Chapter 1 : I Am Here

*Cough*cough*

*Gasp*

He woke up in a sunny valley with greenery around him and soft grass beneath him. Looking up, he saw the vast sky, which left him speechless. He didn't know what to call it.

He climbed to his feet, dusted off his robe, and tried to adjust to the stunning sight before him. The lush greenery felt new and vibrant, the cool breeze refreshing against his skin, and the warmth of the sun enveloped him. However, his head throbbed and he couldn't recall anything from his memory.

The man walked across a dry, empty plain without feeling thirsty or tired. He had a mysterious goal that only he knew about.

The view before him was breathtaking, yet he didn't know what to call it.

The man walked through green meadows and exclaimed "Beautiful" as if he had never experienced it before. He kept walking for miles until...

A woman in full combat gear spotted the figure in the distance, her instincts kicked in and she swiftly called out, "Hey, you! Stop right there!" She approached the man cautiously, her gun at the ready, scanning him for any signs of danger. However, as she drew nearer, her trained eye detected something amiss - this was not the enemy she had been trained to recognize. With a quick mental assessment, she deduced that he posed no threat and lowered her weapon, thinking to herself, "He's not the enemy."

The woman spoke urgently and lowered her gun. "You need to be careful and watch out," she warned. "There are snipers around here, and any mistakes could make you an easy target." She was serious and wanted the listener to stay alert and avoid taking risks.

The man's voice was shaky as he tried to speak. "You're also coming towards me quite fast," he said, his words showing that he was anxious and uneasy. It was clear that speaking was difficult for him, like he hadn't spoken in a while and his voice was rusty.

*Annoyed* With a tone of frustration, the woman replied, "Your behavior has been careless and that's why I'm here. To ensure our safety, we need to go to our base. Can you please come with me?" Without wasting any time, she firmly took hold of his arm and led him towards a more wooded area.

As they walked into the encampment, the man looked around with curiosity, noticing several uniformed figures moving about. He couldn't quite remember why, but the word 'soldiers' kept running through his mind. He stayed silent as they walked towards the woman's tent, taking in the sights around him.

Nat commanded, "Jarvis, Casey, Bark, maintain constant surveillance on him," emphasizing the critical importance of monitoring their new visitor with urgency in her voice.

Bark's booming voice expressed relief at Nat's return, "Nat! You're finally back. Where have you been all this time?" His words emphasized the importance of her presence in their camp.

Nat expressed gratitude to her comrades, "I've just returned from scouting our target area and I must say, you guys have done an excellent job holding down the fort."

Jarvis stepped forward, exuding confidence as he spoke, "Failing our leader is not an option. We couldn't have done any less." His suave demeanor matched his stylish name perfectly.

Casey reported to Nat in a sweet and charming voice, "We have the necessary weapons, but we're low on manatel supply." She was a sight to behold, with her cute ponytail and glasses.

"We do need the manatel if we're in for a prison break," Jarvis added.

The man listened closely to their conversation, comprehending every word. Nat noticed him and questioned him sharply, "Why were you wandering around so casually?"

"I'm not sure," the man replied.

Nat's accusatory tone conveyed urgency, "This is a warzone. Anything could be waiting to kill us on the ground or in the sky. How could you be so careless?"

"I have no reason to lie," the man replied, *pity face*

"What if he's a spy?" Jarvis remarked

"I doubt that he's a spy, he doesn't seem capable enough", Nat retorted.

*feeling low* "I don't know where I am or where I came from," the strange man replied.

"We rebelled against the current King and now we're all outcasts. Our comrades were captured and we need to rescue them." Nat's voice softened as she spoke to the stranger.

The strange man nodded in agreement, his expression still bewildered.

Nat laid out their plan to the stranger, "While you're here, we could use your help in gathering resources around the valley. We need manatel to infuse into our weaponry to make them more effective."

"What's this manatel?" asked the stranger,

"These are dimensional ores that made their way into our world since the last Great War. You must have heard of them, haven't you?"

The bewildered man was clearly at a loss for words upon hearing Nat's explanation. "I'm sorry, but I don't have any knowledge about that," he admitted with a forced smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

*sighs* "We're heading out to investigate a rumored manatel deposit northeast from here, and you're coming with us," Nat declared firmly. "Our miners were injured badly during the last incursion, so we need your help to gather the resources we need."

The stranger nodded eagerly, indicating his willingness to assist.

Bark's usual low and deep voice drowned out any other noise. "So, what's the plan?" he inquired.

"There's never a plan," Nat smiled wryly, "but we'll make it work. Everyone who's able, get ready. We're leaving in an hour," she commanded.

Thus, a small group was formed from the already small encampment to embark on a quest to find the rumored manatel deposit an hour later.

Nat explained manatel's dual healing and harming properties to the stranger on their journey. With four grades discovered, her team had used the lowest, C-grade, in the last incursion, while the enemy seemed to have access to higher quality manatel.

The discovery of manatel led to the creation of new technologies that incorporated its unique properties. For instance, gun users required manatel-infused bullets or guns to cause significant damage. Additionally, there were manatel-infused armors which provided regeneration effects to the wearer, with the grade of the armor determining the speed of regeneration.

After a two-hour journey, Nat sensed something was off and led the crew behind a boulder near the deposit site. Blue ore fragments on the ground indicated the main deposit was nearby.

"The area appears deserted. Perhaps the King thought the rumors were too good to be true," Nakisa with gray hair and curtain bangs reported after scanning the area with his binoculars.

"Sunset's in two hours," Jarvis announced, checking his watch.

Casey didn't show up. She's a tech enthusiast, so when it comes to combat, she tends to back out.

*Casey apologizes from the thought bubble*

"Alright, let's get moving," Nat declared, leading the way with the others trailing behind.

Approaching the deposit, the strange man felt a sense of nostalgia. Though dark at first, the inside was illuminated with sparkling manatel, visible as far as the eyes could see.

The sight of the sparkling manatel deposit was enough to mesmerize Nakisa, who had always been fascinated by shiny objects. Meanwhile, Nat took the lead and began inspecting the ores within the deposit.

Bark, Jarvis, Nakisa, Ranald, Azim, Festo, and the strange man were all equipped with mining tools and began to extract as much of the manatel ore as possible from the deposit.

Despite not knowing the grade of the ores, Nat couldn't shake off the feeling that something was off.

As they mined the ores, a sudden command caught their attention. "Hands behind your head, weapons down!" shouted a voice from the entrance, leaving Nat and her team caught off guard.

The new man barked orders, "Get out now! On your knees!" Startled, everyone quickly obeyed and exited the deposit, dropping to their knees as instructed.

The man had an attitude and said, "Well, well, well, look who walked in, former leader Nat and her bunch of nobodies."

"How could I forget my useless comrade Jerry? Still as useless as ever," Nat retorted with annoyance.

"I did well leaving you guys," Jerry replied defensively.

"Betraying," corrected Jarvis, highlighting the severity of Jerry's actions.

"Bind them," Jerry commanded his men, who swiftly secured everyone's arms behind their backs and made them kneel before him. Jerry held his gun fixed on Nat while his men aimed their weapons at her crew.

Jerry explained to Nat, "You see, the King has offered a reward for bringing the rebel back alive. He probably intends to execute you in public to demonstrate his power and teach his people the consequences of rebelling against the Monarchy. I wouldn't have had to come after you if it weren't for the reward."

Nat inquired, "What is your aim, Jerry?"

"I want to live a life of luxury within one of the 9 kingdoms. It's nothing personal, Nat. I'm only after the reward. And your name is among the most wanted rebels posted on walls across the world," Jerry explained.

Nat realized that this might be the end, but she kept a knife tucked in her back pocket, just in case. She discreetly tried to reach for it, hoping for a chance to turn the situation around.

Meanwhile, Bark was securely tied to a nearby tree, rendering him immobile and unable to help. Even Jarvis and the rest of the group were powerless in this predicament.

But this anomaly. Jerry identified everyone in Nat's group except for one individual. As the unknown man stood up, all of Jerry's men pointed their guns at him, unsure of his intentions.

"Sit down, boy," Jerry commanded, but the strange man stood up, seemingly unaffected by the ropes that had bound him.

"You almost bored me to death," the stranger said nonchalantly, his voice still shaky but better than before. Jerry's men holding the manatel-infused guns aimed at him, ready to fire at any moment.

Nat remembered he wasn't wearing any regenerative armor. She thought to herself, "This man is nuts." She was right.

Without hesitation, Jerry and his henchmen opened fire on the man, spraying bullets all over his body.

The strange man fell to the ground, lifeless. Nat gazed at his motionless body from a distance.

He died,

Or did he?

'More' said the darkness within him.

Witnesses were left in awe as they beheld an unprecedented display of regenerative power within the man's body. In a moment that seemed to defy all known laws of nature, his eyes suddenly flickered open, and he rose to his feet with ease, as if the harrowing ordeal he had just endured was nothing more than a fleeting inconvenience.

Jerry's voice reverberated with disbelief and a tinge of fear as he witnessed the extraordinary regenerative abilities of the man before him. "That's a regeneration at an S-grade level! Who in the world are you?" he bellowed, punctuating his words with a barrage of gunfire. His henchmen quickly followed suit, unleashing their weapons in a futile attempt to take down this seemingly invincible foe.

Except,

To the astonishment of all present, the enigmatic figure remained completely unfazed as a barrage of manatel-infused bullets rained down upon him. In a display of otherworldly resilience, the bullets simply bounced off his body, failing to make even the slightest impact. It bored him.

Amidst the cacophony of bullets bouncing off his impenetrable form, the mysterious man turned his gaze towards Nat and silently mouthed, "I remember who I am".

Jerry and his men found themselves dumbfounded as their weapons failed to even scratch the surface of the enigmatic figure before them. They watched in awe as the man's impenetrable defense withstood their relentless barrage, leaving them to ponder with incredulity, "Who on earth is this guy?"

The enigmatic figure announced, "I am the Jester," and grinned real big 'cause he remembered who he was.