LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 3: Choosing Weapon
Garrick turned towards Noah, his gaze heavy, "The sigil on your chest," he pointed toward the chest of Noah, "That will help you to awaken the thing you need to survive in these Bloodlands."
Noah raised an eyebrow and gently placed a hand on his chest. The sigil pulsed faintly.
"What are we supposed to do next?" Noah raised his head and asked again.
Garrick raised his head and looked at the suns high above the sky, "There is no time to rest, you guys need to head out before the sun sets or else the beasts in the wilderness will become far too active."
Everyone's on the scene began to panic as they knew nothing about what awaited them further. Noah took a deep breath, his heart beating wildly, 'Fuck, where are we heading out to?'
"MEN! Bring out the weapons!" Garrick loudly yelled as the villagers scattered and began taking out a few racks of weapons.
Garrick pointed at the racks, "Choose which weapon you want to take, all of them are specifically crafted by the village blacksmith for monster hunting. They might not be comparable to Soul Weapons, but they are good enough for newbies like you."
The 30 or so Earth humans darted their gazes from one rack to another, not being able to understand why they had to choose a weapon.
"NOO!! I don't want anything of this! Give me my phone back!! My snap! My Ig! I don't want to stay in this godforsaken world." A young woman broke down and cried loudly as she saw the lines of weapons neatly arranged in front of her.
The surrounding people's gazes filled with pity as they saw the girl.
'Is she an idiot?' While Noah's thought turned to another side as he looked at the girl weeping on the ground.
"Godforsaken? We might very well be forsaken by the gods whom we prayed to in our worlds." Garrick's heavy voice sounded again, this time showing his years of weariness.
"There is no god in this world, as for those who proclaim themselves to be Gods? They are not much different than gods due to their absurd strength." His eyes shined as he reached to this point, "And the chosen ones can reach the realm of Divinity. Only if they get a high enough Class when they Awaken after gathering Soul Energy."
Everyone's breathing on the spot slowed, even the crying girl raised her head to stare at the old man.
"Wh-what do you mean by this?" One of the bearded men among the group asked.
"That's why I said you guys don't have time, if you don't get your Class as soon as possible, you might die in a few days due to Soul Poisoning." He seriously said.
Everyone stirred as the threat of death was not something they were willing to face so soon.
"NOW! Choose a weapon for yourself, you don't need to be proficient in it. You will learn slowly…as long as you don't die." He finished saying and moved aside to let the people choose.
The bearded man who questioned Garrick in the beginning was the first one to move, he looked at the weapons which ranged from Long Swords, Daggers, Short Swords, Bows, Spears, Shields, and a few more.
"I will take this." The bearded man said, reaching out for a Greatsword from among the many weapons.
It was a simple weapon, but with a sharp edge which flashed with a silvery hue.
The others looked at each other before slowly moving forward and taking their weapons of choice, Noah being among them.
'What should I choose?' Noah thought, looking at the choice of weapons in front of him.
'A greatsword like the previous guy will be too much for me, my body can't handle it.' He moved ahead from the greatsword and paused at the daggers.
'Hmm…if I'm going to fight monsters, then the range of these weapons will be quite problematical for me.' He shook his head and inspected each weapon.
'Bow? Nah, if a monster got in close range I won't be able to defend myself. Long Sword?' He finally paused and took out the long sword from its sheath.
He felt its weight on his hand before swinging it a couple of times to check its balance, 'This will do, it has both range and length for killing even large beast like a bull.'
Noah thought to himself before sheathing his sword back and taking it.
Soon, everyone chose their weapons and went back to their initial positions.
Garrick stepped in front of them again, "So, looks like everyone has made their choices huh. Good." He nodded and counted the people.
"Since there are 30 of you, you can make groups of 5 to hunt down monsters in the outside, but let me remind you. There are both pros and cons of hunting in a group, your progress will be low as the Soul Energy will be distributed between the 5 people based on their contribution. While hunting solo, all the Soul Energy of a beast will be gathered by a single individual."
He paused, looking at the conflicting faces of the people as they considered making groups or not. "This is my advice as someone who has survived in these desolate lands, make a team and hunt together. Now the rest is up to you guys."
Sighing slightly, he sat down on a nearby chair, waiting for the people in front of him to make their choices.
Noah silently looked at the people around him, observing their hesitation and fear of the unknown. The bearded man who had chosen the greatsword stepped forward again with a confident posture.
"I'll go alone," he loudly said, gripping his greatsword tightly. "I don't trust any of you to watch my back. If I'm going to survive, it'll be on my own terms."
His words caused the rest of the group to become unease. Some nodded in agreement with his boldness, while others shook their heads and muttered quietly about his recklessness.
Garrick looked at him with both pity and disappointment, "Suit yourself," he slowly said, "But don't expect any help from us. It's not that we are heartless but we ourselves are barely surviving."
The bearded man shrugged and strode off towards the village gates without another word.
Noah looked at the fading back of the bearded man, his thoughts churning as he calculated his own chances of survival alone in the wild.
But before he could think further, three others from the group stepped forward with similar words as the bearded man. A lean man with daggers, a muscular woman with a spear, and a quiet teenager carrying a short sword all decided to part ways with the others.
Each one of them wore varying levels of expression that ranged from grim determination to excitement of exploring a new world.
Garrick sighed heavily, his face filled with pity, "Alas, all we can do is pray for them."
Meanwhile, the remaining people began forming small groups. Two groups of five quickly formed, consisting of those who seemed to share the same ethnicity or had similar interests. The rest of the crowd hesitated, unsure of whom they could trust.
Noah observed the faces of the remaining individuals, weighing his options. He knew going solo wasn't an option for him. Even during his previous life, he was at most an average human, he had never killed a chicken, much less faced monsters.
He didn't even know whether he would be able to adapt to this new world or not. Especially hearing about the unknown amount of dangers.
"Hey," a soft voice interrupted his thoughts. He turned to see a young woman with short, messy brown hair and sharp eyes.