The morning glow of the sun, carrying warmth, started dispelling the mist hovering above the forest, unfolding a picturesque view of towering trees that seemed endless.
Below, the chirps of birds and insects had already begun echoing, signifying a new day.
Groan~
At the same time, in the clearing dozen of meters away, a young man, lying on the damp ground, slowly opened his eyes.
Confusion first appeared in his gray irises, followed by unprecedented shock upon seeing the unfamiliar surroundings.
Neither the towering buildings nor his run-down apartment was in sight; instead, humongous trees, easily reaching tens or more meters in height and a small cabin behind him greeted his vision.
"This, where am I? Did I overdrink yesterday and end up walking to the forest, or did I give my cab the wrong address?
"No, that's not right either, I've remembered that the forest is 10 miles away from my home."
Don't tell me that I got abducted? But if I'm abducted, how can I be here in the forest without a rope around my wrists and feet?
Fearing the worst, Araw immediately patted the pocket of his tailored shorts.
Feeling the presence of his wallet, he then switched to patting his butt.
He only heaved a sigh of relief upon not sensing any pain in that area.
"Then what really happened?"
Going back to the main problem, trying to remember the event yesterday but only in vain, Araw was about to head toward the small cabin on his back when suddenly, within the depths of his mind, a deep voice, resonating with his very soul, echoed.
The voice doesn't have a fixed gender as it keeps changing from the pitch of a woman, a man, a child, and an old person every millisecond, making Araw's eyes widen in pure terror...
A normal reaction upon encountering something beyond normal understanding.
Ding!
[ Wel... come Manor Lord to the Endless World. Here, everything is possible: gaining longevity is within reach, plucking the star with just a thought, or even parting a land with a swish of a finger.
However, there's indeed a saying that every fortuitous opportunity is often accompanied by danger.
With monsters on the land, god in the sky, and demon in one's heart, the chances of teaching the high sky were beyond doubt, extremely difficult...
Hence, in order to increase Manor Lords' chances of survival, the unprecedentedly handsome, wise, omnipresent, the strongest god, and more importantly, extremely handsome ******** gifted you all with a novice gift box!
Note: Don't forget to thank the unprecedentedly handsome, wise, omnipresent, the strongest god, and, more importantly, extremely handsome ********, after opening your novice gift box! ]
"Ahhh! I'm losing my mind, someone was speaking inside my head! This, please go away, I will no longer be going to drink. I promise!
"No, what I meant is, I will only drink once a week." In an instant, after hearing the voice inside his head, Araw immediately exclaimed.
His hand instinctively pounded his head, trying to drive away the voice ringing inside his mind, only to fail miserably.
Fortunately, after two minutes, the voice inside his head mysteriously vanished, akin to a bubble that appears and disappears in a matter of seconds.
However...
Before Araw could heave a sigh of relief, thinking that the initial disorder was already gone, a thin green panel that seemed to be connected with his consciousness, flickered in front of his eyes.
The characters they held, although beyond his knowledge, translated to his mind perfectly, giving him a mystical and novel feeling.
Although he still feels that he was going insane, probably even hallucinating upon drinking too much yesterday, the information the panel contained slightly makes him uncertain.
Ding!
[ Name: Araw Lorica Ricafrente
Species: Human (Low)
Lord Talent: Dummy (Rare grade (upgradeable)) (Inactive)
Lord Manor: (Level 1)
___ Attributes ___
Mortal Level: 1 ( 0/10 Exp )
Comprehension: 1
Martial Talent: 1
Cultivation Potential: 0.5
Skill points: 1
___Skill Section___
Skills: (currently empty). ]
[ Inventory! ][ Shop ][ Global Chat Box ]
...
Ding!
[ Talent detected!
Activating talent (Accept/Decline?) ]
Seeing the text, Araw's mind blankly accepted.
Ding!
[ Congratulations upon activating the Rare Lord Talent: Dummy of Growth...]
[ Dummy of Growth ( Rare ) (Upgradeable)
Description: A Dummy made from the dust of Divinity that focused on increasing and promoting the growth, talent, and comprehension of those who were training with it.
Effect 1: Upon hitting properly, it would grant the hitter a 1 Exp point. There is no limitation of Exp that the trainer could obtain.
Effects 2: Training with the Dummy of Growth can momentarily increase the comprehension of the trainer by 50%.
Note: A Training Dummy that was superior to rare training equipment from high-end civilizations in all aspects. (Its capability will increase alongside the level of Manor). ]
...
Boom!
Abruptly, after willing his mind, a change that fundamentally questioned Araw's understanding of the world, occurred behind him.
Five meters away from the small cabin on his back, on the West side, a sudden burst of light descended from the firmament, hitting the ground as small tremors rapidly spread around.
However, the thing that shook Araw's soul was that, there inside the light, a silhouette of a shadow began materializing, akin to a pixelated image that became clearer as time passed by...
Or to be exact, becoming more solid.
This?!
Amidst his amazement, the light, after 30 seconds of pouring on the ground nonstop, creating a pillar of light that reaches heaven, finally vanished, revealing the silhouette to his naked eye.
There, a dummy purely made of straws, with a height easily reaching 5.5 feet and carrying a hint of ancientness, a testament of its antiquity, stood alone in the clearing, making Araw somewhat confused.
Despite trying to look for the dummy's uniqueness, he couldn't see anything special in the dummy.
"All for that just to materialize a straw dummy?"
Filled with questions, Araw approached the dummy, only to stop a meter away from it since a panel appeared in front of his eyes.
[ Straw Dummy (Rare)
Durability 100/100
Ability: Self Restoration. ]
...
[ Self Restoration: Upon reaching 1 durability, the wooden dummy would enter the self-restoration mode for 5 hours. After 5 hours of restoration, the dummy's durability would return to its peak.
Note: While in Self Restoration mode, the wooden dummy would not provide an EXP or increase in Comprehension to the trainer, nor could it be used. ]