brother? Did they introduce themselves as such?
He took off the bed sheet and found his leg bandaged. It could have been worse, all his vitals were unharmed but of course the person in front of him would think otherwise. "Where are they?" He stood up and a jolt of pain stabbed through his leg.
The woman hovered around him with arms stretched out to catch him, "Didn't I just tell you that your leg wasn't in good shape?"
Han sighed and slumped back to his bed, he'd tough it out later. "Where are my companions now?"
"They're on the first floor of my inn, Nire Summer at your service." She introduced herself with a smile.
He blinked at her, now this one was pretty, kind and upbeat. "Um, thanks for taking us in. Are we at the Capital already?"
She laughed and shook her head, "I'm afraid not, we're still somewhat in the middle of nowhere."
"Huh?"
"My inn is close enough to Wolfcrest village, but technically, we're in the travel routes."
Somehow it was a lot to take in for him, "Are you saying that you live here all alone?"
She pouted, "You make it sound like a bad thing, I mean, it kind of is, but I still get travellers like you. Anyhow, I'll leave you be...uh?"
"It's Han." He blurted his name with a sheepish smile.
"That's a strange name, I'll move the table closer to your bed so you can eat. I'll come back later when you're done."
"Um, thank you, Miss Nire!"
Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.
She soon left after that as Han stared at his meal. "My name isn't that strange, we've got Summer, Light… what's next? Someone named Radiance?" He decided to give it a rest and began to pay attention to the food.
It was cooked very well! Compared to the feeling of instant cup noodles, this was the kind of food that made someone stay at home for the food. He broke his bread into half and dipped it into the rich and thick savory broth laden with meat and spices.
If this was to fatten him up, he didn't mind eating!
While he was still by himself though, he decided to find the notification he last saw.
[ Congratulations! You Have Reclaimed [ Human ] Territory from [ Goblin] Clutches! ]
He had a feeling that it was supposed to be special, but he wasn't exactly sure on what to do. A chime sounded as something flashed in front of his vision.
< Wood Elf Wants To Connect With You >
Han blinked and accepted it.
Wood Elf: Amazing! It hasn't been even twenty-four hours but you've already claimed territory! I knew you were a good choice for an Alliance.
Han: Huh? All that happened today was me defeating a group of goblins with companions
Wood Elf: Well the [ Goblin ] clearly decided to move out of the territory thanks to your intervention, I'm amazed with how you did it. By defeating the goblin tribe… did you mean just brute force? You didn't even try communicating! Clearly a [ Conquistador ] in the making!
Han: Wait, one of the goblins I encountered is also someone in the universal chat?
Wood Elf: Well, I've never encountered that [ Goblin ], they're not really interested in befriending and I'm not even sure if they can speak Common. A bit of a primitive [ Race ] like you Humans—although, ahem you guys are at least faring better now.
Han: Well… thanks I guess? Did you just chat to congratulate me and ask me how I was doing?
Wood Elf: Well there's that! And also wondering if you'd like to leave that area to me.
Han: It's a [ Human ] Territory, we're in the Kingdom of Yegarian
Wood Elf: As a [ Player ] you have more control over it than the [ King ] and what's that small patch of land to him? He let the Goblins run amok in it, so I'm sure he doesn't care.
Han: I thought you wanted me to be [ King ] but now you're wanting that 'patch' of land
Wood Elf: A forest is my natural habitat, I'm sure to put the [ Resources ] to good use, unlike you. I doubt you have an inkling of knowledge from a blueberry to a poisonberry!
Han frowned as he looked at the text display over him. The gist of the conversation made him realize that it was almost akin to Kingdom or World Building—
[ Races: Online World Overview ]
[ Han's Territory ]
> Rockfall Village
> Oaken AshWoods
[ ____ Alliance ]
> Enchanted Forest ( Wood Elf )
[ Veiled Continent ]
> Check General Overview Map
[ Continents ]
> Veiled Continent
> [ Locked ]
> [ Locked ]
> [ Locked ]
> [ Locked ]
"Huh." He stared at the new screen for a while. "Why didn't I realize that they had something like this. Oaken AshWood." The display quickly changed to something new.
[ Oaken Ashwoods ]
Territory: Forest Type
Creatures: 100+ creatures inhabiting the land (Check Bestiary)
Available Resources:
AshWood Bark
PoisonBerry
LumenFruit
Oak Trees
Sage Grass
Azalea Blossoms
[10+ more natural resources…]
Fame: -50
[ The previous inhabitant [ Goblin] is still within the forest with their tribe—their animosity reeks the forest lands. ]
> Gather Resources ( Up To Ten Items )
> View Territory
> Set Marker
> Trade
> Add to Alliance Territory
< Wood Elf Sent You Another Message! >
Wood Elf: Why are you not replying? Is it a no? I'm assuming it's a no which is a pity. Can you at least share some of the resources then? Do you like Spider Silk? I have other resources that you might be interested in~