country boy

The march to Urazaki takes six days, they had already been walking for a day and a half. The messenger led the way alongside two of the soldiers; the road cut through a green forest, birds chirped, and the wind howled, the sky was blue and clear without a single cloud.

"I don't think it's going to rain today, sir," said one of the soldiers, looking up. Another soldier approached, coming from the back of the march.

"Sir, I think we should stop to rest, the men are exhausted," he reported.

"Tell them to hold on a little longer, the next village is only five kilometers away."

Behind them, the village men were marching in rows, a melody of sounds of exhaustion and grumbles, irritating. Alexander walked like the others, although he didn't seem as tired as the rest.

"I've been walking with them for a whole day, but I'm not that tired..."

"System, explain the vitality status," he said in a low tone.

[Vitality is the player's body status, representing HP (life points) and STM (player's stamina), and is also the status that increases their resistance to negative effects such as poisons and exhaustion.]

"So upgrading Vitality increases energy, good to know," he said looking up at the bright blue sky. "Could this feeling be homesickness? Although I'd accept a burger right now."

They walked for another hour, slowly leaving the forest and arriving in a village identical to Alexander's village, with the same red gate at the entrance, but you could see large rocks near the entrance.

The messenger stopped walking, as did the men.

"Men!" he shouted, getting everyone's attention. "Rest now, we will march again in an hour and stop when the sun sets."

The men finally perked up upon hearing about the break; some lay down on the grass and began to sleep, others went to drink water from the creek, and some just sat down to rest. Alexander sat leaning against a tree, looking at the landscape of exhausted men. Two soldiers stood nearby, ensuring no one would run away. They got off their horses, guiding the animals to the creek so they could drink some water.

"It looks like we're going to have plenty of time to rest, what will I do in the meantime?" He thought for a few seconds. "System, show me the player interface."

A message window opened.

[Player Interface]

[Inventory] - [Status] - [Forge] - [Diplomacy] - [Guild]

"Inventory? Theoretically, I would have the mechanic of storing items if it was like in EverMagic. Open the inventory," he said.

[Inventory]

The message box showed only a dark checkered grid, with nothing inside.

"There's nothing in my inventory, but I could store several items, now how do I do that?"

A smaller message box opened over the inventory.

[Inventory: The player has an inventory within their interface where they can store any items they want. To store an item in the inventory, the player must take the item and place it directly into the inventory, or the player can repeat the words "Inventory: store (name of item)" for quick invocation. To remove the item, the player can take it directly from the inventory or repeat the words "Inventory: (name of item)" for quick invocation.]

"Store directly in the inventory?" He asked in doubt, looking to the side, he found a small stone. "Let's test this."

He picked up the stone and brought it to the message box that showed his inventory, looking nervously, he slowly approached the stone, touching it to the box. Some sparks came out of the touch between the stone and the inventory, and then the stone disappeared. Alexander looked at his hand, the stone had disappeared, then looked at the inventory. There was a space in the checkered grid that had been filled by a white image.

He touched the white image, and a small message box appeared.

[Item: Small Stone] [Category: Various] [Damage: 2] [A small stone, can be thrown to hit something or to make noise.]

"Description, damage, and category like in EverMagic. I wonder if all items have a description," he said quietly for a while. "Inventory: small stone."

Sparks appeared in Alexander's hand, and a few seconds later the stone was there.

"It works. So having this inventory at my disposal is the same as being armed to the teeth all the time." He threw the stone away. "Open forge."

[It's not possible to access the Forge page.]

"What? Why not?" He asked, annoyed.

[The player doesn't have a high enough level.]

"Damn it. In the end, this level thing is a race against time. Is the diplomacy tab also blocked?"

[Diplomacy]

[Discovered Factions: 1] [Faction: Clan of the Crane] [Location: Kingdom of Shindo] [Relationship: Friendly] [Power Rank: 7]

"Power rank seven... So there are more powerful nations. Just as Inoue said, I must imagine the Griffins' clan is on top. And what about the guild mechanic?"

[It's not possible to access the Guild page.]

"I need to level up as quickly as possible. Maybe joining the army was a good decision. There will be many enemies to kill, I just need to worry about not dying there," he observed the soldiers who watched the soldiers, using the uniform color of the noble's mantle, but much darker from the great quantity of dirt. They didn't seem very well trained, their posture slack, their looks distracted; it was hard to say that they were watching the men who would become soldiers. "If I remember those history documentaries, medieval Japan was similar to Europe in the concept of war. Nobles fought against nobles with their trained troops and their most skilled warriors, the knights or samurais, and when they needed more troops to serve as cannon fodder they used the peasants."

He looked at the men who accompanied him on his journey, farmers, carpenters, craftsmen. No one knows how to pick up a weapon or even fight for their own lives.

"We're basically in the Middle Ages. Inoue said that magic is very relevant here so if it works like in fantasy stories technology has developed little even with elves living for so long. I don't think they've already invented gunpowder," he rested his head on the tree trunk.

"So here wars are decided by numbers, strategy, and warrior skill, it won't be random carnage like World War II, an industrial war as they say," a smile came to his face. "It seems that all those videos and history documentaries are being useful after all. A place where wars are won by one's skill, my priorities are to learn magic and to learn to fight with a sword, I must become a samurai basically, a magical samurai."

He laughed.

Alexander crossed his legs, clasping his hands near his belly, he closed his eyes. Taking a deep breath, his aura emerged, he was cultivating. A good pastime, it seems that awakening his aura made the cultivation process easier, taking deep breaths and drawing the strength of the world to him. He opened his eyes, wanting to see the system message.

[Player is cultivating] "Everything is going well so far," he said with a satisfied voice and closed his eyes.

He continued to cultivate, focused yet also thinking.

War... Here, war will be like in strategy games, with two or more armies facing each other directly. But there are more factors, of course, terrain, quality of soldiers, numbers, and formations. It's like war simulators, but everything will be as real as possible, and I won't have the tactical view that I used to have, there's no pause in a real battle. When we get to Urazaki, I'll pretend to be this country boy who dreams of being a legendary warrior, I'll get close to the commanders but without seeming like a brown-noser, it will be crucial to learn as much as possible about the tactics used and how the armies here fight.

There's also the magic factor, so far the only magic I've found here was healing magic, from Inoue and that healer who helped me. He had a green aura, so he was stronger than me, but does he have combat magic too? If magic here works like in EverMagic, battles between armies will be like guild confrontations, the strongest in the front line using all the items and magic they possess, tanks and fighters, in the backline supports will use healing and strengthening or protective abilities, shooters and mages using long-distance abilities, and assassins on the flanks along with fighters with greater mobility.

Maybe instead of gunpowder, I'll have to worry about fireballs being thrown all over the place. If warriors with powerful auras come to the battlefield it will be quite a show. At the moment my aura is red, I do not have many opportunities and I have no combat experience, fighting those demons was pure luck, but against trained warriors, it's another story.

"Hey, kid." A voice called him.

Alexander opened his eyes, it was one of the soldiers, he seemed impressed with something.

"Can I help you, sir?" He asked respectfully, his aura dissipated instantly.

"You have an aura, that's very interesting, you seem to be the only one from your village who has one. Lord Genichiro said that all men who have an aura should be sent to him." The soldier explained this piqued Alexander's curiosity.

"Who is Lord Genichiro?" He asked, genuinely showing curiosity in his voice, the soldier laughed.

"Wow, you are a country bumpkin. You don't know who Genichiro Hidesue is?" He chuckled. "Lord Genichiro is the lord of Urazaki Fortress, placed there by Emperor Kozuke himself, may the gods rest his soul. He is a member of the Hidesue samurai clan, that I'm sure you know, a famous clan and lords of the Gamiya province."

"And why does he want all men who have an aura to be sent to him?"

"To train them, of course. You're a farmer, but with a little training and with your aura, you could be a good warrior. Of course, you won't compare to a samurai who has trained for centuries but you'll at least be better than the others in your village."

"I see... How old is Lord Genichiro? He seems to be a strong and experienced warrior."

"Be careful how you speak of him, be respectful," the soldier explained. "As far as I know, Lord Genichiro is three hundred years old, he's getting old but hasn't lost the spirit of a warrior. He has been responsible for several victories, to this day those damn bastards of the wolf clan haven't set foot in the northern part of Shindo because they have to pass through him and his fortress in Urazaki. He's a strong samurai with an even stronger spirit."

A strange warmth surged in Alexander's chest, a chance to seize something. He knelt and bowed before the soldier.

"It would be a great honor to be trained by Lord Genichiro!" He said forcefully, like a servant showing respect to the master. "Since I was a child I've always dreamed of becoming a warrior, I've always wanted to participate in a battle and fight in the name of Emperor Kozuke... But those damn wolves killed him... I'll kill them, all of them!"

"Hey now, calm down kid, when we get to Urazaki I'm sure he'll be interested in you. The deputy mayor of your village showed us the demons' bodies and we heard the reports from the other villagers, you might have a latent talent, I'm sure Lord Genichiro will be interested in you." He knelt and put his hand on Alexander's head. "My name is Naruse, you can call me Mr. Naruse. If you want, during this time on our way to Urazaki I can give you some lessons and tips on how to fight with a sword."

"I would be immensely grateful, Mr. Naruse," Alexander replied in a calmer tone, but equally respectful. Easy. Easy as reading a book.

The day passed and the march continued, the men who were not more than fifty now numbered over a hundred. They were in the middle of the road, now with both moons in the sky the march had stopped. The men went back to sleep after walking a few more kilometers, but Alexander stayed awake, reading a message from the system.

[Quest: The Warrior's Path]

[Your training will begin] 

[Go to the forest]