First Friend

Running through the forest, Fendrick first realized that his stamina was trash. He could previously run almost 150 meters full sprint, but now he can barely run without getting exhausted. Even a child could run better than him.

After running for a while through the forest, he sat down, leaning on a tree.

"I killed someone" Fendrick said, staring at his hands with dried blood.

The blood didn't cause him disgust. As a doctor, he saw many disgusting things, but the thought of killing someone made him feel disgusted.

'But it was self-defense' He thought.

It was more of an excuse to tell himself that he didn't murder someone. Blaming everything on the red orb he had met when he was 'dreaming'.

*clink*

The sounds of the chains still attached to him distracted him from his thoughts.

It was hard sneaking around with these chains attached to his hands and legs, but luckily that tower was massive, and the guards were far away from the stairs.

'I indeed to get rid of these if I want to not look like an escaped prisoner.'

'{Flames}' He thought.

Fire came out of his palms and started to heat the cuff on his left leg.

"Hiss…" He cringed, feeling pain when the metal heats up, but thankfully the {Healing} spell prevented him from burning himself from the metal chains.

Felling the metal was hot enough, he quickly grabbed a long rock and placed it inside his feet to stretch it apart.

"AA…" He quickly placed the wooden part of the axe in his mouth to prevent his screaming and to bite his tongue.

When he ran out of Magicka, the {Healing} spell stopped, and the hot metal started burning his feet.

-x-X-x-

It was pure torture for him to remove the chains. He couldn't use both his hands when removing the cuffs with just one hand, so he needed to sit through when his skin was burning. Thankfully, the pain lessened with no scars after he used the {Healing} spell.

'Aurbis, huh?' he thought, looking at his status.

"Very well, I will take the name Aurbis" Fendrick now, Aurbis said out loud.

One of the reasons he took the new name is that the old name is attached to sad memories of his family and his wife. So now that he is in a new world, he hoped he would start a new life with no regrets. That does not mean he moved on from his wife. He just doesn't want to think about it, which might cause him to break down in this cruel world.

Burying the chains in the ground to cover the evidence, he went further, hoping to meet a village.

Aurbis arrived, which looked like a medieval windmill attached to a house. Outside the house, clothes were hanging on a rope for the purpose of drying.

Aurbis kindly borrowed a set of clothes for himself and another set for his journey, placing them in his convenient inventory.

Walking further away, he saw another house. Deciding to ask for help, he knocked on the door.

*knock* *knock*

The door then opened, revealing a large man. He then said "What can I get you, stranger?"

Aurbis replied "Hello friend, I am a traveler and got robbed on the way. Do you know where I can find a city or a place to rest?"

The man then narrowed his eyes, finally smiled, and said "Come inside. There is warm soup available, and I can show you in the morning as I have work in Whiterun, nearby."

Seeing his friendly smile, Aurbis nodded and went inside. He was, of course, on guard, ready to activate his spell in case he felt any threat.

"Haha… be at ease, friend. There is no need to be on guard. You can call me Jorlf, and my wife here is Hulca with my daughter Jofrin." said Jorlf, sensing Aurbis's distress.

Aurbis was quite surprised, hearing what Jorlf had said. While he was a novice at masking his emotion, Aurbis made sure to keep his face relaxed.

Aurbis noticed his wife Hulca, a beautiful woman with blonde hair and blue eyes, which seemed to be common for a Nord, as Jofrin, Hulca, Jorlf, and the person in character selection shared the same features.

'Stop being racist' He thought

Aurbis relaxed slightly and sat down after saying thank you at the dinner table.

Then Aurbis looked at the adorable girl who was shyly peeking at him from behind Hulca.

"Come on dear, introduce yourself" Hulca nuzzled the girl hiding behind her.

"H-Hello… my name is Jofrin, daughter of J-Jorlf Ironhand" introduced Jofrin.

"Hahaha… I have given up that name. Instead, you can call me Jorlf." said Jorlf, who seemed to be a cheerful man with an interesting background.

"You can call me Aurbis" Aurbis introduced himself, earring praise for an intimidating name from Jorlf.

The dinner was great, but unfortunately, Aurbis didn't enjoy it. It was not the food; the food was bland with cabbage soup and bread, which was manageable, but seeing a happy family like them brought bad memories.

Jorlf noticing Aurbis's low mood, questioned "What is it, friend? Did you not enjoy the food?"

Aurbis realized that he was being rude and might have offended them. So quickly explained, "No, Jorlf… seeing a happy family like yours brought sad memories."

Jorlf face relaxed hearing Aurbis, and he didn't question as he realized the meaning behind the world.

"You are welcome to come here anytime. If you are looking for work, I can help you find near Riverwood where they are hiring to clean up Helgen, a dragon attacked." Jorlf said, trying to change the topic.

"A dragon?" Aurbis questioned. He knew that he had the blood of a dragon, but from his information from the guards he had killed said the corpse was found near Western Watchtower, not at a place called Helgen.

"Yes, dragons started appearing around Skyrim. The first attack was Helgen, which was burned to the ground. The second attack was at Western Watchtower near Whiterun. Fortunately, a Dragonborn appeared and saved the day." replied Jorlf.

Aurbis nodded his head and was thankful to hear another piece of the news. He wants nothing to with the coming dragons now, so it was helpful to hear where they attacked in hopes of avoiding that arena in case they come back.

Aurbis's hypothesis is wholly based on the intelligence of the dragons. If they are smart, it would be troublesome; they would likely attack larger cities as they are currently testing by attacking smaller villages.

"Can you tell me about this Dragonborn?" asked Aurbis.

"Ho… It looks like you are new to Nord's customs." Then Jorlf explained to him all about Dragonborn while keeping his information short.

'A person that can permanently kill a dragon?' Aurbis is now interested in the person called Dragonborn while feeling a sting of pain in his chest.

Last known information about him is he was making his way towards High Hrothgar, a monastery located on the peaks of the Throat of the World, the tallest mountain in all of Tamriel.

In High Hrothgar live a group of monk-like people calling themselves the Graybeards, known to be masters of the magic of shout.

After dinner, everyone sat down. Hulca was weaving clothes while Jorlf was telling stories to his daughter in hopes of getting her to sleep.

Jofrin, the daughter of Jorlf, looked towards Aurbis and asked "Mister… Do you have stories?"

Aurbis was looking through all the system functions by closing his eyes and heard what Jofrin had said.

"Well… I have no stories, but I do have some tricks. Want to see?" Aurbis replied, raising the palms of his hand.

Jofrin nodded excitedly, and then she saw a drawing appearing on top of Aurbis.

Aurbis then slowly rubbed Jofrin's cheeks, which caused her to relax as she felt a smooth sensation throughout her body.

"Check your palms" Aurbis then said.

Jofrin who came out of her experience, looked at her palms. The previous ugly calyxes and cuts around her arm disappeared, leaving behind the smooth skin she always had.

Jofrin got up, quickly hugged Aurbis, and cried, "Thanks, Mister!"

Jofrin was sometimes bullied because of the cuts and those ugly things on her palms. While she was a child, she does help around the farm, which caused her hands to get rough. She was also being trained in swordsmanship by her father to protect herself in case of danger while hunting.

"You are a mage? From the College of Winterhold?" questioned Jorlf seeing Aurbis performing magic.

Aurbis looked confused hearing about the College of Winterhold, so asked "What is the College of Winterhold?"

"It seems you are not from the college. The College of Winterhold is an independent faction. It is located in the city of Winterhold and a place in Skyrim for mages to gather to learn and do research." Jorlf replied.

Aurbis nodded his head and said "Yes, I am a mage, an inheritance left by my parents, who were also mages. But I never attended any college if that is what you are asking me."

Jorlf nodded his head. Now he knew how Aurbis escaped from the robber he had encountered. The main reason Jorlf let Aurbis in is because of his face and build.

Aurbis has smooth skin and a handsome boyish face like those bards who sing their adventures. He looked like a noble who never held a sword; he was kind and respectful, unlike typical Nord, who was harsh.

If Aurbis were to meet someone else, they would have definitely called him a 'Milk drinker.'

While he is handsome -the most attractive person in Skyrim, he lacks muscle; Aurbis is skinny, almost skeletal.

"You should have told me sooner. There is only one mage in Winterhold who is an advisor to the Jarl and the court wizard. If you are lucky and talented, you can gain apprenticeship from him, though he is known to be… difficult," Jorlf suggested.

Aurbis shook his head. He needs to experiment more with the magic and the system while learning anything about this world. Being dependent on a powerful mage in an influential position might be a fortune for anyone, but not for him.

Aurbis is not from this world; currently, he holds one of the most powerful artifacts (System) in the cosmos while having knowledge from the outside world. Therefore, staying around untrusted mages who might mind ra`pe him is unsafe.

"I lost my companion. I am going to search tomorrow after you show me Whiterun, and I might make my way to the College of Winterhold to learn more about magecraft." Aurbis replied.

Hearing Aurbis leaving tomorrow, Jofrin felt dejected, which caused Aurbis to rub her head and say "I will come here once in a while. I never forgot the kindness shown to me"

Aurbis is also taking a chance to summon a companion from the ticket he has received. After looking through the 'help' section, he has found out that whatever he receives from the system will only help the host and not put him in danger.

-x-X-x-

"Goodbye, my friend, and I hope we meet again. Jofrin would love if you visit us again" said Jorlf who showed Aurbis Whiterun and took his leave.

Sadly, he forgot to tell Aurbis that Whiterun is under lockdown and no strangers are allowed. So sadly, Aurbis found out the hard way from a guard who insulted him.

That insult caused his blood to boil for some reason, he was a doctor in his previous life, and he had to deal with numerous patients who were rude, psychotic, and sometimes even blackmailed him into giving free prescriptions. So he has the patience to deal with them, but for some reason, a minor insult from a simple random guard made him furious, and his blood boiled.

Sitting on a rock on Whiterun stable, he contemplated whether the race he chose, Half-Dragon, was changing his personality.

=====================

My P.a.t.r.e.o.n if you want to support me :)

https://www.p.a.t.r.e.o.n.com/crazy_penguin