Reed opened his eyes, groaning. He wondered what the frisbee was made out of to hurt so much. He pushed himself up from sharp gravel, his head throbbing. A bad stench wafted up, making him wince as he looked around.

  “(&^ IBDI W(*Y&(?” A hoarse voice asked.

  Reed turned to the voice. An old man hunched over an empty anvil stared blankly, eyes almost covered by deep wrinkles.

  “I… I…” Reed tried to mouth, breathing heavily, looking around. Houses of mud coloured clay, with rotting wooden roofs.

  Reed keeled over again as a surge of pain went up his spine and settled in his head.

  “U HD(*&#(*$& (Y&*… IY*( FH IGHIU FEIG IUGF…”

  “Th-th… You…” Reed stumbled, picking himself up once more only to fall through the rickety door of the house he’d woken up beside. He tumbled inside and looked around. Inside was empty, covered in dust with a rotten wood floor. However there was a raised wooden platform that looked like a bed.

  Reed collapsed onto the old wooden bed. His stomach churned. He craved food. Anything at this point.

  A sharp sensation sprouted in his head once more. He felt something crawl through his body from his head before jumping from his chest.

  Shock and Horror filled Reed’s eyes, wide as saucers, as a small mass of violently clashing and changing colours jumped from his chest and to the ground, forming vague white outlines that vanished around a pile of thick bread.

  “Haa— haah—” Reed stared for a moment, still breathing heavily. Then his stomach roared and pain shot through his gut. He dived for the pile, not caring it was on the floor as he practically shoved the bread down his throat.

  ??????????????

  Reed woke up with a start. His back was covered in sweat and it was pitch black. He fumbled around before his memories kicked in.

  Calming himself down, Reed reached around again, more deliberately this time as he crawled off the wooden bed and found the pile of bread.

  “What— What the hell happened…” Reed mumbled, pressing a hand to his head as a splitting migraine assaulted him.

  For a while, Reed lay slumped against the bed, munching on hard bread that had quickly gone stale.

  ??????????????

  Reed didn’t know how long he was slumped over in the abandoned hut, but light soon pierced its many holes and pushing open the old door, Reed stood in the wide, empty, desolate street.

  Sunlight began flooding areas. Long shadows were cast and the sky began turning from pitch black to dark blue, violet and eventually orange and blinding white hues.

  Reed stood for a while, the cool air against his face as the sun rose. Some shuffling from nearby caught his attention and from the rotting hut across from him, an old man in torn brown robes stepped out, before sitting down in front of an empty anvil.

  For a moment, Reed just watched. The old man didn’t seem to notice him at first, but a moment later, moved his eyes from the anvil, to Reed.

  “*(&^^# GIR&*#) R&*G& R?” The man spoke and Reed understood nothing.

  Where am I? If only I knew what he was saying. Reed squinted his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, before a sharp pain appeared in his head. He felt cold as he remembered the splitting headache from before.

  The sharp pain suddenly expanded across Reed’s whole head, before settling down and disappearing.

  Reed exhaled deeply. Thank god it hadn’t become a splitting headache like before.

  “...Are you *&^%GYUF *&TGOFW *&O?” The old man across from Reed spoke once more. Slowly.

  This time, Reed paused and looked up at the old man. He had understood the first two words.

  “...Is (*&Y*T&R FE GI OIHUP?” They asked again, hunched in their seat.

  Reed didn’t respond.

  After a few moments, the old man turned back to the anvil.

  Reed turned back to the rising sun, then entered back into the old house. It was clearly abandoned, so he closed the door as best he could. He needed to gather his thoughts.

  Looking down, the pile of bread was visible now, but a black rat the size of an arm was sniffling around, getting closer. Reed froze, then jumped forward and kicked the rat with what he realised was an old wooden sandal on his feet.

  The rat squeeked, then scampered out of the hut through one of the many holes in the wall.

  Reed sighed, then picked up all the bread on the ground. Big, dense and round pieces of bread that looked like squashed dumplings were piled up on the bed, where Reed hoped they would be out of reach of rodents.

  Reed thought back to how the bread had appeared and then how he had understood the old man suddenly. The chaotic light that had jumped out of his chest.

  I want… Cut wood and nails! Reed imagined, but nothing happened. He sighed, then lay down again. The cold hard wood wasn’t as bad as he had imagined, even though it creaked and groaned under his weight. He was tired. He also needed to think and gather his thoughts.

  ??????????????

  Reed woke up again the next morning. He hadn’t meant to fall asleep, but he had anyway after eating more stale bread.

  Reed looked around, he wished he could at least fix some of the gaps and holes of the hut, to at least keep the rodents and bugs out. Fortunately, apart from the bread, there mustn’t have been anything here for ages since there weren't even a few insects around, apart from some small spiders in the corners.

  I wish I had some wood and nails!

  A sharp pain rang out in Reed’s head yet again. He remembered the sensation and before he knew it, another chaotic wisp jumped out of his chest and onto the ground, forming vague white outlines which revealed themselves as a small pile of wood planks and nails.

  Reed stared for a moment, then tried to wish for it again. However, like yesterday, nothing happened. Reed realised whatever the chaotic energy that appeared in his head was, it must only appear once a day.

  ??????????????

  Reed wasn’t confident in many of his skills. But patience was one of the few skills he felt he had mastered. Or at least, the skill of wasting time. Reed wandered around the area. The place was a ruin with few people. He also didn’t understand them.

  Yet everyday, Reed understood more and more. The chaotic energy in his head would start with a sharp pain that seemed to dissolve into his mind— and then Reed would be able to understand some sentences.

  “Evening.” Reed greeted the old man hunched over the anvil.

  “...Evening…” The old man responded, glancing from the anvil to Reed before settling his gaze back. It had taken 3 days to get to this level of speech.

  Without proper storage, the bread went moldy and Reed had to throw it out. He didn’t find any trash bins anywhere, but unwilling to leave it inside, he tried to discreetly throw it down an alley, but, when he turned his back he heard noise. Turning around, Reed saw several kids in rags run past, scooping up the bread and then disappearing further down the alley out of sight.

  “...” Reed looked down the alley for a time, then turned away to head home.

  Reed had found a sack in good condition. Instead of bread, he used a day of chaotic energy to make Pemmican appear.

  The next few days were much the same. Reed had already summoned a pot to boil water the day after he accidentally summoned wood and nails.

  One day. Two days. Reed found what looked like a muddy bronze coin under the wreckage of one building.

  Nights became colder and Reed piled up scrap bits of cloth he found in the area's ruins over himself and the old wooden bed. Still, he shivered as violently cold nights passed.

  Weeks past, Reed occupied himself with meditation, sleep, image training and just wandering around the area, going through piles of collapsed buildings.

  A few times, Reed had seen a road that looked FAR more populated, but one whiff of his clothes made him hesitate to leave the desolate parts of the town or city he was in.

  “No! No! I’m not a cultist! I swear!” Reed turned his head from the collapsed house he’d been staring at idly. He was on the corner and further down one of the streets several people in red gambisons over chainmail, carrying tall shields and spears, were dragging two men across the street.

  “Even if you're not a cultist, you're a beggar! The town has no place for you!” One soldier shouted, kicking one of the disheveled men being dragged across the gravel.

  “No! Please! Have mercy!”

  Reed froze up as he watched the scene from a distance. The group passed the next intersection, disappearing behind the still standing ruins of buildings that covered this area of town.

  Long after the cries stopped, Reed shivered, exhaling deeply before returning home.

  ??????????????

  Reed stopped in front of his home, glancing at the old man over the anvil.

  “H-hey?” Reed asked shakily. He had used the chaotic energy to help him speak the language as well, but his voice was still shaky, clunky and even he could tell it sounded awkward.

  Still, the old man slowly craned his neck from the anvil to Reed.

  “Wh-What happened in this area?”

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  “...Plague… A few years ago.” The old man responded.

  Reed suddenly felt like something was in his throat. Perhaps it was his illusion after weeks of living like a bug, but he suddenly felt nauseous. Still, he had another question.

  “...What does money look like?” Reed asked, leaning against the barely holding on door of his ‘home’ trying to appear as unthreatening as possible.

  The old man looked at Reed for a few moments, before reaching down and picking something out of one of his pockets. “Imperial silver coin. The old man said, holding up a large thin dirty silver coin covered in symbols.

  Reed nodded, “T-thank you.” He said, before pushing the door and going inside.

  Collapsing on the hard bed inside the roughly repaired structure called home, Reed let his thoughts go in circles. He had already confirmed he could store up the bits of that chaotic energy that appeared everyday to use all at once.

  As such, Reed had something he wanted to test. He held out his hand and thought about the coin the old man had shown him.

  Imperial Silver Coinage.

  Reed felt a weight in his palm. Five silver coins sat atop it, each one looking as if they were freshly minted, unlike the old man’s one.

  “Phuu…” Reed exhaled. He could make money appear. He could only hope it wouldn’t be caught as counterfeit or anything, but he wanted to know where he was. He wanted to know what was happening. He wanted to go back.

  None of the answers could be gotten from this desolate area of once plagued land. Reed had tried for weeks, but he would have to leave his little bit of comfort if he wanted more.

  Reed thought. He had thought for weeks now.

  He had had plenty of time to gather his thoughts and was now just delaying what he needed to do.

  Reed knew himself. He liked to say he was just stocking up on chaotic energy ‘just in case’ but he knew that he would have to go out eventually.

  Right now, Reed knew everything he needed. Knowledge was power. He had been able to get the smell out of his clothes by dumping them into the boiling water of the pot. He could make his hair relatively presentable if he dunked it in water and brushed with his fingers for enough time.

  Now, Reed even had money in his hands. He definitely had the ability to leave this desolate area and mingle with the crowded area of town. He could even get some more comfortable clothes. Surely there would be a clothes shop or something here. After all, no matter the time or place, where there was a civilized society of people, they generally wore at least some sort of clothing.

  “Money, clean clothes, a decent appearance…” Reed listed off the most important things. He didn’t want to be seen as a beggar. He had seen what happened to those people, dragged off by medieval looking soldiers.

  “Tomorrow…” Reed said to himself, gripping his fist in determination. He washed his clothes and his body as thoroughly as possible with hot water and some spare fabric he found on the ground somewhere and thoroughly washed out.

  In preparation for the next day, Reed did all he could to make himself presentable. He checked the feeling in his head, where the chaotic energy seemed to come from. The feeling was vague, but there. If he had remembered right he should have 9 bits of the chaotic energy as backup in case anything happened.

  While lying down on the hard wooden bed, Reed stared at the ceiling. Holes revealed a sky filled with stars. So many stars that the night sky looked more white than black.

  Thinking about the next day, Reed already possessed 5 silver coins, so he used one trace of chaotic energy to make 5 more. He could only assume that the muddy coin he had found was a lower denomination, since no amount of cleaning or scratching let it turn back to silver. With that, Reed made a cursory guess that 10 silver should be enough for a new set of clothes.

  For now though, Reed did his best to sleep. Tomorrow would be a big day.

  ??????????????

  Fists shaking as he passed through the crowded main street of the large town, Reed observed the crowds and haggling… He really didn’t like the idea of haggling. Confrontation was his worst nightmare.

  But… While he was half having to push through people to move forward, he saw people parting for those with silver and gold embroidering on fine, almost grand clothes. Since nobody whispered their names or glanced back at them, it seemed dress was one way to status.

  If only he knew where to find a high end tailor, Reed sighed, eyeing the signs on the sides of the wide road. Most were pictures rather than words. It made sense.

  Reed had spent 14 traces of chaotic energy in order to learn the language of the world and another 6 on learning to read. Even now, his speaking was strange enough that even a non-native like himself could tell how bad it was.

  He suddenly stopped as he saw a tailor. Except unlike other signs marked with clear symbols or drawings, this one only had words.

  Great Pond Tailor. Excluding those who can’t read… It seems I’ve found a high end tailor. Reed extrapolated from Earth’s ancient history, where reading and writing was a rare skill.

  Pushing the final stretch through the crowd, Reed gently pushed open the door, hearing a bell ring before the door slammed shut again, muffling the cacophony of noise outside.

  “Hmm?” An orange dressed woman turned from a bunch of needles and string, sizing him up.

  “Sir! How can I help you!” A young girl in bright green robes suddenly rushed out of one of the side rooms.

  “I’m looking for some finer clothes.” Reed spoke, stiffly, the odd accent becoming painfully obvious in contrast to a native speaker's voice.

  The young girl immediately became stiff, while the older woman almost glared.

  As soon as I spoke… Reed realised. It seemed that was enough to heavily affect their opinion of him. Sigh… An investment is necessary.

  Reed felt the 8 remaining traces of chaotic energy disappear, melding into his brain and giving him momentary goosebumps before he felt his throat feel sore.

  “Eh… Uh.. Sir… Our clothes cost up to 40 silver… A-are you sure this is the right place?” the green robed girl asked nervously.

  Reed cleared his throat. “Arg-hm. Sorry. I’ve been a little under the weather these days.” If not for expecting it even Reed would have reeled at the difference.

  “I’m looking for something quick for about 10 silver right now. I may need something with silver or golden embroidering in a few weeks. Is that possible?” Reed reiterated his request with his new proficiency, his voice still trembling slightly. He only had 10 silver coins in total right now. With no more traces left if something came up.

  “Ah-AH! Yes! Yes we can do that! I-I’m Green Pond! We have a range of pre-made clothes here that can be quickly adjusted to anyone's size for only 8 silver!” The green robed girl immediately brightened up, gesturing to the several mannequins on the side further down the hall. The older woman lost interest, returning to her work, stitching some elaborate dress on a wooden mannequin.

  Reed followed the girl, ‘Green Pond’ as she called herself, to look at some of the premade options. They were all different styled and coloured robes, the kind he’d seen on almost everyone, even moderately wealthy outside.

  Of the options, he chose a red robe accentuated with black and white inner robes and pants.

  “How much would something similar but with golden embroidery cost?” Reed asked.

  “A-actual gold or fake gold?”

  “Fake, of course.”

  Green Pond breathed a sigh of relief before leaving for a moment and coming back with a roll of gold looking thread.

  “Yes, that will work.” Reed answered.

  “Are you buying now?”

  “No. Just asking for future reference.” Reed asked as Green Pond finished adding some stitches and cutting off excess fabric.

  Green Pond was especially polite after receiving the payment of silver.

  Reed felt the new clothes against his skin. They were much better than the second hand ones he had been using moments ago and the effect was instant.

  Outside, people didn’t give him a wide birth, but he no longer had to push through the crowd.

  Clothes and speech. Reed concluded. Two aspects of status. Wealth was an obvious one, but more important was the perceived wealth. He currently only had 2 silver to his name, but who knew that?

  Now, he needed to find an inn.

  Continuing down the main road, there were some inns, but they were using picture signage rather than writing. Since he had already resolved to increase his status to find more information, he would commit.

  Reed eyed a group of people dressed with silver and golden embroidery, subtly following their route until they approached a street filled with inns. The first few were still surrounded by people in bland robes or dirty work clothes. But as he continued down the street, he saw people in finer, more vibrant colours.

  Reed guessed that based on the price of luxury clothes, that an inn should be at most one silver a night, so he approached the most expensive inn at the end of the road, four stories high, covered in bright lanterns, made of a beautiful red wood and roofed with dark green glazed tiles.

  But a scene suddenly broke out.

  “Can’t even afford one night! Get out of here slumblood.” Reed watched a man in dull but otherwise fine robes get thrown out by two rough men in sky blue robes. A white feather adorned the two men, matching the signage of the establishment behind them.

  Cloud Feather Inn… Reed read, pausing while still hidden in the crowd.

  “Tch! Who would pay 5 silver for a single night! You crazy bastards!” The man being thrown out shouted in righteous anger.

  5 SILVER!? Reed felt sweat crawl on his back and immediately changed directions. He had just managed to calm himself enough to stop shaking but now the nervousness returned.

  If he had actually entered just then… A shiver went down Reed’s spine.

  Reed thanked the man who'd been dragged out— in his head, offering a silent prayer.

  Going the other way down the street, Reed happened to see a well dressed man in similar clothes to his own step out of one of the inns near him. A golden feather adorned their hat and several people in worse clothing seemed to wait outside the inn for him, falling in line behind him as he left.

  Reed paused, staring at the inn. After hearing the 5 silver price for the inn at the street's end, he wanted to go to one of the wood tiled inns without decorations near the intersection. It would be safer… In terms of cost.

  However, he would be out of place at those inns. Wearing finer and brighter clothes than the people gathering at the inns near the intersection.

  Taking a deep breath, Reed headed towards the inn in the middle of the street, its sign reading Middle Bridge Inn. It only had two lanterns hanging and was only two stories, but it was otherwise of similar design to the Cloud Feather inn.

  “Good morning!” A young man in dark robes covered by a white apron greeted Reed as soon as he stepped in.

  Reed didn’t answer immediately, first checking the inn's interior. If it looked too expensive or gaudy he would bolt.

  “How much for a night?” Reed asked, unable to find anything particularly… Rich? Looking.

  “One silver a night sir. Meals are separate.” The server responded, seeming to take half a step back.

  Reed felt his back cool and nodded, restraining the urge to sigh in relief.

  “I’ll take a room then. Do you allow extended stays?” Reed continued, passing a silver coin.

  The server stepped closer once more, bowing slightly with a wider smile. “Yes, customer, we allow people to stay as long as they want for an additional fee at the end of each month.” The server gestured to follow before turning to guide Reed.

  Reed followed, thinking of any questions he could ask without getting the stare of doom like he had almost gotten at the tailors shop.

  “How much is the end of month fee?”

  “5 silver, sir.”

  Reed nodded again. One trace of chaotic energy could become up to 5 silver coins.

  He still didn’t know if the money created by the chaotic energy was counterfeit or not though. For certainty, he thought about using the chaotic energy to create a product that he would then sell for real money.

  It would be fine if the chaotic energy became genuine currency, but if not… He needed more information. That was the whole point of stepping out of the shack in the slums.

  “A friend of mine made a few mirrors recently. Since you seem familiar with the place, do you know where I should check first?” Reed asked as they ascended some stairs to the next floor.

  “Hmmm… If you plan to stay some time, then why not. You can try the Jade merchant guild in the north of town. They mainly deal in luxury mortal goods. But if the quality is worse, you may have to hire someone to sell them at a street stall.” The server responded, before stopping in front of a room.

  “Here.” The server handed an intricately carved wooden token to Reed. “This is the formation key. So long as you hold it, the room door will unlock when you're close enough to it. There's also a simple spirit qi drawing array under the building to help with qi-blood flow.” The server bowed slightly again, cupping one hand over his fist before slipping away back down the hall

  “...” Reed looked at the room, then the token, then the server leaving. Those two sentences had hit him with a lot more than he was expecting. There was also the fact that he was told to hire someone to sell the currently non-existent mirrors.

  Read wondered, Was the social divide so vast?

  The room door opened without much effort. A sliding wooden door in a grid shape, with painted cloth filling in the gaps left by the grid.

  Closing the door behind himself, Reed opened it again and then closed it. Then, he walked to the other side of the room, placed the wooden room token on the bed and tried to open the door again. It didn’t budge, even when he put most of his body weight into it, without any apparent locking mechanism. Even observing the sides of the door while it was open only revealed a smooth wooden surface.

  “Formations, huh?” Reed spoke to himself, closing the door and lying on the bed. He immediately relaxed, the comfortable blankets and pillows, even as rough as they were, melting Reed's body as he lay down.

  It was only the middle of the day, but just this half a day of stepping into the unknown had exhausted him. Reed wanted nothing more than to use the chaotic energy to just live here the rest of his life and do nothing.

  Reed let out a long sigh and groan, before letting drowsiness sap away all his motivation.