"Max!"
A woman's voice.
Max looked around. It was a bright day in a beautiful garden filled with many trees and flowers. His own property. He was a wealthy man.
He saw her standing next to a tree, leaning on it. He looked into her green eyes. They were the most expressive, prettiest eyes in the world. Eyes that Max loved more than his own.
His eyes became wet when he saw her smiling happily at him.
His wife. The mother of his kids.
Her beauty, her voice, her manners and personality. All of it was something Max couldn't find in any other woman.
Truly, the love of his life. Irreplaceable.
He teared up.
"Oh... How long has it been..." He fell on one knee.
Not very long. One year at most, since he last saw her. But to Max, it felt much longer.
She approached and knelt down to hug him.
Max cried even harder.
"I missed you so much," he said. Barely.
"Everything is okay, you're back now," she said while rubbing his back. Her voice reached his soul.
The hug didn't stop. Max felt a tide of emotions reaching his heart. His mind. Then his throat.
Just when he was about to cry even harder to the point where it was hard to say if it was crying or screaming, he woke up.
"Max. Max!"
Another woman's voice. Nothing like the voice of his wife.
It was nighttime, he couldn't see anything. But he knew where he was.
Mirlia, Rinea. Far, far away from his light.
His face was a wet mess of tears and snot. Even outside the dream he desperately wants to go back to.
"Are you okay? Was it a nightmare?"
The woman turned on the lights. Max could now see her. She was a pretty woman with brown hair and blue eyes.
It was the mage lady Max met.
She had a flower in her hair. Definitely a looker, no doubt. But nothing compared to his wife.
Well, no woman compared to his wife. Not in Max's eyes.
"No. No. It was the best dream I've ever had."
Tears kept running down.
"Okay...Do you need anything? Water?"
"No," he said fiercely.
Silence.
"I'm...I'm sorry. I'll go outside to calm down."
"No. Talk to me. You don't have to be alone."
Max looked at her and considered.
"I don't know if you'll understand."
"I'm a mage, you know! Mages are naturally smart and very understanding of people and the world."
"Alright, I'll keep it simple," the player said.
He took a heavy breath and exhaled.
"I...come from another world." He paused for a moment.
The woman was silent. He kept going.
"I'm here against my will and I left my family alone."
He didn't mention his wife or kids specifically.
"I miss them. I dreamt of them just now. That I was with them again."
"I've heard of otherworlders. Everyone has. The many people that disappeared, did they go to another world?"
Max nodded.
The woman hugged him as he was crying. Just like his wife did. There wasn't much of an expression on the mage's face.
He had dreamt of his wife before, but it wasn't common. However he never cried like this. He felt particularly fragile these days and he didn't know why.
No monster, dungeon or near death experience had broken him like this.
"But you can't go back, like the others?"
Max swallowed. He had an empty gaze for a moment. "Yeah."
He cried while hugging and lying next to the silent mage, until he peacefully fell asleep again.
***
The next day, Max stood in front of a railing, looking at the horizon, and the blue sea.
"Hey, sorry, can you tell me about the island over there?" Max pointed at the sea and the island sitting on it.
A middle-aged-looking man with rough skin and a bald head glanced up at Max from his bench. He had a bottle in his hand.
"Uh, sure. It's occupied by knights and slaves. A sort of prison but I heard it's a mine, but who knows. You can't visit it though."
"Oh? Why is that?"
"Don't know. Law, I guess. Perhaps there's something fishy there."
Max asked around several more times and got similar answers. Unaccessible, mine, occupied and guarded.
They would have to resort to something else if they want to get to whatever Manuel's accessory is pointing at.
Max didn't like it one bit.
Fighting humans was arguably more unpredictable than fighting monsters.
You can sometimes glimpse what kind of abilities a monster may have from the way it looks, but a human?
Sure they might use a specific kind of weapon which can indicate their techniques and skills. But that says nothing about their abilities. Something which is unrelated to your weapon type or fighting style. A player can be a swordsman but have the ability that attacks the mind.
And Max didn't have too much experience either.
Which was why today he was heading off to the knights' training grounds to spar where Manuel got his ass beat!
Not to fight with abilities of course. Nor skills. Only technique.
Technique would be what a person can do with the weapon in your hand. At least that's what Max thought.
Skills would be the combination of technique and aura usage. Something like an aura slash.
Max looked around the clean and pleasant town.
The sky was bright and clear. It wasn't hot, it wasn't too crowded and the city streets were free of trash and rubbish.
The atmosphere contrasted with the very near future in which he would probably get bruised and struck hard a few times in the face.
As he walked, he noticed a building that stood out.
It was an open air building, pristine white. Four pillars held the white roof above. There was a statue in the middle with several people putting their hands on it and closing their eyes.
A temple.
Max looked at the statue and it reminded him of the potentially Epic boss monster that swam in the sea in front of the town.
Actually, it looked exactly like it.
The player approached the temple, walked over a bridge that stood above the water that surrounded the lonely white temple as if it was a castle.
"Hey. Can you tell me about this?" Max asked a random NPC while gesturing with his hands at the temple he stood in.
"Ah, you must be a tourist. This is our guardian god that protects us." The NPC had short brown hair and olive skin.
"God?" Max had never heard an NPC utter the word.
"Yes. It has been here for hundreds of years. It has protected us from many giant monstrosities that approached the town and the ships."
Max didn't know that it was worshipped like this.
"Can I offer something in exchange for a blessing, or something like that?"
"Oh, you don't have to offer anything. Simply touch the statue and pray. You will instantly feel better. Renewed and more energized. It only happens once, but people still come again and again to pray to it. Maybe to show love or gratitude. It does make us feel calm after we do it."
"Hmm ok. Thank you so much." The player politely thanked the NPC and went towards the statue.
He put his hand on the statue and closed his eyes.
He prayed. Not through language. Through his soul.
And then he received a notification.
[You have been blessed by the Apex Sea Dweller, the Border of Old and New!]
[Your Aura stat has been increased by 5 points!]
"Nice!" Max said out loud.
Other people looked at him a little strangely.
He got a free level-up.
Anyhow, this monster, or god had to be extraordinarily powerful, to give out blessings like this.
It's probably the rank of Elevated. An Elevated boss monster. Or an Elevated Epic boss monster, something that I would instantly die to.
Max's curiosity paid off though! He got a level up for it.
He walked on, lighter than he had felt in days. He had to prepare for the Imperial Tournament, as well as for the possibility of having to fight the knights on the island that they wanted to go to.