After what felt like an eternity I could actually feel and hear stuff. The only problem though was that I felt like I was laying on grass and could only hear birds chirping and other animals. I also felt the sun on my face and almost didn't want to get up, but after what felt like a few minutes I realized that I felt super thirsty and I slowly sat up. I opened my eyes to look around and realized that I was in what looked like the outskirts of a dense forest. As I looked around I noticed a river that leads out of the forest into the distance where I saw black smoke to the west.
Ignoring the smoke for now I walk over to the river to see if I could drink from it. When I got to the river I saw that it was a somewhat fast moving river and looked crystal clear so I walked over to it and knelt down by the riverbank. I stick my hand into it and it feels nice and cool so I then bring my other hand down to cup some water in my hands. I then brought up the water and drank some. After I repeated that a few times I didn’t feel so dehydrated and stood back up to look towards where the smoke was coming from. It appeared to be only a few miles away so I started walking along the river towards the smoke. After about an hour of waking I crest a hill and see an oceanside town up in flames. I spot some people running around the village and hear screams coming from it.
“What the fuck is going on down there? This does not look anything like Louisiana.”
I glance back down the village and still hearing screams I sigh then start walking down towards the village. When I get closer I realize that it looks like one of those typical bandit raids in those weird isekai shows. When I got about 100 yards from the town one of the inhabitants charged out of the town towards me with a sword in hand. I throw my hands up to show that I mean no harm and don’t have any weapons.
“ I don’t mean any harm to you!”
He falters in his charge for a split second.
“I don’t believe you bandit scum.”
“Do I look like one of those assholes?”
“I mean not really. Your clothing is weird though and I’ve never seen anything like it before.”
“See I'm not one of the bandits.”
“Well what are you doing here then?”
At that moment we hear more yells and focus on the surroundings again.
“Well since you're not a bandit can you help us then because you look like you can handle yourself well.”
“Sure but I don't have a weapon.”
“That's fine, just follow me quickly.”
At that he runs into what looks like a blacksmith shop and I follow him into it. Inside he rummages through a few rooms before he finds what he's looking for. He hands me what looks like a sword that is made out of some weird glory metal and would be way too heavy for even a bodybuilder to wield effectively.
“What is this made of?”
“We don't even know but it's been in our town for longer than anyone has been alive.”
“Oh really? Why give it to me then?”
“Well it's supposed to have magical properties and it's also supposed to grow and get stronger as you get stronger. I've also got a hunch about you.”
“Well that is fascinating to say the least.”
He hands me the sword and as soon as I grab it I feel an energy pulse through me and back into the sword. As I gaze at the sword in shock it feels like I have complete control over it and have used it my entire life.
“Is it a bad time to tell you that I've never even touched a sword in my life?”
“Wait, you have never used a sword before?”
“Uhhh no I haven't.”
“Nevermind we are wasting too much time here. I'm sure you'll handle it well enough. Please help save my village and I'm sure we will be able to help you somehow.”
“Very well, let's get going.”
We carefully exit the shop and look around. As soon as we take a few steps we hear yells and turn to see 5 bandits all charging towards us.
“Well here goes nothing.”
I get into a stance that is both unfamiliar because I've never done it before but it also feels natural as if I've done it thousands of times. In the stance my left foot is slightly forward and my back foot is behind me. I have the longsword in front of me pointing up into the sky at an angle and towards the bandits.
As the first bandit reaches me he brings his sword into a predictable downward swing with way too much force. As his sword comes down I bring my pommel up above my blade while taking a sidestep to the right and making contact with his sword which causes his sword to keep going down and making him lose his footing. Immediately I slash my sword upwards into his chest cutting through most of his torso in half. He Immediately falls to the ground dead, almost completely cut In half at the chest.
I can see the 2 of the bandits attacking the random villager while the other 2 start swinging their swords at me. I quickly back up to create some distance between us and make sure both of the bandits are in my field of view.
“Ha is this all yall got? This is nothing for me.”
I quickly regret opening my mouth as they quickly dive to the side and I turn around to see what looks like a flame or ball of fire quickly approaching me. I rapidly dive to the ground just as it passes over me and I can feel the heat from it.
“What the fuck was that and damn that shit was warm as shit.”
I then turn around as I hear footsteps approaching me from behind and roll out of the way just as a sword slashes right where my neck was a second ago. I then sweep put my leg towards the back of the knee of one of the raiders which causes his knee to buckle and drop onto the ground on his knees. Before I swing the sword down on his neck my sword starts to glow and transform into something that surprises me. In my hands a bow appears where my sword was.
‘What the hell. This weapon can turn into other weapons? Ok this shit is kinda cool.”
I then aim it at the back of the bandit’s head and release straight all the way through it.
The bandit slumps forward dead. I turn and look at the other bandit and aim the bow at him and notch an arrow. I release the arrow straight into his chest causing his body to just collapse to the Ground.
I immediately turn and reload my ready another arrow. By the time I'm aiming the bow at the 3rd bandit I've already fully pulled the arrow back for firing and I release the arrow directly at the man's face striking him in his right cheek. His head gets blown back from the impact and he falls backwards dead.
I turn around to face where the fireball came from and see a middle aged looking man with a rough look to him.im and what looks to be tattered robes mixed with an assortment of mix-matched armor pieces.
“Is that a fuckin wizard?”
I sigh then start charging at him as he launches another fireball at me. I quickly jump out of the way to the side and continue my charge at him while I release another arrow at him. To my surprise he conjures a wall of fire that disintegrates my bolt. Somehow my crossbow transforms back into a Longsword as I get within striking distance of him and I bring my sword slicing upwards towards his chest. Out of nowhere he starts chanting in some weird language and a wall of fire appears between us and I jump back to avoid it.
“What the fuck? This is some dumbass shit.”
I look on and just sigh. He keeps the fire shield up and I just decide to throw my sword towards him full force. It passes right through the fire and a second later it drops to show that my sword was impaled in his side with a sizable slash leading to where it rested on his body.”
“Well atleast the sword didn't burn.”
I walk over to the sword and pick it back up. All of the sudden a notification pops up in my face
[You have gained the skill: Basic Swordsmanship]
[You have gained the skill: Basic Archery]
After that the town inhabitant walks over to me.
“What you just did was amazing.”
“Just what is this sword?”
“Oh yeah about that. Well it's supposedly a magical item that has a mind of its own and can turn into different objects.”
As he says that the sword then transforms into a weird looking set of armor. It almost looks like futuristic body armor out of a sci-fi movie. It has swirling patches of what looks to be nanobots. As soon as I put on the armor a surge of energy swirls through my body and I feel almost lightheaded.
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After a few minutes of being woozy from he lightheadedness the world seems to slow down as if it were going in slow motion. I then blink a few times and then everything goes back to normal. After that it turns back into the longsword form but now I feel connected to it somehow.
“Woah now that was weird.”
“Are you alright? You were looking really out of it for a minute there.”
“Yeah I'm better now. Thanks.”
“Your welcome stranger.”
“Oh yeah I forgot to ask but what’s your name?”
“Oh well my name is Cassius and I am the head of the town guard.What’s your name?”
“My name is Clayton.”
“Well it’s nice to meet you Clayton and I’m glad you came when you did because no one has been able to properly wield Enigma’s Severer.”
“What the hell kind of name is Enigma’s Severer?”
“We don’t know but it’s what is inscripted on it.”
“Well ok that is fucking great.”
“Well Cassius, how about we clean up the rest of the bandits?”
“Sure, let's go.”
As we killed the rest of the bandits which ended up being 20 more I noticed that my sword didn't transform again. After killing the rest of the bandits I pick up the coin pouch of every single bandit and get 31 copper, 13 silver, and then a single gold coin from the wizard. I didn't realize until I had looted all the bandits that I had gotten another notification.
[Basic Swordsmanship has leveled up to level 3]
“Well that's weird. Why didn't it transform again?”
“I don't know but maybe you can wield it to its full potential at some point.”
“Alright but it's still this village's sword so here.”
I hand the sword back to him.
“Follow me Clayton.”
“OK then.”
I follow Cassius through the village to a building that looks important.
“Where are you taking me?”
“To the mayor.”
“Why?”
“Just trust me.”
We walk up to the front door and knock on the door.
“Enter!”
A voice shouts from inside. As we enter I see four guards all pointing spears at the entrance towards us. When they recognize Cassius they lower their spears and move back to the side of the room.
“Ah Cassius, good job on defeating those lowly bandits. Who might this be?”
A man who looks to be in his 50's with a graying beard and somewhat fancy clothes sits behind a desk talking to us.
“Mayor Julius it is good to see that you are doing well especially right after the bandit attack. This is Clayton and he actually killed most of the bandits.”
“Oh did he now?”
“Yes and he actually used Enigma’s Severer very efficiently, might I add.”
“How fascinating, and your name is Clayton young man?”
“Uh yes sir my name is Clayton Cash.”
“Oh my apologies my lord I didn't know you were a noble.”
“What do you mean? I'm not a noble.”
“You have a last name, yes?”
“Uh yes sir, I do in fact have a last name.”
“So if you're not a noble, how do you have a last name?”
“Doesn't everybody have last names?”
“Hmm, Everybody out. Except for you Clayton.”
All the guards leave the room except for Cassius.
“That includes you as well Cassius.”
“But sir?”
“Take Enigma’s Severer if it makes you feel more comfortable.”
“Very well mayor.”
Cassius walks out of the room with the sword and closes the door behind him. Julius Then pulls out a stone from his desk and sets it on the table.”
“So Clayton, put your hands on this stone and tell me where you came from.”
“Well I just came from the forest to the east but I don't know how I got there.”
“Are you talking about the Hellgrove forest?”
“Well I don't know the name of it. All I know is that I woke up on the outskirts of it.”
“How peculiar. And you don't know how you got there?”
“Not really, I just remember seeing weird green formations and then I woke up there. What is Hellgrove forest anyway?”
“It's the 2nd largest forest in the world and it separates us from the Dolind Empire. Shouldn't you know this though?”
“Ohh uh”
I stammer while I try to think of an excuse.
“Well whatever that green rune or whatever it's called did to me made me forget everything I knew from before I think. The only thing I remember is I was doing some sort of competition I think.”
“Well that is a somewhat upsetting situation.”
I can see the mayor furrowed his eyebrows as if he was thinking about something.
“So Cassius seems to think you wielded Enigma’s Severer very efficiently. Is he telling the truth?”
“Well I honestly don't know how I did all that with the sword, it was as if my body was moving on its own.”
“Hm well in that case why don't you sign up with either the mercenary guild or adventurers guild. If you decide not to I will ask that you be hired as a towns guard and I can guarantee your quick advancements through the ranks but only that. I won't be able to help you rise up in rank with the guilds.”
“Can I think about that offer?”
“Of course I will expect an answer within a few days at the latest though as I can't wait forever for an answer.”
“Of course. Can I ask you one question?”
“Ask away my boy.”
“Is there anything that would get me near animals like taking care of them and stuff like that.”
Well of course there is, but with your potential I can guarantee that it would be a bad decision as I'm guessing you will be destined to do great things. Maybe even conquer some dungeons.”
“There's dungeons here?”
“Well not exactly here but a few days by carriage to the nearest town will get you closer to a good beginner dungeon. I would recommend the Adventurers Guild if you wish to conquer dungeons.”
“Thanks for the information but I'm going to go think about it.”
“Oh one last thing. Cassius you can enter now.”
Cassius walks in with Enigma’s Severer on his back.
“Yes, Mayor Julius?”
“I shall be granting ownership of Enigma’s Severer to Clayton here as a reward for aiding in the defense of the town.”
“But it's too valuable to just be given away to anyone.”
“It's fine Cassius. Trust in my decisions and I'm sure it'll be fine. Clayton here seems like a trustworthy guy.”
“Very well sir.”
Cassius sighs and hands Enigma’s Severer over to me. I grab the sword and a scabbard to put on my back.
“Thank you for this gift Mayor Julius.”
“Think nothing of it. All I ask is that you use it to its full potential.”
“I will, have a good day, mayor.”
I turn around and walk out of the mayor's office into the street. I look around and people are slowly coming back out and starting to clean up the streets and repair the buildings that were damaged. I walk over to what appears to be a butcher shop where a family is trying to fix the damage done to the building.
“Hey, would you like help fixing up your butcher shop?”
“Sure I’ll take any help I can get.”
I start to pick up all the broken off parts of the building and then I do small repairs until the shop looks almost back to new with the exception of a few spots that an actual craftsman will have to repair.
“Thank you for helping out with the repairs. It probably would’ve taken twice as long without your help.”
“It's no problem, I'm just glad to help.”
“Next time you come by my butcher shop for meat will be on the house.”
“Hey there’s no need for you to do that, I don't really need a gift.”
“I insist.”
“Very well then.”
I then walk away and start to help others where I can. After a few hours I take a break near the ocean on the outskirts of town and just stare out at the sea. I can hear the crash of the waves on the beach, the calls of animals in the ocean in the sky, and on land. Leaning against the tree that I chose to sit under I almost fall asleep until I hear the faintest shuffling of feet and I jump up and quickly scan my surroundings. I spot an old man who I never even noticed until he was right next to the tree.
“What the. Can I help you sir?”
“No but I can help you.”
“Wait, how could you help me?”
“In 3 days time there will be a caravan leaving the village. Make sure you go with them.”
Wait what caravan? Why should I go with them?”
The old man just smiled and walked away. After about 5 seconds I blinked and he was nowhere to be seen even though he was 10 feet in front of me a mere second ago.
“What the hell was that about?”
After a few minutes of contemplating I decided to go help finish cleaning the village. After a few more hours of cleaning it was finally starting to turn dark and the moons were starting to come out.
“Wait a minute, why am I seeing two moons?
Two moons were in the night sky. A slightly larger almost glowy white looking moon and a smaller more dark red sinister moon.
“Huh that's interesting, it almost looks like a holy moon and a demonic moon. Now that is kind of creepy.
I start walking around after looking at the moons for a few more minutes. I eventually find an inn called The Jolly Boar and walk in. It is packed and I walk towards the bar. I spot the bartender who is a gruff sounding older man.
“How much for a room and dinner?”
“A room will cost you 3 copper a night and dinner will be 2 copper. Ale will cost you an extra copper as well.”
“Sounds good I’ll have a room for the next 2 days, a meal, and an ale.”
I gave him 9 copper coins. A minute later he gives me my food and ale.
“Well this doesn't compare to back home.”
I eat my meal and finish my ale then I head up to the room I rented and walk in.
“Well for a shitty medieval inn it ain't too shabby.”
I walk over to the bed and lay down. I think about what the old man said and wonder what is so special about the caravan that he wants me to tag along with. After a few minutes of thinking I finally drift off to sleep.