After walking for a while, Gaki kept talking to him, which was good for completing the translation of the dialect—or at least enough for him to have a normal conversation with anyone in the area.
The boy told him that he had been going up the mountain to gather some leaves to make a medicinal tea for his grandmother, who was quite old. Kane tried to maintain a friendly conversation with the boy as well.
"So, you're a little hero trying to help her!" Gaki smiled as he walked and continued to speak. "Yes, but my *** doesn't want me doing it because it's ***** here."
[ Language translated 79% ]
"Oh, it's dangerous here? Why?"
"There are a lot of monsters here. It's not safe to walk alone without an adult!" he said while walking ahead.
"Monsters? What kind?" Kane was beginning to accept that he was in another world, after everything that had happened to him, but if that was the case, he needed to know what he was really dealing with, and Gaki seemed to know some of these monsters.
"There are small, humanoid monsters. The Trarast, they have dark brown skin and big heads, and they even use weapons like clubs and wooden shields. They're a plague!"
He seemed a little irritated as he spoke, as if these little monsters bothered his village a lot.
"Do they show up at your village often?" Kane asked as he got closer to Gaki. "Yes, at least once a week. We always have to fix the walls they break."
Kane thought about this. If there were dragons and these Trarast around, there were likely many more unknown monsters in the area—or in the world itself. After about 30 minutes of walking, he could see white smoke rising ahead.
"Come on, we're almost at the village!" Gaki said, and he dashed forward toward his village. Kane followed calmly, looking around. As they approached the village, Kane could hear:
[ Multiple life signals detected. ]
"Alright, they're just the villagers." He commanded the AI not to alert him for the time being, as there would be many people in the small village. He could already see the sturdy wooden walls surrounding the village, some marked with impacts and what seemed to be sword strikes.
When Gaki arrived at the entrance, two men stood guard, armed with swords and shields. They saw Gaki approaching. "Gaki! We told you not to leave the village!" One of the men scolded the boy, and the other looked ahead, seeing Kane.
"Hey, look! There's someone else following Gaki." The other guard looked at Kane as well, raising his shield. "Stop! Who are you? Identify yourself!" Perhaps more hostility than necessary, but given Kane's unusual attire, they were on high alert.
Kane raised his hands as he spoke. "My name is Kane. I got lost in the forest, and little Gaki found me and guided me here." He spoke calmly as Gaki tugged at the guard's clothes, saying, "Calm down, Freud, he's nice! And his clothes are funny!"
The guard didn't relax but glanced at the other guard, then spoke. "Call the village chief and ask him to bring the crystal as well." He then turned back to Kane, "Stay where you are and don't move. We'll get the chief to analyze you with the identification crystal."
Kane started thinking about that. He wouldn't have any identification, right? He wasn't from this place, after all. He shrugged—he'd see what he could do. "Alright, I won't move," he said, lowering his arms and waiting for the village chief to appear.
It didn't take long, and in the meantime, he heard the AI speak again:
[ Language translation 90% complete. ]
That was good news—he was now nearly fluent in this language, at least based on what he had heard so far.
Coming through the village gates was an old man with a long white beard, wearing a brown cloak that reached the ground, covering his entire body. The old man looked at Kane and spoke. "Are you the one young Gaki helped?" Kane nodded. "Alright, I need you to come over here and place your hand on this, and put some of your energy into it."
He raised his hand from within his cloak, revealing a white, crystal-like sphere. But Kane was confused. 'Energy? How am I supposed to put energy into it? Is there energy in this world? Electricity?' He had many thoughts, but they didn't help much.
Walking calmly toward the old man, Kane could see the two guards standing by his side, shields and swords ready to strike him if he tried anything against the elder. "Just place my hand?" The old man nodded, and Kane lifted his hand toward the crystal sphere. It was cold to the touch, yet smooth and well-polished.
After a while, nothing happened. It didn't glow or react at all. "You need to put energy into the sphere, boy." Kane looked at him and let out a slightly uncomfortable laugh.
"I... I don't know how to do that, sir." The old man opened his eyes wide, clearly surprised by Kane's response. "You don't know how? But it's basic knowledge, everyone knows it. Patience, then—think of pushing something from inside you into the sphere. If you can't do it, I can't let you into the village."
He swallowed hard. How was he supposed to put energy into the sphere? Closing his eyes, he thought, "AI, analyze my body completely once again. Tell me if there's anything different."
[ Performing full body analysis. ]
[ . . . ]
[ . . . . ]
[ Analysis complete. No abnormalities found. ]
That was pretty much what he expected. Kane didn't have this "energy" the old man was talking about... but another idea crossed his mind. "Or maybe the AI just can't analyze this energy yet."
He closed his eyes again, trying to feel and transmit this energy into the sphere, just as the old man had instructed. After a few seconds... and then minutes, Kane felt something! The sphere glowed a green color.
"Oh! You're clear to enter the village, but..." The old man looked at the sphere again, noticing something else. "Is this your first time using a sphere? There are no records of you in it. What's your name?"
"My name is Kane, sir."
"Alright, Kane. Where did you live before this? How have you never touched one of these spheres?" He asked, now with a tone of curiosity. "Sir, I..." Kane paused for a few seconds, thinking about where he came from. He couldn't exactly tell them he'd been blown up and ended up in a different world.
[ Based on the situation, a false scenario has been created: say that you were raised isolated in a simple house in the woods with your grandfather, and when he passed away, you left to explore the world. ]
And so, Kane told the village chief the fabricated story. "Raised in isolation? So you don't know much about the world? That's curious. Alright, boy, come with us. You'll be under observation while you stay in the village."
And so, Kane had successfully entered his first village in a mysterious new world.
[ Language translation 100% complete. ]