Volume 1: Awakening Chapter 2 Who Am I
According to legend, billions of years before the birth of all things, in the endless time when all planes had not yet been created, at the starting point of time and space, the world was empty but dark.
Everything started from darkness. Darkness is the origin of all existence and the origin of all changes. It gave birth to the omnipotent creator god Darimos. This great god broke the chaos with one hand, spread his vast power into the endless nothingness, and created "something" from the empty and vast "nothing".
The first thing that existed was light. The light penetrated the darkness and illuminated everything. Then, the hand of the Creator God grasped the light and waved it, and everything in the chaos began to flow, never stopping, and thus time was born.
Then, he created many, many things, including me and the world we live in.
I don't know whether this legend is true, but one thing I am very sure of is that the sudden darkness did change many things.
I don't know how long it took me to wake up from the darkness. In that absolutely lightless and silent world, you will feel that everything has stopped and disappeared. The concept of "time", which was once extremely sacred and powerful, is completely frozen in a terrible nothingness and no longer has the meaning of measurement.
When I woke up, everything was the same as before. The sky was clear and the wind was gentle, the grass was long and shadowy, and the rough city walls formed a grayish-white belt, enveloping the city of Campnavia in the morning light.
The only difference is that the streets have become deserted. The bluestone roads that were always blocked by the voyagers who were wandering around are now empty. Only the natives who make a living by doing small business are still standing next to their shops, quietly waiting for others to come.
My partner, the guy named "City Gate Guard Fred Guderian", was still there. He was still holding the scabbard of his proud long sword seriously, looking forward with a sharp gaze.
Opposite him stood a guard wearing armor and wearing a standard long sword. He looked very kind. His eyes were big and bright, but they seemed to lack some spirit. However, when he smiled, he looked very friendly, as if he was ready to welcome visitors to the city at any time.
Originally, this was an ordinary city gate guard, no different from the eight guards at the four city gates of Campnavia. But it was this ordinary guard that gave me an unprecedented shock.
I suddenly wanted to find a mirror, hoping it could tell me the difference between me and the city gate guard. I even couldn't help but reach out and touch his nose to confirm whether it was real.
The guard suddenly said to me: "Don't get too close to the jungle outside the city, traveler, it's not as safe as it looks. About two months ago, a group of wild dogs suddenly appeared there. They often attack passers-by, causing panic in the city. Sheriff Gerald is worried about this matter. If you think you are strong enough, you can hunt three wild dogs and send their fur to the sheriff's office. Mr. Gerald will reward you."
My jaw dropped in amazement. It was me! It was my voice! It was my words! He spoke them with the exact same emphasis and punctuation as I did. After he finished speaking, he ignored me, as if he hadn't noticed the similarities between him and me. I couldn't find any difference between his demeanor and his expression.
What's going on? There's an extra me in this world, standing in my position, performing my duties, saying things that should have been said by me?
I looked away in panic, and then I realized that the world in my eyes had become a little different . Whether it was the houses or the streets, a layer of clear and bright colors was filling my eyes. I was familiar with every corner of this city like the lines on my palm. I knew clearly that it had not changed at all, but for some reason, everything seemed so new and wonderful to me, even the gurgling sound of sewage flowing in the roadside gutters sounded so pleasant. I knew that some huge changes were quietly happening in my body, which made me see things in this world that I had never seen before.
First, I saw a line of grass-green writing on top of each person's head. No matter where they went, the writing followed them. These words were their names. For example, the patrolman coming over there had "Patrolman Porter" written on his head, and the hound following him had "Patrol Dog Fattel" written on his head. I looked at my partner and saw "City Gate Guard Fred Guderian" written on his head without any mistake.
I quickly came to the conclusion that this must be the mark of each person's soul and a symbol of their identity. I couldn't see them before, but now I don't know what happened and I have abilities that I didn't have before.
After realizing this, I immediately turned my gaze to the top of the head of the city gate guard who replaced me. Right above his head, a line of emerald green words chilled my heart to the freezing point.
Written on it were the words "Gate Guard Jeffreys Kidd," which, not long ago, was my name.
This is simply ridiculous, why should the label be put on his head?
Could it be that he is the real me?
If he is me, then who am I?
I quickly raised my head, and above my head, I found my soul.
There it says:
"Jeffreyz Kidd"!
The truth was revealed. I was no longer - or had never been - Jeffreys Kidd, the gate guard, although we were similar. I was someone else entirely, my life not tied to the foot of a section of the wall, my soul not bound to this heavy, rough gate.
I am a completely new person!
For the first time in my life, I realized that I was free! I didn't have to deal with endless questions and demands, and repeat the words I had repeated countless times.
"Leave here, go somewhere else!" This thought came out of my heart, and I was shocked. Leave? Since I can remember, I have never left the foot of this city wall. I have never thought of this idea, not even thought about it. But now, this thought keeps churning in my heart, and I can't stop it.
"Leave, leave, leave... go somewhere else, go somewhere else, go somewhere else..." My mind was occupied by this tempting voice, and I felt excited and a little nervous. Driven by this voice, I tried to stretch my legs and took the first step to leave my post.
When my feet stepped on another piece of land, my heart felt like it was going to explode with happiness.
Can you imagine it? You have been trapped in a narrow area of less than three steps square since you can remember, and can only observe the world of less than two hundred steps from a fixed angle. But suddenly, you can decide where to go and what to do, do whatever you want, and look at the world from countless completely different perspectives. Your world has become bigger, infinitely vast!
I can't describe how blissful this is.
I cheered almost unbridled on the spot. If no one else had been there, I would have done the same. Just as I had just recognized my soul again, part of the air around me suddenly became distorted. Faint figures emerged from the distorted air, gradually becoming clear and real from vague shadows.
These were the Skywalkers. Every time they appeared, there would be such a strange sight. In that terrible darkness, they had gone to some strange plane. Now, they had returned here one after another.
I felt a little awkward standing next to an identical person. Before the time travelers completely arrived, I carefully observed my surroundings and walked towards the woods outside the city...
Before I get to know this strange world, I thought I should know more about myself. I looked around myself to see what would help me on my journey.
I have a backpack, which is not very big and does not weigh much. But when I opened it, I found that there were already quite a lot of things inside. I guess this backpack has some kind of magic, it can hold about 200 pounds of things without adding any weight.
In my backpack, I found a map. This map is very familiar to me. It is a bird's-eye view of Campnavia. When I was a city gate guard, I used it to guide thousands of people who didn't know the way. In the center of this map, there is a blue dot. At first, I didn't know what this dot meant, but as I walked and looked at the map, I found that the dot was also moving in the direction I was going. Soon I confirmed that the dot marked my location. It seems that this map also has some practical magical effects, and I believe it will be very useful to me.
There was also a mirror in the backpack. I took it out and looked at it. I found that it did not show my face, but a long list of instructions and data:
Jeffreys Kidd, level 1, human, warrior. Strength 15, Wisdom 9-2, Agility 12-2, HP 180/180, Fighting Spirit 90/90.
Attack power 15+2, defense power 15+4.
Racial characteristics: Perseverance. When health is reduced to 5%, defense automatically increases by 100%.
Being mercenary, you can earn and spend 5% less money from trading and character rewards.
A versatile player who can learn skills from three other professions.
Combat skills: stabbing, slashing, blocking;
Life skills: None.
I think this should be a mirror that directly illuminates the soul. It eliminates the image of life, extracts the most original thing of a person and directly restores it into concrete numbers, allowing us to understand ourselves more clearly.
In addition to these, I also have a diary. I opened it and found a line of words written on it. The words reminded me: Kill three wild dogs and send the dog skins to Sheriff Gerard's office.
I remember that when the "real me" told me about the robbers at the city gate, I seemed to have agreed vaguely. It seems that this diary can automatically help me record the tasks I have accepted. I believe this is also the effect of some kind of magic. The person who created this kind of practical magic is really amazing.
Backpack, map, mirror, diary, these four things seem to be in everyone's possession. I often see those who travel between planes fiddling with them. In addition to these things, I also have a small bundle of Moon Soul Grass in my backpack. It should have been picked not long ago, the leaves are tender and soft, and there are small blue flowers on them.
I pondered for a long time before I remembered where this thing came from. This is what the merchant who was in a hurry to trade gave me by mistake before the darkness fell. This is a very common herb, which can be made into various potions after simple extraction. But it is of no use to me because I know nothing about extracting medicine. I threw it back into my backpack and ignored it.
The rest is the clothes on my body. Through the soul mirror, I found that my iron helmet can increase my defense by 1 point, but it will reduce my wisdom by 2 points - I understand this very well. This iron helmet is small and narrow, very inappropriate, tightly stuffed in my head, making me almost suffocate. In such a situation, no one can really concentrate on thinking. The copper-inlaid leather armor on my body can increase my defense by 2 points, but it will reduce my agility by 1 point - I think it is a bit heavy. The same is true for my boots. Although it can increase my defense by 1 point, the heavy weight will also reduce my agility by 1 point.
The most valuable thing on me is probably the standard long sword issued by the city gate guards. It looks ordinary, practical and sharp, can increase my attack power by 2 points, and has no side effects.
All these things, plus the 50 copper coins in my purse, are all my belongings. The great joy of being freed has gradually subsided, and I suddenly feel a little confused. I have become accustomed to being trapped at the city gate, a narrow post that can only accommodate one person, and I used to be satisfied with that kind of routine and boring life. Now, you suddenly let me decide my own behavior and change my life. Where should I go?
I suddenly realized that my freedom had come too quickly and too intensely, and I was not ready to welcome it.
The world that was once so vivid and beautiful suddenly became terribly empty in my eyes. Ironically, I took the first step of my new life without hesitation, but I was afraid to take the second step. Countless roads and countless destinies appeared before me, but I had no choice.
Just as I stood there in a daze, deeply troubled by the unknown future ahead of me, a miserable and horrified scream suddenly came from the front:
“…Help!”
