Jonathan sighed and explained what had been bothering him for a while.
The forgotten family, the life before and what happened before he came to this world. All of this just kept bugging his mind and now he had gotten a comrade who could relate to him.
“Actually, I don’t recall too much. My vague memories are kind of repetitive… Most of them are from a great dome, surrounded by a cheering audience. Deathmatches, one after another. Sometimes my opponent was a man, sometimes it was a beast, but I can still see the light of life dimming in their eyes.” Nick said with a reminiscent look on his face.
While Jonathan was a bit speechless at the revelation, he thought that it made sense. From the day one they came into this place, Nick showed a beast like nature sleeping underneath his calm and cheerful facade.
After chatting and exchanging a few of their memories, Nick asked the question that had been looming in Jonathan’s mind.
“So… Do we tell this to Arthur? I mean he should know about this as the chief.”
“We should, maybe he can clarify us a bit more on the situation. After all, it was he who summoned us here with the gate of summoning.” Jonathan rubbed his beard and took a deep breath. “It is for the best if he knows since it concerns the development of the village.”
The duo took one last sip of the juice in slight awkwardness. Nick scratched his neck with a foolish grin on his face as he muttered ‘Status’ in an extremely quiet voice.
✶ Nick ✶
Title Class Job The beast of Falkur
Berserker Soldier
Level 5
Primary attributes Secondary attributes Skills Unspent attributes Strength - 27
Luck - 8
Furious
Strikes - 2 0 Agility - 20
Charm - 7
Woodcutting - 5
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Vitality - 22
Fury - 4 Fishing - 2
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Stamina - 17
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Cooking -1 Hp 220/220 Intelligence - 11 + More Mp 0/0
When he had first walked through the gate of summoning, he was a blank piece of paper. Sometimes he had sudden impulses, but tried to restrain himself as best as he could to fit into the group. Moving his eyes to look at the aged gentleman to his left, he knew that with the resurfacing of memories would either divide, or unite the villagers.
Wordlessly, he took the flask from Jonathan’s hand, took a sip and smiled bitterly.
“Nick, are you all right?” Jonathan noticed the strangeness surrounding Nick and asked.
A few seconds passed in silence until Nick spoke. “Yeah. It’s just that I sort of wished the memories wouldn’t come back.”
“It’s normal that you might not like what you were in the past, but we have been given a new opportunity. It doesn’t matter what you were.” Jonathan spoke confidently.
“It’s not that. I don’t regret what I have done before, but what if everyone gets their memories back eventually? There are bound to be people who are more charming, wise and skilled than me, the odd one who only knows how to kill. What is my place in this world?”
Nick plopped onto the ground with a thud and slammed his fists into the grass below. After a few punches, his being started to emit red hue and the frequency of the slams grew until there was a medium sized crater in the middle of the grasslands.
Jonathan smiled bitterly and knew everyone had their own problems. Unceremoniously he sat next to Nick and hooked his arm around the man lost in his confusion.
“Listen here Nick. Everyone has a place in this world. Some are strong, some are wise. But you are you. Everyone is unique in their own way, and it’s our responsibility to carve our place in this world. Weakness...Is normal, and there is always a way to improve.” Taking a few breaks in between his sentences, Jonathan looked at the Snowstone mountain range and beyond with a serious look.
Nick listened to the old man's words and felt it made some sense. He turned his head and saw a man grinning brightly, even after being separated from his family. A strange emotion budded in his mind, but it was…not bad.
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
In his vague memories there had been only hostility, kill or be killed. An exciting life where every day he was dancing with the only lady he had been close to, Death.
‘This isn’t so bad either. People who care and guide me, that’s…A new experience.’
After chewing Jonathans’ words for a while, his gloomy atmosphere started to fade and the usual grin was plastered on his face.
The duo emptied the flask, smacked their lips in delight and made their way to find Arthur.
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Arthur wiped his sweat on his sleeve and scooped some boiled water from a newly made barrel. With the introduction of iron, the blacksmith Todd had made some useful items for the village, such as big boiling pots, nails and Arthur requested a razor for shaving from the scrap parts.
The construction of the heavy duty cart was almost done and by Arthur’s estimates it should be capable of withstanding somewhere around 100 to 200 units of iron in the bumpy terrain.
The procurement of iron had been his biggest headache, as everything seemed to need it. Charlotte often came to tug his hair and ask to invest in some of the projects she wanted done next, but he rejected 90% of the pleas.
To ease the situation, some of the strong villagers volunteered to mine the iron since their jobs could not contribute at the moment. So the little iron the village had, went into the cart, production of pickaxes and as a reserve for the next big project.
“Aaa aaaa aaaaa!” With a frustrated yell, Arthur ripped a few strands of hair from his head.
From the corner of the blacksmithy, Todd tutted and shook his head. “Just bear with it, it won’t be long. I know you want to build the mage tower, but you yourself made the call to invest heavily into the mining operation.”
Arthur frowned and gave a menacing glance at Todd, who hammered diligently while chuckling at his impatience.
“I know, I know. But you have to know, where I came from there is no magic. Nobody can say they aren’t tempted by the idea of being able to summon lightning with a wave of your hand.”
Todd grunted in agreement and continued to hammer the pickaxe in front of him while thinking back how many times he had already heard the same story over and over again.
Sometimes it’s lighting, sometimes it’s fire but the most confusing quote that remained in his head was. ‘Magic, mythical beasts, adventures and cheap housing. What more can a man want.’
The first part he understood, but was puzzled by the second part. By Todd’s logic, one could just build a house and that’s that.
“So when do you think you’ll be able to build the mage tower?”
While rubbing his now shaved chin, Arthur pondered for a moment. “I think we can start building it today if luck is with us. On average, we should be getting around 10-20 units of iron per day, so we should be able to afford it. Why hello there. What brings you guys here?” Mid speech, he noticed two familiar figures walking through the door.
“Arthur, there’s something you should know.”
Arthur signaled that he’d be back soon when he noticed the seriousness in Jonathan’s and Nick’s eyes. The trio started to walk along the main road towards the sea, leaving the rhythmic hammering coming from the blacksmithy behind.
While walking in silence for some distance, Arthur couldn’t hold back his curiosity. “So what’s going on?”
Nick elbowed Jonathan, and the latter cleared his throat. “It’s like this.”
Arthur listened in silence as the duo explained and elaborated the dreams and memories they had been having. When listening to the vague imagery described by both Jonathan and Nick, it was like a small rollercoaster of emotions for him.
When the story came to an end, Arthur stood silent amidst the green grassland by the sea, accompanied by two distressed men. He closed and opened his eyes a couple times, seemingly in deep thought before smiling lightly.
“First of all, it’s all in the past. There’s no need to be distressed about what you were. Aren’t you my villagers now? And secondly if it’s possible, we will look for your family Jonathan.” Arthur said in a comforting tone.
A million thoughts ran through his head as he listened to the duo. The implications of the villagers' memories returning were massive.
The benefits were there, but there were some serious issues that Arthur needed to address as soon as he could.
He couldn’t guarantee that everyone would be friendly and nice. There were bound to be rotten people mixed in, which in turn could be even fatal.
What if someone was getting a bit too power hungry and decided to take Arthur out of the picture while he was sleeping?
Arthur looked at his arms and saw goosebumps. Cold sweat started to form at his back as he thought it might be possible there was someone who might want to replace him as the chief.
The mage tower and the other military facilities had to be built quickly and he would have to dedicate time to improve his personal strength.
While thinking of the military buildings, Arthur took a glance at the uneasy Nick. He was fidgeting and had unsteady eyes, clearly feeling a bit out of place.
An idea popped into Arthur’s head that would be hitting two birds with one stone.
Based on what he had seen; Nick was reliable, strong and loyal but a bit insecure. From what he gathered from the duo's explanation, Nick might feel that he doesn't have a place where he truly belongs.
“Nick. If you are up for it, would you like to form our very own security division? It would be a huge responsibility and I can’t think of anyone else more suitable for the task.” Smiling lightly, Arthur threw his offer out.