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Add looked at the stats and then at his skinny body and sighed, from the trained and robust body of a soldier he had become a pretty boy who probably couldn't truss a chicken on his own. However there was no way that he did not appreciate the good looks he had now, which were much better than that of his past life. After all a body could be trained, but you could do little to 'train' your looks.
"This body is okay, but it's a bit too weak right now.…but I guess beggars cannot be choosers after all. I got to live again, I should be content with that much.....for now let's just live as this lord Weismann.. I have nowhere else to go in this world anyway…"
Turning his attention back to the system, he looked over his status once gain to confirm the values and then asked.
"So what exactly do you do…System?"
[The System provides you, the Host, a multitude of features which will help you achieve greatness. It can do anything that you wish, given that you have enough Credit Points!]
"What are these Credit Points ?" the new term was unknown to him. He had seen it in the status menu but didn't know what exactly it was.
[Credit Points or CP is the currency used by the system. You can earn Credit Points by killing living things or sentient objects. As long as you have Enough CP you can even become an immortal, and laugh at the heavens !]
Disregarding the cringe lines, Add was quite interested. If what it said was true, then it seemed that he could really benefit a lot from this system, which was mysterious yet strangely intriguing. In his previous life all he did was killing people and fighting. This time since he had got a second chance he decided to live life to the fullest in his own way. But for that he needed strength. In this world there were no laws or morals to protect the weak, and they could only be at the mercy of the strong. As such, having a cheat like system was a massive advantage.
[Ding! A welcome package has been awarded! Would you like to open it ?]
Right after the system had finished he saw an alert appear before him. Without any particular hopes he chose, wondering what would be in the package…
"Yes"
[Ding! Opening the Welcome package!]
[Ding! User has obtained Basic Health Serum ×3]
[Ding! User has obtained KM777-C Combat Knife ×1]
[Ding! Host has obtained 10,000 CP!]
"System what are these Items ?" Add asked. The things were looking quite interesting to him.
[ Basic Health serum : It is a healing medicine which can heal certain amounts of damage to the body after drinking it.
KM777-C Combat Knife : A standard knife issued to Soldiers of a Distant world. Made of tempered Titanium alloys, it is quite durable.]
The injuries on his body were quite serious. He had suffered many large gashes on his body and the most dangerous one was a deep wound at the back of his head. This is what had caused his predecessor to die. Now that there was something which could be used as a medicine, he wasted no time to try it out.
"Alright then, give me one healing serum"
A corked glass tube much like the test tubes ones used in the laboratories, with reddish liquid appeared in his hand. Add removed the cork and drank it in one gulp. It tasted quite sweet. After drinking the serum, Add felt a slight itching in all the wounds on his body, and a faint warmth spread all across his body after which the pains in his body and head disappear almost completely. He drank another healing serum, and after some time, opened the bandagesto check the condition of his wounds. Surprisingly, he found that the many small wounds had disappeared without leaving a single scar, and even the large wound which had taken the life of his predecessor was no more! It was all completely healed! If he did not have those wounds himself, he would probably never believe that there were ever any wounds on his body. He quickly put the bandages back on to prevent anyone from being suspicious. Such recovery speed was downright abnormal after all.
[Does Host have any more questions Yes/No ?]
"Not at the moment..."
[Host, now that you have become familiar with the basics, you can obtain more detailed information at the Help section in the Menu.]
[ Ding! The tutorial has now been completed!]
[To Dismiss the System say 'Dismiss' in your Mind and to open the menu say 'Display Menu' in your mind]
[Returning now to main menu!]
The screen returned to the Menu section which showed four icons, which were faintly glowing.
STATUS
INVENTORY
SHOP
HELP
To take one step at a time, that was the best option for now. He selected the Help icon and began asking questions to the system. After about an hour of questioning and answering Add had understood the basics of the system.The Shop menu had everything up for sale. There were weapons, armours, Medicine, Machines, Food, Furniture and almost everything money could buy. There were guns, Tanks, fighter jets, ships, and even Space ships! But they needed tens of billions of CP to obtain. A rather disadvantageous feature of the shop was that certain kinds of items such as weapons or high tech machines had their respective catalogues, and one could not buy an item before unlocking it by buying the one before it. This meant that if you were hoping to save 20 billion CP and obtain an aircraft carrier, you would have to start from the smallest boat and gradually make your way up, there was no way you could directly buy it and the System was not going to make any exceptions at that. However, a saving grace was that there was a separate option which allowed to buy blueprints for a machine or item, at a 10% the cost of its list price, while also unlocking the blueprint for the next item.
The Inventory was like a store room which stored things in a separate space. It had a storage capacity of 1000 cubic metres and he could also increase the slots by using CP. The healing serum and combat knife were stored there, which could be take out through simple mental commands. But itcould only store non living items, and nothing alive could be kept inside. Add turned to the shop section and began wondering what to do with his 10,000 CP. He had a rough idea from Adolf's memories that this world was much more dangerous place than Earth, so he needed to spend his CP wisely and most effectively.
"So then, what should I do first ?"
After understanding the basics of how this system worked, he understood that it was his greatest support in this world. He could absolutely never allow anyone to know about this, and he would be taking this secret to the grave, at least until he was strong enough that no one had any chance before him. As he thought of his plans for the future, he had a headache. Dead in a war, and now stuck in a lawless world, with close to no physical strength to boot. Add mentally sighed, his predecessor was really a useless person, having wasted his life in gambling and useless things and finally died in a monster attack. ButBut he could not do anything except feeling pity for his deceased predecessor.
Since he had obtained some CP from the welcome package, he wanted to buy a weapon. Only having a single knife was nowhere enough to assure his safety. He absolutely needed to have a weapon for self protection. Naturally, the thing which came most readily to his mind was a gun, after all, he had grown up and lived over four decades using guns. Add had most experience in using rifles, although he could use any type of firearm, since he was trained to do so. He opened the system shop and searched for guns. A large list of weapons was immediately present before him. He browsed through handguns, revolvers and rifles. There were antique weapons like the "Springfield" and the "Colt M1911", and then there were many weapons which he had never seen before.
After going through the prices and their technical details, Add chose to buy an Assault rifle. A handgun was alright as a side arm, but having a powerful main weapon was a must. He looked at the various guns and their models, and finally being a person from Russia, or having been a person from Russia he decided on a old legend which cost 2,000 CP.
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Item : AK-47 Assault Rifle
Price : 2000 CP
Description : It is a legendary firearm developed in the Soviet Union by the ingenious weapons' designer, Mikhail Kalashnikov. Made of metal and wood components, it is unanimously recognized as being simple to operate, rugged, reliable under varying conditions, and amenable to mass production. Although its stability is its weak point, but its various advantages more than cover for it. Built around a 7.62 x 39 mm round, this weapon instils fear even in the toughest of men.
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The pride of the Soviet infantry and Add's personal favourite assault rifle, the Legendary AK-47. Officially it was known as the AvtomatKalashnikova model 1947, also known as the Kalashnikov or simply the AK. It was the originating firearm of the Kalashnikov Rifle or "AK" family which have proved their calibre throughout history being the sole line of weapons to be produced the most widely all across Earth. It came with a with ribbed stamped-steel box magazine which held 30, 7.62 × 39 mm rounds. It could also be equipped with a 100 round drum magazine. With a muzzle velocity of some 700 metres per second, it had a cyclic firing rate of 600 rounds per minute and was capable of both semiautomatic and automatic fire. Its effective range was around 350 metres with adjustable iron sights. In a world where the opponents had no firearms, the AK had no match in its class.
Add chose the AK-47 for a variety of reasons. He had a very favourable impression of this weapon. It was a masterpiece among assault rifles, even after a century of its introduction, the model's various derivatives and variants remained the most popular and widely used assault rifles in the world. Over 200 million of these guns hadf been built and its derivatives had surpassed the billion mark by the height of WW3, making it Earth's most ubiquitous firearm. Some people even estimated that 9 out of every ten people killed in a military or armed conflict died of an AK – 47. The AK-47 was still used throughout the earth when Add died. If you were to define "success" by how many folks it's killed, then the AK-47 would undoubtedly be the most "successful" weapon ever made. However the most important factor was that it was cheap. It was the only assault rifle affordable to the current him.
The weapon was automatically stored in his inventory. Next he purchased a hand gun for a backup weapon. Going through the list of hand guns, his eyes quickly found what he had been looking for and he bought it for 1000 CP. The gun came with a single loaded magazine of 14 rounds.
_ _ _ _ _
Item : MAV-20 Semiautomatic Pistol
Price : 1000 CP
Description : This tactical pistol chambers the powerful .45 (11.5 mm) APC round. Its materials consist of modern heat resistant alloys with high tensile strength and along with high-durability graphene components, but its design is an heavily upgraded version of an age-old weapon which was one of the very first semiautomatic pistols to be made, yet was a proven killing tool.
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There was a reason why Add chose this particular weapon. This weapon had seen countless battles, and though there are more destructive pistols available, the MAV-20 was the first choice for the armies of many nations on Earth. During WW3 this was a favourite side arm of many major armies. In his time as a soldier had had used many pistols, yet for its calibre, this one had left a long lasting impression on him. It was also stored in the inventory.
Next he purchased 5, 30 round magazines for the AK with 500 CP and 4 magazines for the MAV-20 for 200 CP, and they were automatically stored in the inventory. He now had 6,300 CP left. He then took out the AK and MAV-20, which he could do by simply thinking, and inspected them. They were both in perfect condition, as if freshly rolled out of a factory. He could not help but wonder, where the system manifested these from. With the guns in hand, Add had a feeling of security. Finally, having a weapon to defend himself with, gave him some assurance. For now this was good enough. Add felt that he was in a better situation compared to before.
_ _ _ _ _
The next day was the funeral ceremony of his father, Henry. Martha was worried that Add's body was still too weak and suggested that he stay home, but the latter rejected. To see off this body's father on his final journey was the least he could do. Unable to convince him, Martha could only arrange for some maids and guards to accompany him as he went to the ceremony.He also wanted to shoulder his father's coffin but the head maid would not compromise anymore. The news of the Lord's death had already shook the little town, Henry was quite respected and like by his subjects. He was not a cruel man, but knew how to maintain order and did not oppress the people. Many people were filled with sorrow and some were also crying at his untimely passing.
The town which the Weismann family had built after years of toil and labour was called Rigel. It was built by the foothills of the Great Dividing Ranges, with the mountains standing tall behind the town. It was said that there were numerous monsters, beasts and other races like Dwarves and many other creatures in these mountains. Some legends said that there were even dragons that lived scattered across this vast range. As an extension of these mountains, many hills, were located quite close to the town. Amidst them was a lush plateau, filled with vegetation, and here, stood a cemetery surrounded by a flowering plants and trees.This was the Ancestral cemetery of the Weismann family. There were only a few graves at the centre of the cemetery, all members of his family starting from his grandfather's generation, including Adolf's mother and grandmother were buried here. Add felt complicated emotions coming here. He was not actually one of the Weismann family, technically his body was but the soul had already departed. He looked at the few graves and bowed.
A grave had already been dug out, and a local priest was called to do the funeral rites. Add looked at his 'father' one last time, as if etching that face of his into memory and then closed the lid of the coffin. With the help of a few guards, Henry Ritter Weismann was laid to rest forever, beside his wife and parents. Martha was still sobbing uncontrollably while her husband tried to comfort her. The few guards and servants who had come along were also weeping. A few close friends of Henry who had come to attend the funeral offered their condolences to Add which he politely accepted. There were also some commoners present who had arrive to bid farewell to the late lord. After most of the guests had left, Add requested to be left alone for some time. He stood before the four graves which uncertainty and turmoil apparent in his eyes.
"I am sorry that I am borrowing your child's body. I don't know how to explain, or if my explaining will change anything. I don't even know why all of this happened. However what I do know is that willingly or not, I am now the last member of the Weismann family. I have been given a second life, because of this body. So I promise you that in return I will make sure that all that the Weismann family stood for, I will achieve that. And that would be my repayment to you all. The world will know of the Weismann family and that I promise."
Add mumbled. He didn't care if those words reached where they should, but he was clear to himself. He owed this much to this family. He had got a new life in the body of the last member of this family, and he had taken his identity to live in this world. Naturally he would take the duties that came with it as well.
"Then I will be leaving. I will visit again…take care"
He bowed again and left the cemetery. Returning to the Weismann residence, which was a decently sized manor, along the way he looked around and found that the house was slightly on the bigger side, and much like other houses he had seen in the town its design was similar to Victorian era architecture, but was much simpler in design and had many notable differences to its Earthen counterpart. Dinner was bread and meat soup. The meal was simple with few spices and salt used, as spices were very rare and costly in this age, and the finances of the house were near depleted thanks to his predecessors actions. After having his dinner, he went into his father's study which as a small library in itself with dozens of books stacked neatly in shelves. In this age where paper was rare and costly and all books were hand written, having so many books in a house was considered a rarity. They provided important information regarding the world of Iseria to Add who knew only a little about it.
_ _ _ _ _
After going through the books, he called Martha and asked her to share any information she could. Fortunately for him, Martha was a person originally from the capital city of Reinglief called Alinstia. Before moving to these lands, the Weismann family had also lived there, and Martha and her husband Walter, had been hired during that time. Martha who was quite surprised at the young master's sudden change over the past two days, explained all she knew.After going through her accounts and what he had read, he summarised the following.
The World of Iseria was very large compared to Earth, and by his estimates, it had almost 5 times the surface area of Earth. The landmass was divided into many parts, but the only major ones explored by the humans were the Northern Subcontinent and the Atlas continent; the former being around 1/6 the size of the later. A great sea separated the Northern Subcontinent from The Atlas continent which was surrounded by oceans on all sides, and no one knew if any other land existed beyond the horizon. The Atlas continent resembled a deformed ellipse in shape, and was bent in the middle giving it a curved boomerang like appearance.
The Northern Subcontinent itself was wide from east to west and narrow from north to south, it resembled a deformed rectangle in shape. It had diverse geographical regions, with more than half of it covered by forests, snowy plateaus, high mountain ranges, deep valleys and many other landforms. Reingleif was located on the Western side of it. There were three major kingdoms in the northern sub continent namely Reinglief, Solia and Krijger. There were also a few other smaller kingdoms but these three were the most dominant on the subcontinent. The great forest of Waldesten on Reinglief's Western border was over a thousands of kilometres wide and till today humans had only been able to explore a small portion of it. In comparison, the Amazon rainforest of Earth looked like a small grove.
This world of Iseria was also home to countless races besides humans. Among them the most prominent were the Elves, Dwarves, Demons, Humans, Fairies and Werebeasts. Other legendary races like the Dragons, Demigods, Angels and Gods also existed, however they were rarely, if ever, seen. The Elves, for example were a race deeply rooted with nature, living mostly in forests in harmony with nature. They were proficient in magic and had very long life spans reaching well beyond thousands of years and were very proficient in magic. Dwarves were masters of mining and forging. Their craftsmanship was only second to the Angels' and the weapons and armour crafted by the dwarves were famous across the lands, known for their strength and durability.
Werebeasts were beings that looked like humans except the fact that they had animal like features such as animal ears, tails, fur etc. They boasted high physical strength and combat abilities. Demons were another major race, which consisted of many types of creatures like vampires, werewolves, succubae, and many more. These creatures were very proficient in magic, and were often very strong as well, known for their bloodthirsty and violent natures. As for the other races like Dragons, Fairies, Gods, Angels, not much information was available about them, as they were rarely seen or heard of, it could be said that their existence had faded into legends.
The humans of this world could also use magic. However, not everyone could use it. Only a small portion of the population, around one in 100 was able to use some form of magic, and even among them the truly powerful ones were rare. Humans who did not have decent amount of mana in their bodies, had an average lifespan of around 100 years, however the ones that could use mana usually lived well past this age, some even reaching well beyond 200 years. It was also said that some great and powerful individuals had even lived for over 500 years. Though their life spans were short compared to many other races, the humans were the most numerous sentient race on Iseria, a testament to their innate ability to adapt and proliferate across all areas, with great speeds.
These various races were mostly always in conflict with each other, which have resulted in great wars across the ages, killing countless people. But after the humans conquered nearly a fourth of Atlas continent, most of the other races like the Elves, Were beasts, Dwarves etc. were forced back and now had to reside in small territories and within the harsh wildernesses. They had poor relations with humans, as humans tend to attack them and make them slaves. It was the same in the northern subcontinent as well.
According to the legends, humans other races, came into existence millions of years ago, however, the humans were among the weakest of the races , and lived in constant danger and fear of the monsters and other races. Then, about 5000 years ago, 5 knights emerged from the Human race. They were the strongest of the humans, blessed by the gods, and having powers never seen before. They rallied their followers and led the entire human race into unifying the various human factions and taking over the Atlas continent and today almost a fourth of the continent is ruled by the Human race. Those 5 knights all established a kingdom each in Atlas which are now known as 'The 5 Empires of Humanity'. Their names being, Argarnsen, Laggard, Jaereich, Mellistania, and Grestardor. These 5 empires are ruled by the descendants of the 5 knights. Reingleif, the kingdom Add was in, was nothing compared to these mighty Empires of the Atlas continent.
The difficulties faced due to the harsh climates of the north and the extreme landscapes which left little land to expand into, caused the 5 empires to lose interest in this large subcontinent. Moreover, the large expanse of sea between the Northern subcontinent and Atlas was filled with mighty beasts and monsters, making travel through those waters very troublesome and risky. Thanks to that, small kingdoms like Reinglief could exist here till now with little influence from the 5 empires. Also, the humans of Atlas were embroiled in a millennia long war against the demon race that also control a large part of the Atlas continent. Both sides have been in a dynamic stalemate with many battles being fought and no side having gained any major victories over the years.
Religion was well established in this world. The various races had many gods which they worshipped. For example, majority of the humans were devotees to The Church of Light. It worshiped the god of light Eleudir, who was believed to be the creator of the human race. The church was spread all over the Atlas continent and its origins predated even the 5 empires. It had tremendous power and influence and even the emperors didn't dare oppose it except on very serious matters. But just like the 5 empires, The church of Light also had little interest to invest their resources and man power to expand into the northern subcontinent due to the geographical issues. Still they had some influence in the south-western side of the subcontinent which was closest to the Atlas continent. The Elves worshipped the Goddess of Nature while the Dwarves were believers of the God of Craftsmanship, and there also many races which did not believe in any gods altogether.
After gaining a basic understanding of this new world, Add began looking at the thing which had most intrigued him most ever since he reincarnated. It was Magic. Martha could not help him much in this regard, as Magic was a subject of mysteries and only the mages and wizards could explain it properly, so she could only give Add some basic information which she had heard and seen through her life. In this world magic existed, a strange power which was beyond the laws of science, seemingly making the impossible, possible. Mana, was a mysterious energy found in nature, which was the fuel for magic. It was everywhere, in the air, in water, in the ground, in plants, animals and even in humans and other living beings.
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