‘Well, this is awkward…”

John sat in the sitting room of Nifriden the Elf. The Elf in question sat across from him in a finely decorated chair.

In his hands, was the letter. There was no doubt in the mind of the Human that Vulgad had explained at least the basics of John’s situation. The Dwarf had made it clear that he trusted Nifriden as he trusted himself.

The part of it all that made him nervous was it actually didn’t make him nervous.

He could think back on the past days and see where he acted in ways unlike the John of the past. The old John would have balked at giving away personal information of any sort, sensitive or not. It was just what came naturally to him, but now…

‘I am not the same John that I once was.’

There was a deeper part of the mind. The part responsible for reacting unconsciously. On earth, that part had always hold things close to his chest, distrust authority figures, and look for weakness or flaw in the lives of others. In short, he had the instincts of a predator.

Something had been lost. Those instincts had gone missing. He didn’t repress them, didn’t ignore them, they just were…

‘Gone.’

If he were to have been a powerful tiger in the past. Now, he was a cub. There was no feeling that he may be betrayed. The memories of his past life were readily accessible, but it was like losing the muscle memory to play an instrument. Well known rhythms and patterns could be replicated in a pale imitation that required much more attention and effort.

‘Did I forget? Was this the doing of hell? Does my new body mean new thought patterns?’

The questions swirled in his mind. They would have continued to do so if not for the movement of Nifriden.

The Elf sighed and put down the letter. Making eye contact with the Elf for the first time, John noticed one immediate difference between humans and Elves. Their eyes. Where a normal man would have a pupil, iris, and a sclera that made up their eye, Nifriden possessed nothing so complex. Instead of a human-esque construction, it seemed Elven eyes were only brightly glowing orbs. They probably came in different colors, but this particular pair was blue. His otherwise fair-skinned face was framed by long blonde hair that fell in wavy patterns.

“So, I guess proper introductions are in order then?

“I am known as Nifriden the Magus. I have traveled the world and seen sights the likes of which kings would kill to see. While my level is only 4, I assure you my knowledge of magical phenomena matches the likes of those far above me.

“And I am most curious to know who you might be, John Cribb. My dearest of Dwarven friends has described your situation to me, as unbelievable of a tale as it seems. Not only are you a released soul from hell, but you apparently have eaten eight Jinga fruits, and you show unnatural ability in sensing mana. Also, runes. I would very much like to know about those as well.”

John was a little taken aback by the Elf in front of him. He spoke in a way that belied utter confidence, intelligence, and allowed no chance for a counterargument. He would be remiss to try and lie or distort truth here. He wanted to regain some of his ability for subterfuge, but this was not the circumstance in which to do so.

“It is nice to meet you Nifriden. You have already said my name, but nevertheless, I am John Cribb. The story Vulgad has written to you is all true. It was his belief that if there was anyone to help me in learning more about my magical abilities, it was you.

“My unique skill has eluded my understanding, and my general knowledge of the world is understandably lacking.”

The Elf tilted his head in curiosity.

“The most burning question I have for you is, do you truly hail from another plane? We of course know they exist, but the act of traveling to one has not been attempted to my knowledge.”

Unlike Vulgad, Nifriden seemed to posses an inquisitive spirit. John appreciated that in his new host. Sometimes asking the Dwarf questions was like pulling teeth.

“Yes, I do come from another world, but it has remarkable similarities to this one.”

“Is that so? I think we can have a great number of grand discussions about that in the coming days. Alas, I wouldn’t be a very studious magus if I didn’t ask about your skill on the other hand. Can you describe it to me? Rune Writing. How curious.”

“In all honesty, from what I can piece together, it is magic as a language. Each symbol holds a meaning. The only successful use of it I have was in copying script in front of me though. The exact meanings and uses of each rune elude me.”

“Fascinating. And our friend’s letter tells me that you saw these ‘runes’ when you witnessed magic being invoked?”

“Yeah, that did happen. I don’t know why no one else can see it. But it seems to be the like written instructions for magic. I don’t know a whole lot about magic besides the runes though. I’m hoping you can help me out on that front.”

“Of course! It is no less than my duty as a scholar of magical arts that I discover all I can about this new discovery in magic!”

“I am glad to hear that.”

The two petered out into silence. Nifriden looked lost in thought. John too felt ideas swirling in his brain.

He wasn’t kidding when he’d realized he’d wanted power. Coming from nothing had always pushed him into having a desire to be an influencer.

Now, John had the opportunity. Eight free ranks, a unique skill no one else has heard of, and an Elf who can teach him more about magic, if he didn’t succeed now, he could only blame himself.

John’s thoughts were interrupted by what sounded like a monster growling in some deep, dark, pit.

*Guruurgle*

Nifriden’s stomach demanded food.

The Elf lost his composure at that moment.

“I guess I have been engrossed in my experiments for far too long…”

“Would my host be so kind as to introduce me to the kitchen then?”

“It looks like our pondering on the secrets of magic will resume at another time then.”

“Apparently so.”

***

Dinner in the home of Nifriden was at the same quality as his interior sense of design. There was still the matter of the exterior though.

John thought that the dinner had been fantastic. The Elf had a small kitchen servant staff in his home that could whip up some pretty damn fine food. While enjoyable, the meal was a little out of the ordinary for the earth man.

It consisted of some sort of chicken or turkey analog; the sheer size of the bird made that clear, they shared a drumstick of the bird, with leftovers to spare! Side dishes of salad and a savory soup rounded out the experience.

The dinner passed in light conversation. John was asked questions about his homeworld.

“Your cities, what did they look like compared to Lumis?”

“Well, they were bigger for one.”

“All of them?!”

“Well, maybe not all. The major ones at least.”

“That is incredible, what allowed you to make them so large, surely food for such populations was an issue?”

“That is really due to our roads and transportation systems. You see, we could move goods from one end of the country to the other in a matter of a few days. Keep in mind, my country was so big it could take a year to walk across.”

“That sounds like a utopia! And such vast amounts of land too! Did monsters not bother your travel routes?”

“No, we didn’t have monsters where I’m from. We didn’t have magic, and we didn’t have the system at all.”

“So strange! It sounds so alien to me.”

“Your world would have sounded impossible to me back then too. We only had Humans there.”

The shock on Nifriden’s face became even more pronounced.

“No other races? No Elves, Dwarves, Halflings, Orcs, Trolls, Gnolls, Goblins, Kobolds, Centaurs, Lamia, Minotaurs, …

“… Satyrs, Giants, Djinn, Merfolk, …

“… Ogres, Draconians, Dragons, …

“… Wolfkin, Catkin, Foxkin, Rabbitkin, Bearkin, …

“… Ents, Stonefolk, Igneans, …

“… And-”

“Okay! I think I get it!”

John was gobsmacked in disbelief. He understood there were a lot of different races here but didn’t previously grasp the true magnitude.

‘Damn! How many gods do these people have around here!? Did he even breathe?’

“We didn’t have any of those on Earth.”

Nifriden was catching his breath as he spoke his next words.

“Earth? Haaahaaa, you guys haaaahaaa, had some great, haaaahaaa naming sense.”

“It worked. Why change it?”

The Elf regained control of his breathing.

“I suppose. It is no wonder you have such an advanced civilization though. You must have much less conflict with nothing but humans to deal with.”

“No. War was still an issue when I left. Even if we were all human, we still found ways to divide and hate each other.”

“Hmm, I see.”

The somber subject matter slowed down the conversation.

“Well, let’s not dwell on sad things eh? I’ll have one of the maids show you to your room. Tomorrow we can get you started in Lumis. I could tell you all about its treasures and perils. However, I do have some rather sensitive experiments I must watch over. So, you can have Recia as a guide. She grew up on these streets, she should be able to answer any questions you may have.

“Unless you have any other questions. I shall bid you good night John.”

“You too Nifriden. I look forward to sleeping on a real bed for once.”

“Ah yes, I know the feeling well. Here comes Recia now. Pleasant dreams my curious guest.”

The last sentence of the Elf was spoken with his back turned as he exited the dining room.

Approaching from a doorway on the opposite end of the room was the maid, Recia.

She was not Human, that was clear from the outset. On the way to Nifriden’s house. John and his companions had passed through crowded streets and a much more crowded marketplace. He had seen those who looked like Recia, but never identified them. Unlike now.

‘Identify’

Recia

Wolfkin

Level:

2

She could be described as beautiful. High cheekbones rested below cool, blue eyes. A small nose sat above full lips. Her skin was pale, almost as white as parchment, though not unhealthy looking. The pale skin served as a strong contrast to the black hair she wore in a loose braid. A few stray strands of hair fell to rest in front of her ears.

“Hello there, Recia. It's nice to meet you. My host said you would lead me to my room.”

Wordlessly, she nodded in agreement.

Turning around she began walking out of the room. John took it as his cue to follow.

Catching up to her, her stride was longer than one would think, John attempted to strike up a conversation.

“So uh, how are you?”

Her stoic demeanor deflected any non-awkward try at breaking the ice.

“I am pleasant.”

Her tone had the warmth of a blizzard and bit to the flesh like one too.

‘You certainly don’t sound pleasant.’

“Look, I only want to understand who I’m dealing with. Nifriden said you would be my guide for tomorrow as I am unfamiliar with the city.”

She abruptly stopped in the hallway. Her turn to face John was like lightning.

‘Is everyone around here a peak physical specimen. At least Baff was a normal-ish level 1. He was pretty strong though…’

Recia spoke, snapping John out of his thoughts.

“My name is Recia, I am a Wolfkin born in the city of Lumis. My mother was a tailor, I never knew who my father was. My mother died when I was 13 years old. Since her death, I was raised by my aunt and her family. I have three cousins from my aunt’s family. I began working for Mr. Thalith four years ago. He treats the servants well and I have no complaints. Is that sufficient for you Mr. Cribb?”

‘She is… direct it seems.’

John nods in appeasement. He was not really all that ecstatic with the curtness of the maid, but then again, it did show what type of person she was.

‘One that shows no interest in talking to me. Noted.’

The two continued walking. Recia led him upstairs to the second floor. On the immediate right was a bedroom. The maid stopped in front of it.

“This is to be your bedroom, Mr. Cribb. If you want for anything, the servant's quarters are on the ground floor connected to the kitchens. I do ask that you not wake anyone for something too trivial. Sleep is important after all.”

She promptly went back down the stairs. Leaving John to inspect his room for the foreseeable future. He quickly put Recia out of his mind. The honesty was appreciated. As his instincts were now, he doubted he could feel the dishonesty of any statements short of undeniable falsehoods.

The room itself was pretty basic. It was clean, had a bed, a dresser, magically lit lamp, and a few other common furnishings found in bedrooms before an industrial revolution. John considered the descriptor he used.

‘Before an industrial revolution, hmm.’

Many of the surroundings he more or less ignored until now became objects of his focus. He hadn’t really had a reason to use his ability to recall information. Now though, he could mostly remember the previous scenes of the day with few errors. It was far from perfect. The process wasn’t like replaying a video. To John it was flipping through a photo album, putting snapshots into context. Blips were missing. Any peripheral visions he had were some of the hardest to understand.

‘Oh, I can’t wait to get some points into wisdom. What good is knowledge without the wisdom to apply it?’

He knew that he could still make mistakes. For instance, he and Vulgad had agreed to test his mana sense with activating enchanted objects. John didn’t forget about it, he just forgot to try to remember it, as odd as that seemed. His mind could still make mistakes, even as boosted as it was

Besides thoughts on his ability to remember, John’s attention drifted to something else while in the room.

A stranger stared at him.

He stood tall, taller than most men in fairness. His arms and legs were best described with the adjective ‘solid’ as a place between bulky and wiry. His chest was of above average broadness. The same ‘above average’ quality applied to his muscles as well.

A strong jaw adorned his face, the unshaven line of stubble it drew was harsh, yet handsome. The same could be said of his brow, a handsome ruggedness. A step below model, but still a point of pride.

His eyes were a blue so faint, they might as well have been grey.

The color of his skin was tanned, originally being white. Rather reminiscent of a graham cracker really.

Completing the stranger was a crown of hair that while a more common brown, gave a hint of warmness like that of a brighter color.

John looked at the stranger and decided that he rather liked who he saw in the mirror.

It was the new him after all.