Elric Thorndrake slowly woke, feeling a rough bedding under him. As he regained control over his senses, his gaze focused on the ceiling of irregular wooden beams and coarse thatch.

Sitting up, Elric felt his a sudden sharp pain at the center of his chest. He touched his upper body, trying to find a wound, momentarily fearing that he had once again been struck by some fatal injury.

He discovered no such wound but found that his hat and newfound wand were sitting on a crudely crafted desk next to the bed.

"That's right... My mana reserves must be critically low. Serves me right for using sorcery so haphazardly."

For the most part, the reincarnated man had little knowledge on the subject of sorcery beyond its outward appearance. He hardly understood the real-world application of magic, much less the theory behind its practice.

"Wait, that's not right. I do know what I did."

He had produced and executed a mana-infused formula, using his wand as a conduit for the mana. It had been incomprehensively complex as well, one that Elric had never seen anything like before from the few sorcerers he had seen in action.

How he had actually constructed the formula escaped his newfound understanding, however. It seemed more likely that he had once again received some form of divine intervention.

"Peculiar God... Oh, how I wonder how many other gifts you have given me?"

After a preliminary inspection of his body, Elric began to make his way toward the door of the small cottage he had been relocated to. It seemed he had some unknown benefactors to thank for taking for of him in the aftermath of the bandit attack.

Outside, Elric could see from the relatively high vantage point of the cottage that it was some time in the afternoon. Judging from his internal clock and his actual new pocket watch, he knew that at least a day had passed since his miraculous act of sorcery.

The air smelled sweet and cool, a scent unfamiliar to the urban-bound man. It was comforting to his body and mind.

To the east, with the sun slowly make its way toward the ground, there was a wall-like line of dark green trees. In the south, the now all-to-familiar fields of golden wheat flowed in the gentle breeze, and, past the northern edge of the village bounds, the hilly terrain slowly transformed into an endless mountainous horizon.

Within the village itself, men and women and children bustled about doing their daily chores, although some stared at the strangely dressed young man in recognition. They were clad in rough cloth, woven and dyed with the earthy colors of the natural environment.

It was a truly rural community, but, if the primitive weapons he had seen before revealed anything, it was clear that he had been reborn in a very different period of history than the one he was so accustomed to. Whether this was still even the same world though...

"I need to get my hands on a proper map as soon as possible. Come to think of it, where even am I?"

"Well, I can answer that for you."

Elric turned around to see an aging villager, perhaps in his late fifties or early sixties. Though the elder's silver hair and ever-so-slightly hunched back gave away the man's old age, Elric couldn't help but notice the well-developed muscles and scarred skin that spoke his past.

In appearance, the elder actually reminded Elric much of himself in his first life.

"Welcome, sir wizard. It is good to see that you have recovered from the bandit raid. To what does our humble village owe the pleasure of a great wizard's presence."

There was something slightly discomforting to Elric about the elder's incredibly respectful tone, especially considering the youthful body he now found himself in. Still, Elric was grateful that there was finally someone who could answer his innumerable questions.

"Good afternoon sir. Before I answer, might I humbly ask for your name."

The elder was slightly taken aback by the young man's mannerisms. Elric had instinctively taken off his top hat and placed it upon his chest before bowing slightly while greeting the old man. Such a greeting had been standard practice in the Imperial army and to fail to give a proper salutation could earn a man a not insignificant number of lashings. The elder, of course, could not have even suspected such experiences, though.

"Good afternoon to you to as well. I am Thane, the village chief of Vallon."

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"Thank you, Sir Thane. You mentioned that we are currently in Vallon?"

"Indeed, sir wizard. We are a fairly large village whose main exports are grain and copper ore. We are simple folk, farmers and miners for our great nation of Eirann. Now, if you might answer my first question, to what do we owe the pleasure?"

Vallon? Eirann? That didn't sound very Krupp-like, or familiar in general, at all.

"My name is Elric Thorndrake. I can't help but notice you keep referring to me as a wizard? Why is that?"

Although Elric had indeed performed an impressive act of sorcery, it would be far-fetched to even call him a full fledged sorcerer, having fainted almost immediately after the act.

Additionally, the term "wizard" was also an antiquated one, usually referring to any magic user before their official modern standardization into two distinct groups: production or research-based magic users, known as mages, and combat-based magic users, known as sorcerers.

There were, of course, other names for specializations, but the only "wizards" that Elric even knew about were the legendary, likely mythological, figures of Merlin and Circe. Fairy tale legends of another age.

"Well, Sir Thorndrake, you performed a miracle right before us. The entire village knows of your noble act and your god-given gift."

"God-given, you say? Do you perhaps know of the Peculiar God?"

Maybe the god had raised a following here. It would certainly clear up the Peculiar's God's final orders.

"Peculiar? Are you not a disciple of Fulgur, the god of thunder? Or perhaps Ventus, the god of wind?"

"I am no disciple of any god. I am simply indebted to one known simply as the Peculiar God."

"How interesting. I have never heard of a wizard with no connection to one of the twelve temples..., but the world is a big place. Regardless, it is undoubtedly a truly blessed thing that you were here during the attack. Those bandits have been a serious threat to the village's existence ever since they set up camp in the nearby mountains."

Elric still had many questions about the world he had stumbled into. From the words of Thane, it seemed that this world was almost certainly not the one he was originally from. As far as he remembered, there was no nation of "Eirann" before the modern age and especially not one that worshipped a pantheon of gods.

The only source of familiarity was the existence of these so-called "wizards." Though, considering the technological and cultural age, he suspected that he would need to see one in person before confirming the existence of magic-users.

"Will those bandits be back soon? Has the village reported them to the local militia?"

"Militia? Sir, we are the militia."

"I am not sure where you hail from, Sir Thorndrake, but Eirann has no such standing army. We neither border belligerent neighbors nor are in contact with the demonic hordes. The closest city guard is located far from here, in the city of Rannoch. As for the bandits, it will be at least another week before they raid us again... we can only prepare to fight them again."

"Have there been casualties?"

The old man's face seemed to visibly age a few more years in front of Elric.

"In the last two weeks, we have lost more than a dozen able-bodied men, and at least twice that number have been injured or crippled. Their sacrifice has prevented the kidnapping of our women and children, but we cannot reason with these barbarians. We suspect that they are former pirates of Wintercrest Sea from their appearance and accent."

Pirates. If there ever was a worse group of criminals, it was god damn pirates. The Empire had always considered piracy an incredible nuisance and domestic terror. Elric had seen the brutality of pirates before during inspections of abandoned commercial vessels. They were a sadistic sort, taking a special kind of pleasure from torture and plunder. Not to mention, they were often slavers as well. He hardly considered them human.

Elric suddenly recalled the words of the Peculiar God once again.

If he truly had been given a new gift in sorcery... perhaps he could help these villagers.

Is this what the Peculiar God wanted of him?

If it was, he would inclined to oblige, but would it still allow him to pursue a "better" life? Was spilling more blood in this life truly a wise decision? If he didn't act, though, the bandits may murder more of the villagers who were kind enough to shelter him, perhaps even the kind chief Thane...

He made his choice without a second thought.

"Sir Thane, if you will have me, I would like to stay in this village and help defend your innocent people in the next raid. I pledge myself to eliminate these bandits myself, with the Peculiar God as my witness."

The village chief's expression softened, and, despite the apparent age gap between the two, Elric could not help but notice that he felt that the elder's respect had increased significantly towards him.

"Young Sir Thorndrake, I do not have the authority to stop a great wizard, but the villagers may not understand that. If I may be frank, many are not yet entirely trustful of your power from when you fainted during the battle. You will need to earn their trust."

"I understand, Sir Thane."

"There is an abandoned home on the eastern side of the village. I will arrange for its furnishing."

"Thank you greatly, honorable chief. And, if I may add for our next conversation, please do not refer to me as a wizard any longer. I find that term 'sorcerer' is more accurate."

"Sorcerer you say... an interesting title. I understand. Thank you as well, Sir Thorndrake. Now, if you will excuse me, there are many things I must attend to before sundown. Please, make yourself at home."

The chief made his way toward the village square, leaving Elric alone to ruminate on his current situation. The young man once again looked upon the lively village.

There were farmers in the golden fields, pulling out weeds and preparing for the upcoming harvest. A group of what Elric deduced were miners were driving a carriage full of ores and stones towards the northern edge of the village. Children played with wooden wheels and other handcraft toys in the square.

It was a simple place, a beautiful place, a peaceful place. Although it was a place that Elric could never see himself truly fitting into, he hoped to keep the peace for just a bit longer...

Even if it meant bringing an age of energy several hundred years earlier than it should.

"The chief mentioned that this town produced copper ore, didn't he..."

"I wonder if I still remember how to produce an alchemic grenade."