Amid everyone's farewells, Solam left the Forge Clan, where he had lived for two years.
In the end, though, he still had to travel on foot. Frostfang was already piled high with too many things and couldn't carry Solam as well. After all, he was only bringing two heavy weapons: Thor's Hammer and a replica of Gorehowl. The warhammer weighed at least seventy or eighty pounds, and Gorehowl was nearly as heavy after being reforged.
Come to think of it, if Thor's Hammer hadn't boosted his Strength by two points, Solam wouldn't have been able to wield two heavy weapons at once. Before setting out, he'd taken a special look at his attributes.
Name: Solam Sakmi Sacklair Tomya
Race: Beast Elf (half-orc, half-elf)
Attributes: Strength: 18 (Thor's Hammer +2 Strength) Intelligence: 20 Constitution: 17 (Thor's Hammer +2 Constitution) Dexterity: 12 Wisdom: 19 Charisma: 13
Classes: Elemental Shaman (Level 5) Warrior (Level 8)
Spells: Elemental Pacification, Elemental Surge, Wind's Agility (similar to the Haste spell, but without the weakness afterward; duration depends on Shaman level, starting at five minutes and increasing by one minute per level), Rejuvenation Spell (self-explanatory), Rock Guardian (similar to Stoneskin), Elemental Guardian (similar to a spell shield), Rock Spear Spell (a spear formed from rock that can be hurled at the Shaman's will), Wind Bind (the air turns into ropes that bind enemies), Fireball (nothing much to explain), Ice Arrow (nothing much to explain either), Giant Strength (the Shaman's signature spell, which boosts Strength and Constitution). The last spell was Lightning Bolt, which he'd just learned recently and was now the most powerful of all his spells.
(All these spells could be empowered by the Elemental Totem.)
Talent: Elemental Totem
Perhaps because of his bloodline, Solam had matured much faster than other Half-elves. Just recently, he'd even started having wet dreams. He didn't know whether it was because his Avalon Orc blood was too strong or because he'd eaten too many supplements, but he'd reached maturity remarkably early. Every morning, his erection reminded him that he was entering puberty.
Although Solam liked the Orcs here, that didn't mean he could bring himself to sleep with those mighty, brawny Orc maidens without a second thought. Some preferences couldn't be changed, even after he'd lost his personal memories of his past life.
His rapid development had also led to a sharp rise in his attributes.
Unfortunately, his Charisma was still just as lousy as ever, only a little better than an ordinary person's.
His highest attribute was Intelligence. For a Shaman, Solam's Intelligence was astonishingly high at twenty points. Shamans were supposed to focus most on training their Wisdom, yet the attribute he'd barely worked on had become his highest. It was almost unbelievable.
But then again, the high Intelligence he'd gained from the knowledge of his past life had been with him from the start. On top of that, his body's natural development had also improved his Intelligence. Looked at that way, his high score wasn't so outrageous. After all, Mages in the outside world who were above level fifteen had at least twenty-five points of Intelligence. As someone who'd crossed over with all that knowledge, he had no reason to be worse than the locals.
For the record, attributes and class levels weren't as closely linked here as they were in games. Some level-twenty archmages still had only twenty-five points of Intelligence; they simply learned and researched magic more slowly. But reaching Legendary status required at least twenty-eight points of Intelligence. And, incidentally, level twenty wasn't Legendary; you had to go beyond level twenty.
Seeing how high his Intelligence was, Solam found himself longing to become a Mage. Although he was a spellcaster too, Shamans had very few kinds of spells, and he kept using the same handful. Mages, on the other hand, could learn all sorts of spells, many of them with interesting effects. Some could instantly clean a person from head to toe, some could teleport people, and some could even conjure houses.
"If only I were a Mage. Then I could teleport straight home. Instead, I have to walk all the way back. If nothing else, it'd be nice to have a spell that conjures a house. At least then I wouldn't have to sleep out in the wilderness like this."
Lost in thought, Solam made camp beside a stream.
It was already completely dark, and he'd been walking for most of the day. Traveling at night was dangerous, and Frostfang was carrying far too much, so it was time to let him rest. That was why Solam had deliberately chosen a campsite beside the stream. He'd eat something and get some sleep, then set out again in the morning.
Solam unloaded everything from Frostfang and piled it off to one side. It was all wrapped tightly in hides, so he didn't have to worry about the dew.
Once the load was off his back, Frostfang seemed much more comfortable and immediately trotted over to the stream for a drink. Little streams like this weren't home to dangerous monsters, making them excellent places to get water.
The only real concern was that some wild beast might come here to drink. But the campsite wasn't far from the Forge Clan's territory, so large predators wouldn't come near. Even if Solam did have terrible luck, he was strong enough to protect himself, even if he couldn't win. Out in the wild, beasts rarely attacked spellcasters. Solam only needed to cast a few spells to scare them off.
Solam gathered some firewood from a nearby grove and started a campfire. It was late autumn, almost winter, so dry wood was easy to find. The weather was dry, and fires were easy to light. In spring or summer, starting one would be much more troublesome, with all the smoke and fuss.
What's more, there were hardly any poisonous bugs or mosquitoes in late autumn, making it a pleasant season for camping outdoors.
Solam set up his little pot and tossed in the dried meat and vegetables the older folks had given him, then boiled the whole lot together. They'd already been seasoned when they were dried, so he didn't need to do anything else. Once it came to a boil, it was ready to eat.
He spread a fur blanket beside the fire and lay down on it, waiting for the stew to heat up. The weather was beautiful tonight, with no clouds in the sky. He only had to look up to see a sky full of stars, clear as a mirror. It was an incredible sight, one he'd rarely seen in his memories of his past life.
The elders said the starlight was the radiance of the gods' realms. Solam didn't believe them. Thanks to what he knew from his past life, he understood how stars shone. Though some of his knowledge might not apply in this wondrous world, he still couldn't believe the stars were caused by the gods.
There were countless stars in the sky. If each one were a god's realm, just how many gods would there be? Still, what exactly were the stars? Maybe they were other worlds. Blackhand had told him that their world wasn't the only one.
There were many worlds in the universe, each like their own plane. As for the claim that their world was the Prime Material Plane, Solam thought it was just like the people of ancient China boasting about their own land. Bragging was the same everywhere; everyone thought the places beyond their own were all uncivilized wilderness.
If the stars really represented other planes, which one had his old world been? Or perhaps his old world hadn't been in this universe at all?
After all, his memories of his previous life included gods and demons, but those were just religious legends. They'd been proven not to exist. That world had some supernatural powers too, but those were psychic abilities. In Solam's view, the spells in this world were far more powerful and bizarre.
If his old world really wasn't in this universe, then he'd never be able to go back. Solam didn't think it would be that big a deal even if he couldn't, but he was still curious about who he'd been in his past life.
He wanted to know how he'd crossed over, and why he had no memories of his own identity. It was clear that he hadn't simply lost them. Someone had probably erased those memories, but why? And the person who'd erased them might also have been the one who'd brought him here. So what had been their purpose?
Solam thought the best way to unravel these mysteries was to return to his old world. But for now, he was only idly wondering because he was bored. He couldn't go back, and he wasn't even qualified to venture out into the wider world.
His grandfather and the others had told him that the outside world was a hundred times more dangerous than Avalon. There were all kinds of monsters and conflicts, evil gods constantly stirring up trouble, demons and devils appearing now and then to wreak havoc, and all sorts of plots and schemes. It was a complete mess; one careless mistake could cost him his life.
Solam thought they might be exaggerating, but it still made it clear that the outside world wasn't some peaceful paradise. As a novice like him, he'd probably have a rough time. Still, he had to go out there eventually. After his coming-of-age ceremony, he'd tell his grandfather he wanted to travel the world, Solam thought to himself.
While Solam was lost in thought, Frostfang came back from the stream with a fish in his mouth. It was quite a big one. Catching such a large fish in a little stream like that was a stroke of luck.
Frostfang proudly brought the fish over to Solam, but the food in the pot was already cooked, so Solam naturally declined and let him eat it himself.
Frostfang had fully matured by now. His coat was pure white, and Solam kept his fur clean and well-groomed. Maybe because Solam had stuffed him with too many supplements he hadn't wanted as a pup, Frostfang had grown a good deal taller than other Direwolves. Now, when he stood up, he reached Solam's shoulder. People had even come asking Solam if he had some kind of secret.
Solam didn't have any secret. He figured Frostfang was just naturally strong and tall. He could only count himself lucky that Frostfang had chosen him during the selection ceremony.
Solam polished off the stew in the pot with the iron bowl and chopsticks he'd made himself. Chopsticks were unique to Solam; nobody else could get the hang of them. He'd made them based on knowledge from his past life. He didn't know why, but they just felt cleaner and more convenient. Maybe he'd been Chinese in his past life.
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