Chapter 2

"Greetings sir, my name is Magnus Engel, can you tell me where I am?"

"I know of no house Engel, and I am no ser. You may call me Harrion. I'm a simple hunter from the village just north of here, Waldthurn. Where do you hail from?" The man asked, cautiously. Magnus had no idea how to respond to that, does he tell the truth? That he's American? Or does he lie and say another fictional area? Magnus decided to fall back on his ancestry here. He noticed that he was nearby to a great sea to the west when he looked at the map earlier so, after thinking for a bit he replied,

"I hail from Germany, a land far to the west. I've had a long and arduous journey in order to arrive here, and all my men are dead. I only ask for shelter for a few nights before setting out."

"Across the Sunset Sea! Do you speak no lies, stranger?" The man asked, curiosity and bewilderment donning his features. Magnus was confused by his overzealous response, but he stood his ground.

"If that is what you call the sea to the west of here, then yes. My homeland sits thousands of kilometers west of here." Magnus' response seemed to have made the man extremely interested. He looked at Magnus with a newfound curiosity.

"My village can offer shelter for a few nights, I can convince the Inn owner Darrel to host you. We only ask if you can share stories of your homeland tonight. For our whole lives, especially after Brandon the shipwright and Brandon the Burner, we assumed that the Sunset Sea was nothing but a death trap. Forgive us if we have curiosity over the land you call home stranger."

Magnus let out a little laugh and responded. "Of course Harrion, and please, call me Magnus." He stuck out his hand for a handshake and was surprised when Harrion grabbed him at his forearm instead of his hand, but he smiled all the same. 'Seems my food, water, and shelter problems are solved for now. Now I must learn more about where I ended up.'

---

Magnus had settled into one of the rooms at the village's Inn. It was nothing special, boasting a bed, and a chamber pot. Magnus dreaded having to use one of those. The Innmaster told him he could get two nights free then if he wants to stay longer he has to earn his keep. Magnus planned to use those two nights to increase his stats as much as possible.

The room was small, but it had enough space to do things like pushups and situps. So, that is what he did.

"99...100! God damn, I'm weak." Magnus' efforts had paid off though, as his strength had increased by one, however, he was confused as well. 'Jarvis, why did my wisdom increase? I haven't done anything to warrant it.'

[User made the smart decision of using the next two days as a time to increase his stats.]

'I can gain wisdom from doing simple things like that?'

[Only due to the fact that users wisdom is so low, will it grow due to such menial things.]

'Gee, thanks Jarvis. Hey Jarvis, could you recommend some German tales I can tell tonight? I know nothing about my ancestry.'

[User is recommended to use Norse stories. The native peoples will not be able to tell the difference, and it shares characteristics with German folklore. However, based on what I have been able to observe, they are a martial people and will respect strength. You may regal them with tales of famous conquerors like Ragnar Lodbrok and his conquering of England. I can provide user with a script that you can read off of if that is your wish?]

'Yes, that would help immensely, as they say, first impressions matter the most. Well, it's time to get back to grinding.' For the next few hours, Magnus did nothing but work out harder than he ever has in his life, and it paid off. He could feel his muscles growing every time he heard the so refreshing notification sound. His stamina also grew, and his charisma as well for some reason. Jarvis said it was because his muscles seemed to have noticeably grown, he wondered how he'd explain that.

The door to Magnus's room opened, and in came Harrion. Magnus was still shirtless doing pushups however he stopped and looked up at Harrion. "Oye Magnus, everyone is excited to hear of your tales."

"Aye aye don't worry, I'll be down shortly, allow me to dress first." Harrion nodded and Magnus could pick up a respect-filled gaze. 'It seems Jarvis was right, they do respect strength.' Looking down, Magnus could see more muscles than he ever had. It was surreal. His pecs were more than twice as big compared to before, and his abs were more clean-cut than most athletes. His arms even grew quite a bit.

'Jarvis, show me my stats.'

[User Statistics

Strength: 19

Stamina: 15

Agility: 16

Intellect: 9

Wisdom: 10

Dexterity: 13

Charisma: 12]

'Does this mean that I am now almost twice the strength of an average adult?'

[Correct, user now has strength equal to 1.9 times that of the average male.]

'That's...surreal.' Magnus was never weak, but he was never notably strong either. 'I'm lucky I was wearing baggy clothes when I arrived here, otherwise, they would've been suspicious as to how I could've grown so much in such short a time.' Magnus put on the same clothes he wore when he arrived. It was just a simple baggy black long-sleeve shirt and a pair of pants.

As he traveled down the stairs. He asked Jarvis to show him that script he promised earlier. And there he was. Magnus was surprised as it seemed so expertly made. 'Thank you Jarvis.' He arrived down the stairs and was greeted by the cheers of the surrounding men.

"If it isn't the man of the hour! Magnus Engel! Hailing from across the Sunset Sea." Harrion stood up and offered his hand for a handshake. If you could still call it that. Magnus gripped him tightly at the forearm, before looking around at his surrounding audience. It seemed to be 40-50 people. Mostly younger men.

"Greetings Waldthurn village! I thank all of you for graciously granting me shelter after my long journey. Gather around, in light of this, I will regale you with tales of my homeland!" Magnus' words were welcomed with cheers from the surrounding people. He smiled before looking at Jarvis' script and reading off of it.

"As Harrion may have stated earlier. I hail from a land called Germany, however, we called it Deutschland. The land I called home was an arduous one, split into many different areas led by local leaders, known as Jarls. One Jarl was named Ragnar Lodbrok. Now this man was no ordinary Jarl, he had ambition. He was not content with simply being a Jarl. He wanted to be a King, whose name would be remembered for centuries." Magnus started, he grabbed a cup of ale and swallowed it in one go before continuing.

(Just so people understand, this will be a heavily dramatized version of Ragnar's story, and many things I write actually never happened.)

"Against all odds, Ragnar left his mark on history. As one of the greatest kings our land has ever known. Ragnar started his journey when he traveled to a northern land known as Sweden. He went to avenge his Grandfather, who had died just months earlier in combat with the Swedish. When he arrived, he set up camp and prepared for war. The Swedish King Freau was disliked by his people, and many of them flocked to Ragnar's camp. The famous Battle of Kings then occurred. During the battle, Ragnar received 4 arrow wounds, and a stab wound on his right leg. However, despite his injuries, he stood victorious." Magnus began to walk leisurely around the room, with greater confidence in his step as he could tell he was enthralling the audience with his story.

"Ragnar defeated the Swedish King, and he took many riches from his land. When he arrived home, he was hailed as a hero. His people called him Ragnar the Lionheart, for his bravery in combat, and his ferociousness in battle. Ragnar was not satisfied with just this victory, however. He traveled west towards a land previously undiscovered by our people, known as England. England was split into four different kingdoms. Mercia, Wessex, Northumbria, and East Anglia. Ragnar set his sights on East Anglia, as it was the easternmost Kingdom. He famously defeated King Edmund by shooting an arrow into his eye from more than 100 meters away." Magnus took another sip of ale before he continued his tale.

"After conquering East Anglia and returning home with many riches. He sent a Holmgang challenge to the then King Harold. A Holmgang is one on one combat to the death. The winner gains everything the other has. King Harold was not a great king, spending more time with his many wives than actually running his kingdom. He could normally ignore such a menial request from a Jarl, however, Ragnar's newfound fame and wealth gave him more merit for the throne. Harold knew he could never defeat Ragnar the Lionheart, as he was pampered from birth and took the throne through birthright alone. So he fled, like a coward. Just like that, Ragnar became King of Germany and her many territories." The eyes of Magnus's listeners were now fully entrenched in the story.

"With his newfound Kingdom, he returned to England with the intent to conquer the remaining three Kingdoms. He succeded with two of the four English Kingdoms, and most likely would've conquered all of England. But treachery is what defeated King Ragnar. His most trusted friend and second in command Sigurd, converted to the English religion of Christianity, and turned in his friend, Ragnar to the Northumbrian King Aella." Many people scowled at this, as they took honor seriously. Such an offense was not forgivable to them, many hoped that this Sigurd got what he deserved as an oathbreaker.

"Ragnar was tortured for many nights. The symbol of the English religion was carved with a blade on his forehead. Humiliating him in front of our Gods. After six nights of relentless torture, he was finally set to be killed. He was put into a cage and put 4 meters into the air. Aella told Ragnar that if he gave up his Gods, and embraced the English religion he would be given a painless death. In response to this, Ragnar chuckled and said his famous last words. 'How the little piggies will grunt when they hear how the old boar suffered.' Aella was furious and Ragnar's cage opened, and he was dropped into a pit of snakes and buried alive. Smiling throughout this entire ordeal, even smiling in death." Many cringed at the thought of such a gruesome death. However, even though they had no idea of King Ragnar, they respected him greatly. They were confused about his last words though.

"Oye Magnus, what did his last words mean." One asked. Magnus in response smiled, took one last sip of his ale, and responded.

"You see Ragnar had four sons. It was said to be destined, four kingdoms, four sons. They were furious when they heard of their father's suffering. Bjorn Ironside conquered Northumbria, Ivar the Boneless conquered Mercia, Halfdan the Merciless conquered East Anglia, and Ubba the Great conquered Wessex. Sigurd and Aella were famously given the highest form of punishment they could be, known as the bloody eagle. They were executed painfully and slowly by Halfdan, Ragnar's own son. And that my friends, is the tale of Ragnar Lodbrok, the greatest King our Kingdom ever saw, and my ancestor." After dropping such a bomb he raised his cup and called, "as it has been done in my homeland for millennia, allow me to raise a toast for my new friends. Skal!"

Many were extremely baffled by the revealing of Magnus' past, but they then cheered, loud and proud before raising their cups and drinking with Magnus. Speaking of Magnus, he noticed something, 'why did my interface change?'