He woke on the ground.
That was unusual, but he didn’t know why. That was also unusual, so he stood up.
Looking around, the suroundings were a heavily wooded area that didn’t match any known species in his databanks.
That was very unusual.
At this point the best wey to gather information on the local flora and fauna was to explore the surrounding area.
Walking out in a spiral pattern he documented traits of the flora, with no signs of any fauna or indigenous life forms.
At about 30 meters from the crater he woke in and 2 hours later, he heard irregular movement disrupting the flora behind him.
Reacting quickly he spun and summond a sword…
[metal summoning offline]
“Shit…”
Slammed to his back by a large catlike predator, he protected his head and neck with his arms while pulling his legs up to protect his abdomen.
While kicking out at the weight above him another screen popped up.
[physical enhancements offline]
“Great,” he mumbled “What else, is the metal conversion unit or fusion reactor offline as well.”
[metal conversion unit offline]
[fusion reactor offline]
“...” Refocusing on the battle in front of him, he rolled to the side, barely dodging another pounce, he decided that running was better than fighting.
Sprinting away from the crater, the forest blurred passed him untill he couldn’t feel the beast behind him anymore.
Slowing to a stop, he listened intently for any more sounds.
Confirming he couldn’t hear it anymore he sat down to meditate and think.
He didn’t know, he couldn’t remember, where he came from, what he could do, or what that orange screen was.
Neither did he know what a metal conversion unit or fusion reactor were, saying what he had said was just a knee-jerk reaction.
Thinking about the screen he let instinct guide him “Status update”.
Imediatly an orange screen apeared in his vision.
Name : Utan Botar
Designation : U 289 B1384
Health status : good (96%)
Medical nanites : suppressed
Mental status : corrupted (amnesia)
Aether self : suppressed
Physical status : primed
Implants : suppressed
Energy status : good (87%)
Generator : suppressed
Aether web : isolated
Location : not found
As Utan watched his energy status ticked up by another percent.
Now that he could see his situation somewhat, Utan supposed that he should not lower his health more than nessesery.
Getting up, he continued running but at a lower speed.
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As time passed, Utan’s chest stopped hurting and when he checked, his health status read 98%.
While reading his status, he stepped onto a flatter terrian, looking quickly Utan noticed it was a road.
Thinking quickly, Utan started walking down the road to his left.
Later, towards night, Utan laid next to a tree and slept.
Utan knew he didn’t need to, somehow, but felt he would have more energy if he did.
Late the next day Utan woke to the feeling of something closing around his neck.
Panicking Utan tried to jump to his feet only to have whatever was around his neck jerk him back down.
Laughter surrounded him along with words that sounded condesending.
With blurry eyes and muddled thoughts Utan got a grasp of the situation and didin’t like where it was going.
Three men surrounded me with swords drawn.
One of them, the one who had talked to me earlier, frowned and started yelling some language that wasn’t on my database.
Seemingly getting angered at my lack of a response I said in my most neutral tone, “I am sorry but I do not understand your naitive language, please wait until my aether self comes online and deciphers your naitive language that we may commune in full.”
Confused at my speaking of Universal Common, he asks the other two somthing to which the other two shake their heads.
Shrugging, the man grabs the chain connected to the collar around my neck and jerks me to my feet while the other two lock my hands behind my back, after that they lead me to a wagon of a caravan that can only be described as a shoddy wooden box on wheels.
Throwing me in the back and locking the door, the wagon lurches forward throwing the ocupants of the wagon backward.
There is only one thing this can be, a slave caravan
13 days later, after being only fed slop and dirty water, the sound of the road changed from wheels on dirt to wheels on stone.
Not long after a wall came into view the wagons stopped outside it.
After a while the door was opened and the 18 ocupants were dragged out and shoved into a line.
A guard inspected them then nodded and let them back into the wagon.
A while later thay were moving again, inside the town wasnt much different from a medieval era city which made Utan all the more curious about what looked like electric street lights.
Stopping at another building, the slaves were brought inside where they were sepperated into different cages.
A few weeks later, a group of armed and armored people came past dumping water on and cleaning a few different people then dragging them out and towards a door.
After three months since Utan’s arrival he was chosen, after being dunked with water, he was dragged through the door and scrubbed and clothed then dragged through another door.
The door lead to an auctioning stage where he was lead to the display.
There was a croud gathered. Utan’s eye was drawn to one person in the crowd, cloaked in a scaly leather, he seemed to stand above the crowd while within it.
The person seemed to feel Utan’s gaze and turned, his eyes were a startling iridescent hue.
He nodded once and Utan nodded once back.
the man turned to look at the acctuneer and said what must have been a high number, because everyone else in the room gasped and looked at him.
The acctuneer loocked at him and nodded.
After the auction, the man brought him to a room in a tavern.
Once alone he said “Hello, I’m the hero, Fredric, what’s your name?”
Startled, Utan looked at him and said, “I am Utan. What, pray tell, is a hero?”
Confused, Fredric said, “Don’t you know, the hero is the one summoned from elsewhere to save the world from the demon king and his ilk.”
Utan, understanding said, “I apollogise, I cannot understand the language the naitives of this world speak. That you speak universal common at all is surprising.”
Fredric seemed even more confused at that statement, “What are you talking about, we’re speaking Central Galactic, like everyone else on this planet.”
Now it was Utan’s turn to be confused, “Central Galactic, like the language of the extinct Terran Human branch?”
“Extinct!? Terrans are the capital of the Universe. Especially after proving our might against the Xotarians.”
“The Xotarians never made it out of their home solar system. And even if they did, the Technomorphs would have hunted them down.”
Fredric was stunned, then seeming to rally his thoughts he said, “Do you know what sectar we are currently located in?”
Utan, understanding the plight he was in, decided not to give away to much information.
“I am currently isolated from any quantnum webs and most of my implants have been suppressed via unknown means.”
Fredric seemed to glean some insight from that statement however.
“That would likely be the gods interference of technology.”
Utan dismissed this instantly.
“Gods do not exist thus cannot cause true interference with technology. It is likely some type of solar or geological interference, the only issue with that theory is that any sufficiently advanced technology should be able to stop such interference.”
Fredric winced. “You shouldn’t say those kind of things. They don’t like disbelivers.”
Utan just shrugged. “To each their own, I suppose.”
Fredric sighed, then a new train of thought seemed to be remembered.
“How did you get here? I was told I was the only off-worlder here?”
“I- I don’t know” Utan said. “I have some memory loss.”
“Jeez man that sounds rough.”
A knock on the door interrupted the conversation.
Startled they both jumped and let the conversation drop.
Fredric said somthing in the language of the naitives.
Opening the door, a group of three humanoids stepped through.
The first was a tall preistly looking female with a staff adorned with a sunlike eye, the second was a lithe gnomelike woman with knives and daggers tied to her belt, the last one through was a lanky pionty eared man with a long walking stick.
While they were speaking together in their naitive tounge, Utan decided that it was indeed not Central Galactic.
Finnished with their conversation they turned their attention to Utan, the reactions were mixed.
the preistess looked hopefull, the elf, if that was indeed his race, looked sceptical, and the gnome, tempery designation, looked dismisive.
The elf asked Utan something, but because Utan couldn’t speak his language he said “I am sorry but I do not understand your naitive language, please wait until my aether self comes online and deciphers your naitive language that we may commune in full.”
Looking thoroughly stumped, the elf said somthing to the hero.
The hero in turn looked at Utan and said, “Would you be willing to become our porter, Ut
an?”
“Sure, I guess”
Upon reciving confirmation, Fredric said, “Then get some rest, we will be leaving tomorrow