---From Igris's Perspective---
I opened the system and started examining it.
The system was simple, it gave random rewards every day upon logging in. It had 25 inventory slots, with the first five opening for 100 silver, and each new slot would cost twice as much.
I placed everything from my pouch, which contained space magic, into the inventory and continued studying the system. My profile looked like this:
Name: Igris
Race: Half-blood (Dunedain/???)
Class: Knight
Level: Mid-level – Peak
Title: Black Knight
Power Used: Aura/???
Skills:
One-handed sword mastery > Elite - Beginner levelShield > Mid – Peak levelTwo-handed sword > Elite – Beginner levelArchery > Mid – Mid levelThrowing weapons > Mid – Advanced levelEngineering knowledge > Elite – Mid levelHealing knowledge > Elite – Beginner level...
Kingdom Status:
Region governed: 0
Military fortress: 0
City: 0
Town: 0
Village: 0
Farming buildings: 0
Professional buildings/workshops: 0
Caravans: 0
Nobles: 0
Generals: 1 > Forest Ranger Halt
Army size: 0
Total population: 1
Total income: 0
Just as I expected, it showed everything I knew, and I clicked on the quest button to see the new mission.
Main Quest: Potential allies and money for the kingdom. (Chain quest)
Quest subject: Help Thorin Oakenshield, the exiled King under the Mountain of the Dwarves, reclaim his lands! And earn the money that will help you lay the foundations for your kingdom!
Completion reward for main quest:
1,000 Tier 3 soldiers (random), Griffin Knight team x 1, 500 cavalry (random), 500 Tier 3 archers (random), 1 noble (random)
Quest start condition: Join the Erebor dwarf expedition! (Completed)Reward: Forest Ranger Gilan (summonable)
Side Quest: Convince Thorin to go to Rivendell willingly!
Reward: 50 Battania fian. Relationship with Thorin +20
Side Quest: Reach Rivendell
Reward: 50 Noble Battania warriors
Side Quest: Get the group members safely to Erebor. (Currently 16 people)
Reward: ??? (Depends on quest outcome)
Side Quest: Kill Smaug!
Reward: Title: Dragon Slayer, Dragon Knight x 1
Side Quest: Discover the Goblin King's treasure!
Reward: ???
Side Quest: Convince the High Council to approve the Erebor expedition!
Reward: Legendary unit draw.
Side Quest: Save Thorin's father, Thrain, from Dol Guldur!
Reward: Relationship with Dwarves +40, Relationship with Thorin +50, Relationship with Thrain +60
200 heavy-armored Swadia cavalry, 5 Swadia knights
Side Quest: Deliver the jewels made for Thrandulin's wife.
Reward: Relationship with Wood Elves +40, Relationship with Thrandulin +60, 60 Battania fian, 5 Battania fian champions
... the quests are tough, especially the one to save Thorin's father. We will likely need to split into groups, but the rewards are great. The main quest reward would let me form a full army, but it seems like this army will weaken in the five-army battle. Anyway, let's leave it for now. I'm really glad Gilan is joining us—now I have strong support against Halt. Let's do the first draw and call Gilan.
System: [First draw is being made…3…2…1 "Common tier militia axe" congratulations to the server for winning!]
This is a bit bad, it's my first time, so I have two draws. Hopefully, I get something better from this one.
System: [Draw is being made…3…2…1 "Plates x 5" congratulations to the server for winning!]
"I think my eyebrow just twitched, that was really an unlucky draw… oh well, at least Gilan is coming."
I left the room and went downstairs, waiting for Gilan. It wasn't long before a human ranger entered through the door, looking exactly like Halt. A hooded green cloak, a longbow on his back, leather boots, leather gloves, and a grey leather tunic—standard Forest Guard gear. Unlike Halt, he was a tall man, about 1.75 meters, and unlike the other Forest Guards, he wore a sword on his waist. He was looking around.
"Forest Ranger Gilan!" I called, raising one hand halfway. He looked at me and came over.
"Good evening, knight. I suppose you're the one who summoned me to this world," he said, extending his hand.
I shook his hand and said, "Yes! My name is Igris!" I continued, "I can't even tell you how happy I am that you're here!" with feeling.
Gilan was a bit surprised and curious. "Why?" he asked.
My face darkened, and I replied, "Because your sharp-tongued master came here before you, and I'm really struggling to deal with his jabs!"
Gilan started giggling, pressing his hand over his mouth, but his shoulders were shaking like crazy before he quickly calmed down.
"Ah, yes, my dear teacher has given King Duncan and Queen Cassandra a hard time. Even Will and I were targets. The only person who can suppress him is Lady Pauline," he said.
I chuckled and motioned for him to sit. He sat down and uncovered his face, a handsome face befitting the son of a count.
Gilan spoke, "The people who sent me here gave me some basic information about you. At first, I was going to refuse because I've already lived a life and didn't want to be alone in an unknown world. But when I heard that my old master was here and that some of our loved ones would be coming through us, I decided to come." He continued, "But I'm curious, how do you know about us? Have we met before?"
I briefly explained the situation to him and told him everything without hiding anything. Gilan and Halt are trustworthy, so I felt no need to hide anything from them.
His face darkened, and he asked, "Has someone really written a book about us?"
I shrugged and said, "It was actually about Will, and it told the story of his adventures." I then asked, "But how did the author know about all this? Am I a character in a novel now? Or am I human?" I asked, somewhat wistfully.
"You're human!" I said firmly. "Our situation is the best proof. There are novels and plays about this world, but we're here now! Maybe those authors from my world traveled to other worlds like ours and came back to write your stories! Maybe someone from your world came to ours! We can't know, but right now, you're breathing, talking, and feeling—doesn't that make it real enough for you?" I said.
He still looked a bit somber but composed himself, taking a deep breath.
"You're right…" he sighed and continued, "Let's put that aside, then. What's our plan?"
At hearing this, I froze, then let out a weird laugh and scratched the back of my head. I could feel sweat dripping down my forehead.
"You're going to love it, and we're going on an adventure like you've never experienced before, hahaha…"
He looked at me doubtfully. "Really? Then why do I have this bad feeling inside me?"
I cleared my throat and repeated what I had told Halt to him.
"So, we're going to enter a mountain and take a shiny stone? How hard can that be? I've done tougher tasks before," he said, his face taking on a strange expression.
Gilan looked at me, "There's something you're not telling me, isn't there?"
"There's just a small snag…" I said.
"How small?" he asked suspiciously.
"One tiny, tiny little problem…" I said, trying to ease the tension.
"WILL YOU JUST TELL ME ALREADY!" he burst out.
I took a deep breath. "The mountain where the stone is located…" I paused.
I saw him grow increasingly annoyed. "YES!? WHAT IS THERE IN THAT DAMN MOUNTAIN WHERE THE DAMN STONE IS!? WILL YOU TELL ME ALREADY!?" he asked sharply.
"There's a fire dragon…" I said.
"Oh! A fire dragon, I thought it was something serious," he said, pausing for three seconds before looking at me and shouting, "A FIRE DRAGON!?"
"Hahaha… yes… a little dragon… hahaha," I said, my voice becoming quieter as I spoke.
I guess I won't bring up the five-army battle for now, because if I do, I'm seriously worried he'll chase me from the Shire to Bree with a sword.
He took a deep breath and calmed himself down before asking,
"Alright, I can handle that. So, how many people do we have with us? 50,000? 100,000?"
I scratched the back of my head and smiled weirdly.
"17," I said.
"Seventeen thousand? Are we bringing siege weapons? A trebuchet, a ballista, or crossbows?" he asked.
I gave him a strange look. After a few seconds of silence,
"... uh, Gilan?"
"Yes?"
"You've misunderstood something. We're a group of 17 people."
He stared at me in shock for a few seconds, and I counted in my head.
"…3 …2 …1"
"SEVENTEEN!?" he yelled in surprise.
The innkeeper came over and signaled us to be quiet. I nodded and apologized.
"Make that 18 with you," I said, chuckling.
Gilan froze in place, his eyebrows twitching wildly, and he was muttering something under his breath in a low voice.
"He really is Halt's apprentice! Even though he is a noble, he knows a lot of curses," I thought. I waited a few minutes for Gilan to calm down.
I thought. I waited a few minutes for Gilan to calm down.
"Did Halt agree to this?" he asked skeptically.
"He's braver and younger than all of us. He accepted as soon as he heard it, saying he wanted to experience an adventure no Forest Guard has ever gone through," I said seriously. "Ugh… I hate lying, but if we keep talking, it feels like trouble is coming," I thought.
Gilan looked at me with great doubt. "Really?"
"You can ask him at dawn, we've got four hours. I should get some sleep, I don't know when we'll sleep in a bed again," I said, rushing to my room.