Arriving in Middle-earth

"What the hell? Where is this place?" Roland had been playing The Lord of the Rings on his computer when a sudden flash of light instantly transported him to this godforsaken wilderness.

"Kee-kee-kee!" A shrill, piercing shriek rang out, startling Roland into looking around frantically. As he lowered his head, he froze in shock: he was wearing the Mithril Armor of a Lord from the game, a legendary Dragon-slaying Sword hung at his waist, and a Mithril Tower Shield was strapped to his back...

"No way! Aren't these the items from my game?" Roland's brain short-circuited as he stared at the unfamiliar equipment covering his body.

Did I transmigrate into the Middle-earth of The Lord of the Rings? Roland pondered.

To his dismay, he realized that if it were the Middle-earth from the movies, it would be manageable, but if it were the version from the computer game... Roland felt like digging a hole and burying himself right then and there.

The game was a heavily modified version of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings films, incorporating Battle Qi, magic, and various other fantasy elements, while altering the map of Middle-earth and the distribution of factions. Aside from a few major characters, almost everything had been overhauled, leaving Roland feeling incredibly anxious...

"Kee-kee-kee!" Several small, green-skinned Goblins jumped out from the bushes, brandishing bone clubs and iron picks as makeshift weapons.

"Damn! It's definitely the game." Roland recognized them instantly as the Wasteland Goblins, the most common enemies in the game.

"Clang!" Roland drew his Dragon-slaying Sword and unslung his shield to block his front.

The Goblins shrieked as they charged, their frail arms swinging their crude weapons, which struck the Mithril Tower Shield with a pathetic thud.

"Hah!" With a furious roar, Roland unleashed a flash of golden light that instantly dismembered the Goblins.

"As I thought..." Roland felt the surging Battle Qi within his body; he was undoubtedly at the Great Knight level, confirming he was indeed in the game world.

The hierarchy of transcendent power was divided into: Novice Knight, Knight, Great Knight, Knight Captain, and Knight Commander, with all other professions following a similar five-tier system.

Suppressing his nausea, Roland turned away from the dismembered Goblins on the ground and sheathed his sword. He had to admit, the Dragon-slaying Sword was truly exceptional—it didn't retain a single drop of blood and was terrifyingly sharp...

A minor skirmish completed. Reward: Fully armored Shire Warhorse x1. Stored in Ring Space.

The ring on Roland's finger suddenly grew hot, and a light screen appeared before his eyes.

"The Ring System? Holy crap! This thing followed me here? I'm set!" Roland exclaimed excitedly. With this, he could rely on the various rewards to build his own kingdom and become a lord. After all, Middle-earth was vast, and most of it was uninhabited; in the game, countless players had established territories in the wilderness, becoming legendary lords.

After figuring out how to use it, Roland summoned the fully armored Shire Horse from the ring. After all, cavalry had a distinct advantage over infantry in the wilderness, and could a knight even call himself a knight without a warhorse?

"Good heavens! It really is fully armored..." Roland sighed, looking at the Shire Horse draped in three layers of Horse Armor. This was clearly meant for heavy cavalry; looking at the steel chainmail extending down to the horse's shins, he doubted any other breed could run for a few kilometers without collapsing under the weight, save for the incredibly sturdy Shire Horse.

"Well, at least we don't have to fear small groups of Orcs anymore!" Roland encouraged himself. After all, even Orcs had a sense of self-preservation; who would go out of their way to raid a fully armored Great Knight?

"Ring, oh Ring, tell me what I need to do next?" Roland tried asking the ring.

"..."

"Fine, it seems the purpose of this ring is to provide achievement rewards... It probably only grants them when I meet certain criteria." Roland muttered to himself.

"For now, I need to find a place to settle down... It's getting dark, and I should probably find some food. Tomorrow, I'll have to set out to find towns or villages. God knows where I am right now..." Roland sighed, clutching his head in frustration.

After collecting some dry branches along the way, Roland rode aimlessly, hoping to run into a few blind Orcs just to pass the time.

"This will do." Roland looked at the interlocking slabs of stone ahead, which formed a small cave about a dozen square meters in size. He decided to spend the night there.

"So... how do I start a fire?" Roland suddenly froze.

"Damn it! I should have watched more wilderness survival shows..." Roland said bitterly, staring at the pile of dry wood.

"Should I try rubbing sticks together?"

"Ugh... nothing."

"Oh! It's smoking!"

"Damn it! My hand!"

"Forget it! To hell with it!"

Roland was on the verge of a breakdown. Looking at the darkening wilderness, he felt utterly dejected.

"No! I have to get a fire going! The wilderness at night is not friendly." Roland steeled himself.

Finally, just before the sky turned pitch black, a small spark illuminated Roland's face. Enduring his cramping hands, he carefully placed the tinder into the pile of fine, dry twigs.

"Ah! Praise the light!" Roland danced with joy as he watched the fire.

First fire started: Completed. Reward: Long loaf x100, Fresh water x100. Distributed to Ring Space.

"Oh? A reward! Now I don't have to worry about food and drink." Roland laughed.

The long loaves were half a meter long and as wide as a palm, while the water came in individual bags, each holding about a liter.

Roland toasted the bread over the fire and took a few gulps from a water skin. Once the bread turned golden brown and emitted a wheaty aroma, he took it off the fire and chewed it heartily.

After leading the horse into the cave, Roland began removing its armor by the light of the fire. As he worked, he praised the system for the high quality of its gear; the chainmail links were fine and lightweight, clearly forged from high-grade alloy steel. Stowing the armor in the system space, Roland leaned his shield against his side, drew his Dragon-slaying Sword, and lay down against the warhorse. Looking up at the bright starry sky, a wave of loneliness washed over him.

"Heh, first night in Middle-earth. Goodnight!" Roland whispered to himself.

Outside the cave, the fire flickered gently in the night breeze. What Roland didn't know was that while fire could drive away wild beasts, it could also attract uninvited guests.

"Pfft! Pfft!" The Shire Warhorse snorted uneasily.

Roland, who was already a light sleeper, was jolted awake by the sound. He rolled to his feet, braced his shield against his left shoulder, and drew his longsword with his right hand, peering vigilantly into the darkness outside.

"Oh! Shit! Fuck! Bitch!" Roland had a thousand ways to express his current mood.

"Damn it! It's a bloody Earth Drake!" he wailed.