Hillyne shook his head. He chuckled softly as he realized he had most likely found the answer to the question of the suspicious man's name. The man's name was Marlin.
"Basically, he could just say he's a swordfish-like fish." Hillyne shrugged and went back to admiring his surroundings.
The scenery around him felt so unreal. Even his heart was pounding, feeling a sense of excitement and a sense of excitement that couldn't be described in words.He held his chest, feeling his heart pounding. No matter how many times he said it, he wouldn't get bored. This ... This felt absolutely amazing.
How could she not? Hillyne had just been in his room a few seconds ago. When he closed his eyes and opened them again, suddenly he was here. In a fascinating and otherworldly world.
But his amazement and enthusiasm were short-lived. It wasn't because he was bored or felt like he wasn't meeting his expectations. But, he remembered that he did not know how to access the objects and various other things that had been provided in the contract that he had agreed to.
In games and manga, they often mention status windows or inventory. Does that apply to him as well?
"Status window!"
Nothing happened. Could there be a delay? It's okay. Let's try another one.
"Inventory!" Hillyne exclaimed while raising his hand forward.
Chirp chirp
A bird in the air flew not far above Hillyne, chirping slightly as if mocking him. He could only laugh sadly, then squat down and ruffle his hair in frustration. What should he do next?
While this place is stunning, the sun is still the sun. The rays are so intense that they make Hillyne sweat profusely.
Hillyne stood up and walked towards the tree he had seen since coming to this world. He decided to take shelter there and think about how to access the items that were provided to him.
Sitting against a tree, Hillyne sighed. He wiped the sweat off his body. As his fingers touched the contract pattern on his neck,something like a light sparked and suddenly a small pouch materialized in front of him, which he then reflexively caught.
Finally.
Hillyne clutched the small pouch with a relieved smile. He felt incredibly grateful that he wasn't the only one who hadn't received any buffs during the Isekai.
But unfortunately, his gratitude did not last long. Nearby was a giant cat. But, was it really a cat?
It's shaped like a cat. Its body is about the size of a hippopotamus and filled with abstract patterns.. Its fangs appear larger and longer. There was a single horn, like a unicorn's horn on his forehead. On its back are four large bird-like wings. And ... it appears to have three tails.
"MIAWWURGHH!" The cat sounded like it was meowing and roaring at the same time.
What a cat! It's a monster! And the monster is now chasing him!
Automatically, Hillyne's survival instinct told him to run and look for something usable in his small pouch. Without even needing to see what's inside, Hillyne can already tell what's inside. Let's take the ones that look usable.
There was a card that looked interesting. Hillyne chose to take it. As soon as the card was in his hand, it transformed into a light that spread throughout his body. Suddenly, Hillyne felt something warm envelop her. Suddenly, the clothes he was wearing transformed into a cool, robe-like garment. His hair also grew very long, His hair is braided on the left side and tied back slightly, leaving a bit of hair unbraided. Oh! He also has long bangs on the right and left sides.
But what is this? So this card is just for changing skins? That's cool... But he needs a weapon!
Wait, but is it possible that this skin card has a buff or skill effect?
While continuing to run from the monster that was chasing him, Hillyne pointed his hand towards the monster.
Using magic usually starts with imagination or imagining something. Let's imagine a huge fireball that is enough to annihilate the monster.
Hillyne imagined a fireball to attack the monster. Soon, a fireball appeared in her hand. It was quite large and growing.until it was three times the size of the monster. It was terrifying. Hillyne threw the fireball at the monster. A thunderous explosion was heard as soon as the fireball hit the monster.
BOOMMM!
"Hillyne!"
Hillyne stopped running because he felt safe from the monster and also because he heard a familiar voice calling his name. As soon as he turned to the source of the sound, Hillyne found Xeanee in the air, flapping her wings and about to land.Then he saw the results of his attack. Hillyne immediately grimaced. The meadow. The flower field. Everything was engulfed in flames from her attack.
"Oh my ... what should I do?" Hillyne muttered while holding his head with both hands.
Xeanee heard Hillyne's muttering and said, "Imagine all the plants or things there recovering and returning to the way they were."
Following Xeanee's instructions, Hillyne imagined everything restored, back to the way it was, the first time he saw it. Along with what he imagined, all the damage he had caused, began to return to its original state gradually and as if composed by magic particles.
Seeing the magic he'd cast... Hillyne's eyes lit up. His heart was pounding. So cool! He can do magic!
Seeing Hillyne's beaming face, Xeanee smiled. Then she approached and stood beside Hillyne. "Good job."
"I know rightt???" Hillyne replied enthusiastically. Then, a second later, she fell silent and cleared his throat. "Yeah, that's good instruction."
Then both of them fell silent.
"Bro, please show me around this place." Hillyne spoke up for the first time after the silence.
"Oh. Okay. Sure, come with me to the town near here."
###
"So, I can't stay in that skin forever, huh?" Hillyne pouted and kicked a rock in the road.
After using magic for two hours and arriving in the city, Hillyne's appearance returned to normal. It's a shame. It's a really cool skin, though.
"Yes, of course. But it looks like there wasn't just one card. By the way, that card is equivalent to a archmage or something, you know. And the monsters you fight can be finished off by mage."
Hearing Xeanee's words, Hillyne felt even more sorry for using the card too quickly.
"Wait, mage? "There are ranks? I mean, I know that archmage is the highest, but are there other ranks?"
"Yes, there is."
Then Xeanee explained the mage levels or ranks. At the beginning level, there are novices, usually those just learning magic. Next, there are mages, those who can already cast simple spells but are more powerful than novices. Next, there's high mage, great mage, and the highest, archmage. She simply explained that each higher level is stronger than the lower level. It seems like Xeanee doesn't really understand either or chooses not to explain it in more detail.
Hillyne and Xeanee walked to entertainment and shopping venues in the city. It was already dark, meaning the city's residents had already stopped working and were wandering around the shopping center, playing and buying things. The proof is, many people play and shop here.
When watching anime, reading manga, manhwa, and various stories with medieval fantasy themes, it can feel boring, or even exciting, it can feel very commonplace.It's fun to read that genre but well... That's it. And... So now Hillyne saw what someone wrote or described about the middle ages—firsthand, Hillyne couldn't help but be amazed. This world was a fantasy world, full of magic and adventure. Meanwhile, the world she lived in consisted only of studies, work, and so on. It really felt like he wanted to escape from the real world at that time.
"By the way, Xeanee, what world is this exactly?"
Xeanee grimaced and patted her face lightly. She seemed embarrassed that she hadn't explained much.
"This is the world of Agónría world. To be precise, we are now on the Istora continent. In the world of Agónría, there are three continents: the continent we are currently on—Istora, the continent of Nero, and the continent of Gapi ..." Then Xeanee explained this world in a long explanation.
In conclusion, the Continent of Istora is renowned for its long history, recorded throughout the world. Furthermore, the Continent of Nero is home to many incredibly beautiful and seemingly magical places. Lastly, on the Gapi Continent... A continent filled with monsters and scary things. Oh yes, on the Gapi continent, there are only a few people living.
"You came here after signing the contract with Marlin?" Xeanee asked suddenly.
"Yes. Why? Is that not a good thing?"
Xeanee was silent. Then she looked at Hillyne and looked away, "I don't know. But I also have a similar contract. There's nothing bad about it. But somehow it feels strange."
"Oh? Huhft.. but what else can we do? We're already bound by a contract. Just deal with what needs to be dealt with later." Hillyne looked up at the sky then saw Xeanee. "What's wrong with you?"
"It's okay. I-I'm going now."
"But-"
Poof!
Xeanee disappeared. She seemed to have used teleportation magic. Hillyne could only sigh and look around. There were so many interesting things here.
Before deciding to buy something, Hillyne takes out his small pouch. Now it can appear and disappear at will. Truly convenient.
Inside his small pouch were a greatsword, a magic staff, six cards: one great mage card, two high mage cards, and three mage cards. There were many more besides. But the most important thing was... A fantastic amount of money. A nice, suspicious man. This way, he feels financially secure while he's in this world.
"Hey, do you know a page of blessing?"
"Yeah I know, people say it's in the 'twist' but a lot of people died after going in there, right?
"Yes. They really are like clowns. Wouldn't life be good if they were hunters or explorers?"
"But a 'twist' and a page of blessing are two different things."
Hillyne overheard two people walking along, chatting about something interesting. So she decided to follow them. But wouldn't it be better to join in the conversation? But he's a bit shy. No. Let's be brave enough to join in.
"Excuse me, may I know what a page of blessing and twist or something like that is?" Hillyne approached the two people.
The two men— the two men stopped and then looked at Hillyne.
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*Continent of Istora. Continent of Nero. Continent of Gapi.*
The Continent of Istora comes from the word _istoria_ in Greek, which means story. Since a story can refer to many things, history is something that is very closely related to stories. Like how people tell stories about past events, which is what history is.
The Continent of Nero comes from the word _oneiro_ in Greek. Which means dream. Sometimes when we dream we witness absurd things, but sometimes we also witness an unparalleled beauty (if we can still remember what the dream was about. Most of us forget what we dreamed about). When we are in the real world, there are beautiful things. An extraordinary natural scenery... it feels so unreal and like you're dreaming. That's pretty much it.
And... last but not least... the Continent of Gapi. It comes from the word _agapi_ in Greek which means love. Why are there so many horror myths or something like that there? Because many people say that love stories and romance are the real horror stories. Why are there only a few people there? Because only a few people can be united with the one they adore and it all takes struggle. For example, like those who don't have their parents' blessing or criminals who fall in love with each other, they live on the continent of Gapi. Love and horror are the same thing, so why not just live together?
About the world of Agónría. You might have guessed it? Agapi, oneiro, and istoria. Love, dream, story. The story of A Page of Blessing is based on love, a true story and imagination, lol. And also based on a dream. Yeah. The inspiration for this story came from a dream I had when I was in middle school. It was kind of scary. But yeah, thanks to that dream I have a few things I can write here.