Entering the village, Kane could now see inside the gates more easily. Just like the gates, which were made of very sturdy wood, the houses inside were also robust—many small homes, probably meant for a family of 3 or at most 4 people.
"Sir, could you tell me where I am? I don't know the names yet," he said as he looked around. The old man walking ahead of him replied, "We are on the continent of Eldora, and this small village is called Tree Village, due to the numerous special trees around it."
Kane found the names strange but didn't contradict the village elder. "Special trees?" He then looked back at the trees. He had noticed they seemed sturdier than normal trees, but he didn't feel anything strange about them.
"That's right. These are trees that have accumulated a significant amount of energy over the years from being in this forest, so their wood is ten times more resistant than regular wood."
Hearing that, Kane looked at the houses again. If that was the case, every house here was like a small fortress in the shape of a little home. Yet, curiously, Gaki had mentioned they constantly had to replace the wood of the walls.
After a few minutes, they arrived at a house further in, where the old man stopped walking in front of it. "Here we are. You can use this house while you stay here. It's not much, but it's comfortable enough to accommodate someone. A guard will stay outside to keep an eye on you. We will talk tonight, young Kane. Until then, I hope for your cooperation."
With that said, the elder departed after bidding him farewell, and Kane was told to enter the house. It felt almost like a prison, but they hadn't even confiscated his weapon. So, he entered, seeing that the place had a bed, a table with a few chairs around it, two windows, and the door he had just come through.
"Very simple indeed. At least I'll have time to collect my thoughts."
He walked over to the bed, sat on it, and stared down for a moment.
"AI, run another scan on my body. When I placed my hand on the crystal and did as the old man asked, I felt something he called energy."
[ Initiating body scan ]
[ . . . ]
[ . . . . ]
[ Scan complete. No abnormalities detected again. ]
He sighed again. "How could nothing be found?" He pondered how he could get the AI to find and analyze this mysterious energy—if it even had the capability, as it seemed to be something from this world.
"I'll try to make this energy flow again. While I do that, initiate another scan alongside my attempt. I want to know if anything changes inside me."
[ Understood. ]
"We can begin."
[ Initiating body scan ]
With that, Kane focused once more, trying to sense the warmth of the energy the village elder had told him about. It took some time again, with Kane closing his eyes and concentrating on this energy.
Just like with the crystal sphere, he could feel a kind of warmth within his body, as if something was there, energetically moving through him.
[ Strange energy detected. ]
As soon as the AI said that, Kane lost focus, and the energy stopped circulating through his body.
[ Strange energy has vanished. ]
"Alright, that's something. You can sense it, so it does exist, maybe not on a material plane, but somehow it's inside me." He gazed out the window, wondering. Had he gained this from being thrown into this unknown world?
"Add this energy to my body data. It's something from this world I'm in now, and I want to understand it better."
[ Understood. Adding this new data to your original records. ]
A few moments later, a list of his body data appeared in his mind.
[ Name: Kane Von Regalia ]
[ Age: 18 ]
[ Strength: Low ]
[ Agility: Medium ]
[ Dexterity: Medium ]
[ Constitution: Low ]
[ Energy: No parameter ]
Kane let out a long sigh. He hadn't been one of the best on Earth, but this data was still based on other humans from his original planet. He didn't know if he was better here, in this new continent called Eldora, or if he was much worse.
"I have a feeling I'll be much worse here, judging by my stats."
After analyzing himself and the energy, Kane couldn't do much more in the house, so he chose to lie down and get some sleep. After everything that had happened that day, a good rest was appreciated.
"Alert me if anyone comes within 50 feet of me." With that command given to the AI, he closed his eyes, and all the exhaustion in his body hit him like a steamroller, knocking him out quickly.
It was still afternoon as Kane slept. He lay on the bed for a good few hours—the bed wasn't the best, but he didn't mind—and after a while, though he wasn't sure how long, he heard in his mind:
[ Two new life signs detected approaching. ]
With that, he slowly opened his eyes, stretching, and then sat up before walking toward the door. "How long have I been asleep?" he asked the AI, but as he looked outside, he noticed it was already much darker.
[ Four hours. ]
Four well-rested hours for Kane. Then, a sound of knocking at the door was heard, and he opened it to see the village elder standing there. "Hello again, young Kane. I hope you didn't get too bored waiting for me," he said in a calm tone.
"Sir, I managed to sleep the entire time—it was really refreshing," Kane replied as he stepped outside. "I'm not sure what we're going to do now, sir, but I do have some questions about the energy you showed me earlier. I've never used it before, so I don't fully understand it."
Once again, the old man grew curious, wondering, "What kind of life has he led that he doesn't even know how to use energy?" After coughing a few times, the elder began walking away, speaking as he went.
"Ah yes, right. Come with me, Kane. I'll explain the basics to you." Once more, the two began walking through the village, accompanied by two guards.
"Here in the village, we call it energy, but it has many names, especially in other continents. It is the life energy of each person—every living being has it. All of us humans are born with it and can use it easily to a certain extent, as you did when you activated the crystal sphere."
He stopped walking for a moment and looked Kane in the eyes. "However, this is all most people are able to do in their entire lives. Those who have talent and can train this internal energy can perform superhuman feats."
[ Updating personal energy data. ]
[ Energy: Very Low ]
The elder then proceeded to raise his hand and spoke, "Flames, heed my call. Fireball." And as he recited this, a red sphere appeared in the palm of the old man's hand!
Kane took a step back, startled by the situation, and immediately gave a mental command to the AI. "Analyze the energy from the man in front of me if possible." He quickly regained his composure and spoke.
[ Analyzing. ]
"Fireball? You can summon fire with energy?" The elder closed his hand, and the fireball disappeared. He then responded, "Ohohoho. Yes, but this is just one of the countless things energy can do. Every human with talent for training energy develops a unique skill when they reach a certain stage of control."
[ Analysis inconclusive. More time and data needed. ]