Chapter 7: The Beginning of the False Life
The next morning, Arthur woke up very early in his rough, feathery bed. He stretched and yawned comfortably—he had slept well and freed his body of the exhaustion that had piled up from anxiety and lack of rest.
Unlike the day before, his mood was much better. That was because he had thought of a solution to his problem. Slowly, he got out of bed and put on his comfortable training clothes, even though they were dirty—the rough and low-quality clothes of this world didn't suit his taste at all.
He opened his shabby wooden window and looked down at the gloomy village bustling with activity. "I woke up much earlier than the real Arvan, who usually stays asleep until noon." He took in the natural scenery and the village, which didn't look so bad from up here.
As his eyes curiously scanned everything, he spotted the dirty river running by and saw several people defecating in it. His face froze. He slowly turned his head in another direction, wincing. "This is the worst sight to start your morning with." But then, his brows furrowed. He quickly turned back to look at the river's water flowing toward the forest—and that's when he realized.
"Damn it, I drank from that water!" He opened his mouth and started spitting madly in disgust. His mood soured, and his stomach churned.
"Damn, this place needs serious changes." He shook his head, trying to get rid of the revolting image stuck in his mind. After a few minutes of suffering, his thoughts cleared slightly and his stomach calmed down. With all his heart, he wished he could punch those villagers.
"This place needs fundamental changes. These people know nothing of hygiene or public decency."
He looked out the window again, but this time avoided glancing at the village or the river. He stared instead at the vast forest stretching to the horizon and thought, "I need to enter the forest. The one thing that guarantees my safety right now is in there."
The Thorned Darkwood was known for its abundance of thorny shrubs in its eastern and southern halves. In the past, about 150 years ago, a king of the Kingdom of Teravelle decided to expand the kingdom's borders by reclaiming land from the Thorned Darkwood. Though his plan faced many obstacles, he succeeded in reclaiming a large area.