Staring at the white canvas tent, which has now began turning yellow showing its age, above me, my first thought was, 'commonfolk like us use tents made of synthetic material, canvas is expensive and of this size'.
Rotating my neck to take a look at size, I noticed a few other occupants lying on a mattress. Closest one to me have had severe third-degree burns, judging by the injuries but interestingly most of them looked half-healed like he had already gone months of recovery.
I tried to sit but sharp pain in my spine convinced me not to. My right arm and left leg had cast on it, while my other limbs were okay, kind-of.
'This place is weird, smell of antiseptic or whatever they used to clean wounds is wrong or maybe I should say, unfamiliar. In fact, all the medicine used here have an odd smell. Also, the fact I remember that I had a pretty major wound, life-threatening even, on my head when I woke up briefly, now I don't feel even a small injury on my head, whereas my hand, which just had a fracture and is now in cast. It is as if someone cured only life-threatening wounds, possibly because there were many patients to attend to.'
'Secondly, the air feels unnatural, a bit heavier than usual and it's not pollutants weighing it down. The air is fresh and much cleaner than anywhere I have ever been but heavy but I don't feel any difficulty in breathing. This place doesn't feel like earth.'
The thought sounded absurd to his own ears but now that it had been planted in his mind, it refused to leave.
As he was pondering over the other irregularities he found, a blue translucent screen flickered in front of his eyes, at the same time a feminine but mechanical voice sounded directly in his head.
[ 'System has activated.' ]
[ 'Congratulations, you have been chosen as host to Survival System.' ]
[ 'System is designed to help you survive and thrive in this new world.' ]
The blue translucent screen hovered in the air at about 25 cm in front of his center of his eyes. On the left side of the screen were three tabs: Map, Inventory and status. While the center and left side were currently empty.
On thinking about what it said, thoughts that were on his head were confirmed by this so-called system, though he was reluctant to trust it. Also, the choice of words surprised him.
'Chosen by who specifically? And what specifically happened to me in my previous world?'
[ 'Details about selection process are not available. You have died due to severe trauma and blood loss after falling from a height 30 m in your previous world' ]
'Hmm, what was my name and my parents name back in my previous world.'
[ 'Morris Green, father's name- Carl Green, mother's name- Doretha Green' ]
'Where was my dog buried? And what happened during my parent's second anniversary'
[ 'Dog was not buried; you dumped him in a lake. I don't know what happened in your parent's second anniversary.' ]
'And why did I do so?'
[ 'Because you found out the pattern ants took to find food and found the task of burring the dog a waste of time.' ]
'That sounds like myself. Interesting, so it not only knows all what I know but also what was going on my mind at that time. It is deeper than just memory reading. Okay, how exactly would you help me survive in this new world? And what's new about this world?'
[ 'I would give you tasks and upon there completion, rewards; as well as help you with information within my jurisdiction. System has prepared a starting gift containing few essentials.
On comparison to your previous world this world is set in medieval period with monarchy as the ruling system. It has a lot more sentient races as well as energies that did not exist back in your world.' ]
His eyes gleamed and his perpetual smile deepened on listening to it. Even back in his home world, he had been a great enthusiastic of wildlife. The way how nature adapts, thrives and evolves, has always fascinated him. Aside from a wildlife photographer for income, he had also studied zoology, botany and even archaeology; though he had no certificate for that, he probably knew more than one with it.
So, listening to system say that he can expect much more from this world, he was delighted and attempted to sit once more and found himself groaning once more.
'Ouch, geez..., I feel like an old man who is struggling to get of the bed. Anyway, what was the starting gift again, open it.'
[ 'Opening the Starter's Gift' ]
[ 'Congratulations, you have received' ]
[ 'Skill (Grade - EX) => Limit Break: Your potential in any field will keep increasing as you approach the limit.' ]
[ 'Skill (Grade - A) => Language Translator: You now have advanced proficiency in all the languages that exist in the world. You will be able to speak them fluently and write smoothly.' ]
[ 'Skill (Grade - F) => Mana Control: Every being here has mana; few get to control it. Your proficiency in controlling mana is equal to the one who has just started it.' ]
[ 'Money (10 gold coins): An necessity for survival in any civilization. 1 gold is equal to 10 silvers and 100 coppers.' ]
'Cool, so I won't have to relearn the languages.
Limit Break seems like overpowered skill. Such a thing in a given for free, I feel like whoever is behind it is gambling on me. Not sure how to feel about it.
Now this mana thing, is this the energy the system talked about. I gotta look into it.'
As he was monologuing, the curtain to the tents opened up. Aside from some people in habit looking like clergy, three men wearing immaculate black clothes with golden highlights and badges entered. Their eyes scanning each and every patient and finally looking onto his.