The Journey Home (2)

Amidst the farewells of the crowd, Solam departed from the Forge Clan, where he had lived for the past two years.

However, he still had to travel on foot, as Frostfang was already burdened with too much gear to carry Solam as well. After all, he was carrying two heavy weapons: Thor's Hammer and a replica of Gorehowl. The warhammer weighed at least seventy or eighty pounds, and the re-forged Gorehowl was nearly as heavy.

Truth be told, if not for the +2 Strength bonus from Thor's Hammer, Solam would never have been able to wield both heavy weapons at once. Before setting off, Solam had specifically checked his own attributes.

Name: Solam Sakmi Sacklair Tomya

Race: Beast Elf (a hybrid of Orc and Elf)

Attributes: Strength: 18 (+2 from Thor's Hammer), Intelligence: 20, Constitution: 17 (+2 from Thor's Hammer), Agility: 12, Perception: 19, Charisma: 13

Class: Elemental Shaman (Level 5), Warrior (Level 8)

Spells: Elemental Soothe, Elemental Riot, Wind Spirit (similar to Haste but without the post-duration fatigue; duration depends on Shaman level, starting at 5 minutes plus one minute per level), Rejuvenation Spell (self-explanatory), Stone Guard (similar to Stoneskin), Elemental Guard (similar to Shield), Rock Spear (a projectile formed of rock, thrown at the Shaman's will), Wind Bind (air turns into ropes to restrain enemies), Fireball (needs no explanation), Ice Arrow (needs no explanation), Giant Strength (a Shaman's signature skill, boosting Strength and Constitution). The final spell is the recently learned Lightning Arrow (currently his most powerful spell).

(All these spells can be augmented by the Elemental Totem.)

Talent: Elemental Totem

Perhaps due to his lineage, Solam developed much faster than other half-elves. Not long ago, he even began experiencing nocturnal emissions. Whether it was the potent bloodline of the Avalon Orcs or the excessive amount of supplements he had consumed, Solam had matured rapidly. The morning wood he experienced every day served as a constant reminder that he had entered puberty.

However, even though Solam was fond of the Orcs here, that didn't mean he could bring himself to pursue the mighty and robust Orc maidens without any psychological barriers. Some aesthetic preferences, even after losing the personal memories of his past life, were simply impossible to change.

His rapid development had also led to a significant increase in Solam's attributes.

Unfortunately, his wretched Charisma remained exactly as it was—only slightly better than that of an average person.

His highest attribute was Intelligence. For a Shaman, Solam possessed a staggering 20 points in Intelligence. One would expect a Shaman to focus primarily on training Perception, so it was truly incredible that his Intelligence, which he hadn't specifically trained, had become his highest stat.

On second thought, the high Intelligence brought by the knowledge of his past life was innate, and combined with the natural development of this body, it wasn't entirely unreasonable. After all, in the outside world, any mage above level 15 possessed at least 25 points of Intelligence. As a transmigrator who brought so much knowledge with him, there was no reason for him to be inferior to the locals.

Note: The relationship between attributes and class levels here is not as rigid as in games. Some level 20 Archmages still only have 25 Intelligence; it just means their speed in learning and researching magic is slower. However, to reach the Legendary level, one must have 28 Intelligence. By the way, level 20 is not Legendary; the path beyond level 20 is.

Seeing his high Intelligence, Solam felt a yearning for the Mage class. Although he was also a spellcaster, the variety of Shaman spells was quite limited, repeating the same few over and over. Mages, on the other hand, could learn a vast array of spells, many of which had fascinating uses—some could instantly clean one's entire body, some allowed for teleportation, and some could even conjure houses out of thin air.

If only I were a mage, I could just teleport home. Unlike now, having to walk back. If nothing else, having a spell to conjure a house would be nice, at least I wouldn't have to sleep in the wilderness like this.

Solam let his mind wander as he set up camp by a small stream.

The sky had turned completely dark, and Solam had been walking for the better part of the day. Traveling at night was dangerous, and besides, Frostfang was carrying too much; it was time to let the beast rest. That was why Solam had specifically chosen this spot by the stream to camp, eat, and sleep, so he could continue his journey tomorrow.

Solam unloaded everything from Frostfang and piled it to one side; it was wrapped tightly in furs, so he didn't have to worry about the dew.

Once the load was removed, Frostfang felt much lighter and immediately ran to the stream to drink. There were no dangerous monsters in such a small stream, making it a safe water source.

He did have to worry about wild beasts coming here to drink, but since they weren't far from the Forge Clan's territory, large predators wouldn't approach easily. Even if he were unlucky enough to encounter one, with Solam's current strength, self-preservation would be easy. In the wild, few beasts would attack a spellcaster; Solam could simply cast a few spells to scare them off.

Solam found some dry wood in a nearby grove and started a campfire. It was late autumn and winter was approaching, so dry wood was easy to find. The weather was arid, making the fire easy to light, unlike in spring or summer when it would be a smoky, troublesome affair.

Furthermore, there were no poisonous insects or flies in late autumn, making it quite pleasant to camp in the wild during this season.

Solam set up his small pot and tossed in the dried meat and dried wild vegetables given to him by the elders, boiling them all together. Since the meat had been seasoned during the smoking process, he didn't need to do anything else; it was ready to eat once it boiled.

He spread his fur blanket by the fire and lay down, waiting for the stew to heat up. The weather tonight was beautiful, cloudless, and clear. Looking up, he could see a sky full of stars, as clean as a mirror. It was a magnificent sight, one that was hard to see in the memories of his past life.

The elders said that this starlight was the radiance emitted by the kingdoms of the gods, but Solam didn't believe it. With the knowledge from his past life, he knew what caused stars to shine. Even though he was in this magical world where some knowledge might not apply, he remained entirely unconvinced that it was the work of gods.

There were countless stars in the sky; if every star were a god's kingdom, there would be far too many gods. But what were those stars, really? Perhaps they were other worlds. After all, he had heard the old man Blackhand say that the world they lived in was not the only one.

In this universe, there were many worlds like their own plane. As for the claims that this world was the "Main World," Solam felt it was just like the people of ancient China—a form of self-aggrandizement. Regardless of the world, bragging was universal; everyone believed that everywhere outside their own borders was a barren wasteland.

If these starlight rays truly represented other planes, then which one was the world he had come from? Or was that world not in this universe at all?

In his past life's memories, although there were religious legends of gods and demons, they had been proven non-existent. While that world had some supernatural powers, they were "abilities." In Solam's view, the spells of this world were far more powerful and bizarre than those abilities.

If his previous world truly wasn't in this universe, then he might never be able to return. Although Solam felt that not being able to go back wasn't a huge deal, he was still curious about his past identity.

He wondered how he had transmigrated here and why he had absolutely no information about his own past. It was unlikely he had simply "lost" those memories. It was highly probable that someone had erased them, but for what purpose? And the person who erased those memories was likely the one who caused his transmigration. What, then, was his (or her, or its) purpose in bringing him here?

Solam felt that the best way to solve these mysteries was to return to his previous world. But thinking about it now was just a way to pass the time out of boredom. After all, let alone returning, he wasn't even qualified to venture out into the world yet.

He had heard his grandfather and the others say that the outside world was a hundred times more dangerous than Avalon. There were all sorts of monsters, various conflicts, evil gods stirring up trouble, demons and devils wreaking havoc, and endless schemes and plots. It was a chaotic mess, and one could lose their life at any moment if they weren't careful.

Although Solam suspected there was a hint of exaggeration in those warnings, it was clear that the outside world was far from peaceful. A rookie like him would likely struggle. Still, he had to go out eventually. He decided that after his coming-of-age ceremony, he would confess to his grandfather that he wanted to travel the world.

Just as Solam was lost in his thoughts, Frostfang actually brought a fish up from the stream. It wasn't small, either; catching such a large fish in such a tiny stream was a stroke of pure luck.

Frostfang carried the fish to Solam as if presenting a treasure, but since the stew in Solam's pot was already done, he declined the offer and let Frostfang eat it himself.

Frostfang was now fully mature, his coat snow-white and kept clean by Solam. Perhaps because Solam had force-fed him so many supplements he didn't want as a pup, Frostfang was a head taller than other Wargs. Now, when Frostfang stood up, he reached Solam's shoulder, leading others to ask Solam if he had some secret method.

Solam had no secret. He figured Frostfang was just naturally strong and tall. He was just lucky that Frostfang had chosen him during the Selection Ceremony.

Solam finished the stew with the iron bowl and chopsticks he had crafted himself. Chopsticks were his unique tableware; no one else could get the hang of them. He had made them based on the knowledge of his past life. For some reason, he just felt they were cleaner and more convenient. Perhaps he really had been Chinese in his past life.