The World of Valoria

 

After traveling a series of winding paths surrounded by ancient overgrowth, Marius, under the lead of Woodman, soon arrived at the oddly peaceful and picturesque field within the mountain’s forest. It was a dazzling scene, of colorful flowers and plants, with the sound of a clear running river flowing around its edges. It was a sight that would cause many to open their eyes wide in wonder, but sadly, as both Ria and Rose weren’t conscious, only Marius and Grevlin could bask in the sights.

“Father, this place is cool! Look over there; there’s a house!” Grevlin excitedly said as he pointed at the house made of wood with logs resting on its side.

Marius stared at the brilliant god rays that beamed through the cracks of a few tree leaves, he noticed that even the breath of the fresh wind caused an unusual force to circulate within him. It gave him an uplifting and unconstrained feeling, as if this world was his rightful home.

As if he only now heard his son’s words, Marius looked at this house and responded, “Yes, it is indeed a wonderful place. One day, I’d like to make a place like it for us to live in.”

Grevlin’s eyes beamed as he looked at his father and spoke with a bright smile, “Hehe, I can’t wait.”

Woodman soon halted his steps. He turned and glanced at them and spoke with a welcoming tone, “Haha, we have arrived. I welcome you to my humble abode. Please feel free to make yourself at home here for the time being. Now come with me; let me find you a room for your wife and child.”

Woodman then walked forward, passing a giant-looking axe embedded within a thick stump.

Marius’ eyes flickered as he saw the sharp light gleaming from its edge; he noticed a few unusual markings on its surface from some runic language.

As expected, it’s a different language that would be difficult to learn, but… that’s only for the average person.

Marius had a strange flicker in his eyes. Instantly, his mind had a notification sound as a screen popped up in his eyes.

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Ding!

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User has encountered a foreign language.

System is now in effect!

Transferring Language Inheritance!

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Ding!

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You’ve learned the language of Alvaria!

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Ding!

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Your level is too low, unable to show complete item stats!

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…

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(S-Max) Mystic Edge Splitter

Strength: ★???? Mana: ★????

Description:

A weapon forged by a master blacksmith.

May its shine bring glory to Alvaria.

Its edge ruin to the dark souls!

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This weapon is quite powerful, but as for how strong, I don’t have any idea. That rating marked as S-Max, I’ve seen it on my Empowerment skill, but I have no idea what it’s implying. For now, I need to gather more information about this world.

Marius ruminated as he inspected the details. Soon, he wrapped up his thoughts, and followed Woodman into his abode.

Once inside, he noticed that it had a simple setup, a stove made of stone, a fireplace, furniture of wood, and unknown rugs made of furs belonging to strange creatures. Though it wasn’t large, it had enough space to at least accommodate at most four individuals, with a few private rooms.

Woodman moved to one side, opening the door to show a room that looked almost like a modern bathroom, made of wood, it had a metallic pipe with rune markings and a wooden tub for bathing.

“This right here is the shower room; I’ve set up a simple mana filtering system which can pull clean water through this pipe. It should as be comfortable as those in a large town, you can clean up once you’ve settled later. Now follow me upstairs, that’s where you’ll be staying.”

“Understood,” Marius replied as he followed behind Woodman, but as he moved, his eyes still glanced at the shower while in thought.

Incredible, I thought it to be like in those fiction stories, but I was wrong, magic can be used almost like modern technology. I need to expect the unexpected from here on out.

Woodman guided Marius and his family to the room upstairs before turning away and speaking, “This is the room; come to me once you’ve tucked them in. I’m sure you have some questions that you’ll like to be answered.”

Marius stared at the old man and questioned, “I don’t understand. Why are you even helping us?”

Woodman soon took on an unusual look as his eyes grew distant. He stared at a window nearby with a slightly lost expression as he replied, “Let’s just say that I’ve got a soft heart for family.”

After speaking his words, he didn’t even wait for Marius’s reply, slowly leaving the upper rooms as he headed down to the main floor.

Marius stared at him, not knowing what to say, but Grevlin, standing by his side, looked up at him with curiosity and asked, “Father, what does he mean?”

Marius thought for a bit and replied, “It’s likely that he’s grown fond of us. Grevlin, worry not about the details, right now, I want you to be a good child and look after them for a little while; I’ll need to talk with that woodcutter.”

Grevlin nodded and obediently replied, “Okay.”

“Come now, let’s set them down,” Marius said, entering the simple-looking room. He first gently put down Ria, using one hand to fix her position correctly.

While doing this, he noticed that her face was slightly pale, as if she was in a lot of pain, but was oddly still unconscious. He tried to touch her forehead to assess her condition, but soon, a strange scene occurred.

A burst of purple flames scorched his arm in a flash, giving it a harsh burn before receding. Marius didn’t show a change in expression; this wasn’t the first time she had these kinds of flare-ups; she did so during her times of having fevers. What was strange was her not waking up despite being in this state.

‘I can’t understand it; I can only hope it’s nothing serious. Judging by how the old man acted, it didn’t seem like she was in any danger; maybe he might know something.’

Marius thought as he looked at her deeply. He gently placed Rose down on a different bed, as it would be far too dangerous for her to rest beside Ria. After tucking the little angel in, he glanced at Grevlin and spoke, “I’m going now. Make sure you get to rest, and remember not to touch your mother, okay?”

Grevlin nodded in reply, his face had a look of understanding.

Marius rubbed his head before he left the room and headed downstairs. Once he arrived on the base floor, he saw that Woodman was outside, sitting by the side of his axe. As he left the house, Woodman looked over at him with a smile and inquired.

“Now then, young fellow, tell me, from which world did you arrive?”

From those words, Marius knew that his conjecture was right. The old man did seem to know of their secret. He sat on the grass and spoke, not denying it, “How do you know this?”

Woodman smirked as he spoke, “Oho, so you chose to answer a question with a question. You know, that’s not a pleasant thing, but I guess I can’t complain. Youth is always a rash thing. Okay, young fellow, I’ll give you an answer, but in return, you’ll have to answer my question afterward. Do we have an agreement?”

Marius thought before he complied, “Fine.”

Woodman then went ahead to remove his shirt. His fingers then pointed at a mark of a faded crest on his skin. It had an ‘A’ shape with a sword at its center.

Marius was puzzled, but he said nothing and only observed in silence. Woodman then pointed and spoke, “Do you see this crest? It is known as the Crest of Artia, a mark embedded on the skin of our race born native to the world of Valoria. Like myself, every bearer of this crest is considered a descendant of the Ancient God Artia, and we are known as Artians. We Artians are one of the three Supreme Races, separate from the beloved folks of nature, the Foris, and those of the sinister hell lineage, the Hellions. Other than our kinds, many others are divided into the Lesser and Superior races. Every race has its defining trait, and those of another kind can sense it.”

Marius felt that the old man’s speech was a little long-winded, but he didn’t say anything. He keenly listened and already had an idea about what he was implying.

Woodman seeing Marius’ expression, smirked and finished his statement, “As you should have already guessed, I was able to glean your status because I couldn’t sense the Crest of Artia on your body. Neither was I able to sense any of the other race’s traits. There are rare people like you who share your features, and we call such individuals, the Otherworlders. Of course, your status as an Otherworlder is one thing, but what left me puzzled is that unlike you, the rest of your family is different. I’d have expect for those from another world to be more like you, but your family bares the innate traits and horns akin to those Hellions.”

Marius was shocked, but not by how Woodman could identify him as an Otherworlder. Instead, his mind rang out when he recalled latter parts of his statement.

So, is he saying that the mystical race I couldn’t identify on my wife’s and children’s status screen are those Hellions? This is too troubling, since it’s like this, then it could only mean that Ria was originally from this world. If she did indeed come from here, my only question now is why, for what reason would she come to my world?

Marius had complex look in his eyes, he wanted to ponder some more, but Woodman, who paid attention to him once more spoke out.

“There you have it, young one; now I believe it’s your turn to answer my questions, do tell me, which world do you hail from?” Woodman asked with curious eyes. The scene now turned strange as a cool wind blew across the fields, scattering petals from roses as they glided towards the depths of the meadows.