Chapter 2: The Encounter

When I first saw her....

'Wah. Totally different from what I imagined.' While most of the villagers had greyish-white or white hair, green eyes and an angular face, Rafaera had black hair, dark brown eyes and should be about 1.6m. Her face was pretty round (not plump) too. In my original imagination, most people who are in this profession in a village should be some elderly (mm, where did that trope come from?), but Rafaera looked to be at most about 18.

"Hi Rike, I'm Rafaera." Her voice sounded melodious, somehow. 'Ahh... She's talking to me.' "Ouh!" Lang nudged me in my ribs, to my embarrassment.

"Haha, you shouldn't be so rough on the patient, Lang."

"It's alright, we are the best of buds right?" Turning to look at me, out of Rafaera's sight, he gave me a huge wink just out of everybody's sight, before sniggering to Borso who was leaning against the wall. He silently sniggered back. I rolled my eyes in my mind at both of them.

"Hi Rafaera, umm, I'm still not feeling very well yet, sorry 'bout that." Well, it sounded pretty lame, but it was true. My head still felt groggy and my eyes were quivering a little, trying to shut the world from me.

"It's alright, how're you feeling today?" She sat on the chair next to the bed where I was sitting on. "Still a little weak, but I can feel myself getting better."

"That's good, do rest up and take the antidote during your mealtimes. Make sure to drink lots of water too. Do you have trouble sleeping? If that's the case, since you've had lunch why don't you take a nap? Look into my eyes..." 'Oh, its not brown, but black....' Together with a short, muttered chant and a pale yellow light, I fell backwards into my pillow.

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When I woke up, the sky was already dark and candles were lit up in the room. 'Can't they just switch on the lights? Wait, what are 'lights'?' At this juncture, I was sure that I lived in a different place before I lost my memory. But, it's really frustrating. The more I thought about that world, the more elusive it got, and the more murky and painful my mind became. It felt as though it was a warning for me to not touch that memory.

After several minutes of ruminating, I realized there was the smell of food wafting in from somewhere. 'What a glutton hahaha.' I chided myself, while at the same time being a little proud about it. Even in such a strange situation, food was always food to me; a constant goodness in my life. Footsteps resounded, and in came Rafaera holding a tray of food. 

"Hello. Are you awake?" She smiled. "I made the <<Sleep>> last just in time for dinner. Did you have a good rest?" Laying the tray on the desk next to the bed, she sat on the same chair.

"Is that..... magic?"

"Yup. You've never seen it before, right?" I shook my head. In my heart, I was already excited. The gamer in me reared its head. Wait, what's a gamer? But, there's something more important I had to ascertain.

"Rafaera, can I ask a question?" "Mmhmm." 

"How is it that don't have the grey hair and green eyes that the other villagers have? You aren't from the region, are you?" 

"Uh-huh. I'm from somewhere really far away." I really wanted to ask where, but even if she did answer, I wouldn't know where it was. 

"Are you from that world?"

"Sorry, I didn't catch you. What?" This sentence, she said in a barely audible whisper. 
I had a hunch that she didn't want to talk about it either. At least, not with this person whom she barely even knew for 2 days. 

"Umm no, it's okay. That's all!" 

"Alright, I won't disturb your meal anymore then. Good night!" And with that, she got up and walked towards the door. 

"Umm, Rafaera!" I called out abruptly, ahead of my own thoughts. Holding the doorknob, she turned to look at me, tilting her head to one side. "Thanks, for taking care of me, and saving my life!" To my thanks, she replied with a silent beam that meant: "You're welcome".

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The next week or so, I got to learn more about the village and the lifestyle of the villagers. Apparently, this quiet village of about 500 was called Eriva, one of the few small villages near the mountain range of Sovan. Because it was located at such a secluded location, there were rarely any outside visitors at all. Most small villages the size of Eriva were self-sufficient - they hunted in the Emerald Forest nearby for meat, though they also reared livestock such as horses, cows and chicken. They also engaged in agriculture, growing vegetables that varied across the seasons.

Aside from producing food, there were also several occupations that a villager could choose: craftsmen (blacksmiths, carpenters, jewellery makers, architects), labourers (farmers, construction crew), healthcare (healers, herbalists) and lastly, the combat profession who protect the village in the case of monsters or bandits. However, in times of peace, they were converted into food hunters instead. Lang and Borso were in this group and that's how they found me in the first place.

After I recovered enough, Lang and Borso came to talk to me about my future plans. 

"So, have you decided?" Lang chewed on a piece of dried meat as he chatted.

"C'mon, Rike. Join us! We'll teach you how to fight too!" quipped Borso. He really took a liking to the kid. Rike felt like the little brother that he never had.

"Well I.... Hey, let me get back to you guys tomorrow, alright?" 

"Sure, we'll make our move first then!" Grinning widely, both the hunters got up and left. 'These two are unexpectedly convincing. Especially Borso. He'll definitely be a good businessman. Or a conman.' 

That night, I spent a long time considering my options and possibilities.....

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"Rafaera, could you help me check and see if I have the aptitude to learn condition magic?" 

Once I recovered enough to walk around the village, the first place I visited was the magic shop. It seemed like the Elder had announced my "arrival" to the whole village - thus I wasn't bombarded by questions, just the occasional look of disdain. But there were many more of sympathy instead. The store clerk explained to me the magic system of this world. Essentially, there are two main type of magic: elemental magic (fire, water, wind, lightning etc) and non-elemental magic. The categories of non-elemental magic split further down into several more branches such as restorative magic, condition magic etc. Everyone has some aptitude towards some kind of magic, but it requires another who is talented and proficient in magic from that branch to test for it. Apparently, in Eriva, many of the villagers constantly use magic in their work and household chores.

"Mm? Sure. Give me your hand." 'Oh.' I didn't expect that. Then she took my hand in hers, palm facing upwards and used her other hand to write some yellow runes on my palm. "This is the sigil for <<Sleep>>. If you see that it lands on your palm and stay there, it means you have the aptitude to learn condition magic. If the sigil just floats, then not."

With bated breath I stared into that glowing yellow light. Sadly, the sigil floated for 5 seconds with no signs of landing. 

My first exposure to learning magic was scarred.

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"Glad to have you with us Rike! Hunting will be much more fun from now on!" 

I decided to take up Lang and Borso's offer. It was on a whim - I don't even know how long I'll stay here in Eriva. But surely some combat skills would be useful in the long run. I would also want to find a job that let me explore beyond this village and I've heard from Lang that some of the senior hunters would accompany the shopkeepers to trade with the nearby villagers time to time. 

"Sure. I don't have any experience though." 'Would I be able to do this?' I was rather uncertain, but I could only do my best. It wasn't right to depend on the kindness of the villagers forever, either way.

"Don't worry, we'll teach you everything! Just make sure you can keep up with our speed~!" 'These idiots. If they were living on Earth, they could definitely complete a 100m dash in less than 8 seconds!'

The result of today's effort: nothing, but very sore legs.