Chess Mage of Faerûn

Chapter 4 Awakening, Strange, Another World?
Bodø's Gate, a city that is not particularly old, is located at the mouth of the Chongza River, at the hub connecting the trade route and the coastal road.

She lacked the dazzling arcane light of Silvermoon City, the accumulated charm and heritage of Waterdeep City, and was not even as prosperous as Ascattra, known as the City of Money.

The original Baldur's Gate was just a small fishing village, and all it could offer was a place for fishermen returning home at dusk.

Her rise to prominence was not particularly glamorous. The story begins with a pirate named Bodyan who built a lighthouse on the coast to prevent himself from getting lost on his return voyage. As commerce and trade gradually prospered, this small fishing village was able to rise and develop into the trading hub of the Sword Bay region it is today.

And it all began with the first master of this emerging city—Baldren—who named it after himself: Baldur's Gate.

Today, the legendary stories of the past are like the rushing waters of the Chongza River, flowing westward into the Sea of ​​Swords, creating a few waves before falling silent.

When the founder's lofty ambitions vanished along with his disappearance, the undercurrents beneath the calm surface finally began to surge wildly, and the increasingly corrupt institutional framework could no longer restrain the ambitions that had been hidden in the past.

Just as the long river of this era began to flow, a tiny, insignificant grain of sand was thrown into it, without causing a single ripple.

"What the hell are you doing to me again?" Zhang Yuan, who had already fainted for the second time, didn't even have the strength to get up this time. He could only lie on the ground and weakly press his head against the ground in an attempt to relieve the headache that had not yet subsided.

It took him a while to recover before he managed to open his eyes a crack, and bright light shone into them. Although he was still in a dazed state, he had at least regained some mobility.

"Don't leave me with post-concussion syndrome." Zhang Yuan muttered as he got up, but when he turned around, he realized something was wrong. He was no longer in the chessboard in the void.

Above them was a roof made of wooden beams, covered with sparse thatch. Rays of sunlight pierced through the gaps in the roof, bringing a little warmth, but the following biting wind quickly dissipated it.

The surrounding walls were also made of wooden planks, and the old wooden walls were half rotten, with wormholes and defects offering no protection against the howling cold wind outside.

Achoo! Zhang Yuan sneezed and quickly pulled his coat tighter. Luckily, he was wearing a winter coat, so he wouldn't get too cold. After gradually regaining his senses, he finally had the energy to think about his situation.

"Could it be that I've already time-traveled?" Recalling the strange events that happened before he fell unconscious, Zhang Yuan had a bad feeling.

He unlatched the door and pushed open the rickety wooden door, and an unfamiliar scene rushed into his eyes. The area where the wooden house was located seemed to be a corner of an ancient city, and a continuous, towering city wall could be seen in the distance.

A few old, low-rise houses are scattered sparsely along the street, the tallest of which is no more than three stories high. Fortunately, as compensation, they have been given a floor area ratio that would make any real estate developer want to jump off a building.

A few pedestrians hurried by on the street, and they looked very much like Caucasians, making me a little uncertain for a moment. However, at this moment, the cries of street vendors reached my ears. Zhang Yuan, who was studying at the Hans family, had never heard the language before, but he could understand the meaning of the words: "Selling oranges, selling oranges, three copper coins each, ten copper coins for three, selling oranges."

Zhang Yuan twitched his lips, unsure of what to say, but his doubts deepened. Where was this place? Was it Earth, or had he traveled through time?
Driven by confusion, Zhang Yuan decided to expand his exploration area. Fortunately, he woke up in such a peaceful city. If he had been in some desolate wilderness or war zone, he would have had nowhere to cry.

Walking along the street towards the area with the most pedestrians and vendors, perhaps he could reach the city center? He thought to himself, but his steps never faltered. However, the more Zhang Yuan looked at his surroundings, the colder his heart became. He couldn't find even a trace of modern civilization in the houses, shops, or passersby.

No one was using their phones, no one was wearing headphones, there were no cars passing by, not even bicycles, and there were no flashing neon lights. The shop signs were just a few simple, crude words, and no one was wearing masks. In this year of rampant virus, this was the most abnormal thing ever.

What shattered his last shred of hope was a small squad passing by not far away. Leaving aside their full leather armor and cold weapons like iron swords, the presence of a pointed-eared man and a short, bearded man among them completely snapped Zhang Yuan back to reality. Admittedly, having been through countless games and read countless novels, Zhang Yuan had fantasized more than once about his own time-traveling experience.

Especially in the daydream of a D&D enthusiast, one might become the chosen son of Baal, from Candlekeep to Baldur's Gate, from Ascatra to the Underdark, writing one's name as the son of slaughter with the blood of various monsters and behind-the-scenes manipulators; or become the savior of Neverwinter, rescuing Erebeth and traveling with her; or become the hero of Westport, wielding the silver sword of Gith and dominating the Crossroads fortress.

However, when this scene actually happened to me, it didn't bring the joy of a dream come true; instead, it left me feeling lost and helpless.

Life on the continent of Faerûn was nothing like the comfortable and peaceful life of modern society. Not to mention the lurking dangers, the monsters roaming the wilderness, and the various conspiracies and tricks of the evil faction, the feudal-era living standards and near-medieval quality of life alone would make a modern person regret their past.

Moreover, Zhang Yuan wasn't one of the vast orphanages at Qidian.com; he had both parents. Although he was studying abroad in Europe, although he only video-chatted with his parents once a week, although he was always impatient with his mother's nagging, although he was always submissive and meek after being scolded by his strict father, although his parents were pressuring him to get married to the point of near desperation, although...

For every reason he had indulging in his fantasies and pursuing his freedom in the past, he now had just as many thoughts of returning to that familiar world. If his past self had seen such a pathetic protagonist, he probably would have picked up his keyboard and hurled insults like "Lord Ye's love of dragons," "Useless trash," and "Indecisive" at him. Zhang Yuan thought helplessly.

"System, DLTCEP!" After silently calling out twice in his mind, he received a response. A pop-up window lit up in front of him: "Character template import complete. Subsequent functions require energy to activate. Currently, you have zero energy points."

"What energy? What kind of energy do you want?" Zhang Yuan roared inwardly, but received no response, and had no choice but to give up.

Fortunately, there is still hope. The energy the system talks about is nothing more than a few categories, such as killing experience and divine power.

"You think I wouldn't know if you didn't tell me?" The well-informed Zhang thought the system was still too young and somewhat naive. Regardless, the system's existence still provided him with a foothold in this other world and a possibility for the future.

This world is teeming with teleportation and summoning spells; ancient arcane arts and magical civilizations can even traverse cosmic barriers. If one could reach that legendary level, there might be no hope of returning home.

As for the question of the passage of time? Putting aside whether the flow of time is consistent, time travel is not impossible!
In an instant, all sorts of boastful and arrogant phrases from novels about time dragons, reversing time, going against the flow of time, and converging timelines flooded Zhang Yuan's mind, as if he had opened a grand temple.

"Get out of the way, you country bumpkin!" Zhang, still lost in his own fantasy, was shoved and stumbled.

A middle-aged man with an obese build impatiently walked past him. Like all the stereotypical greasy middle-aged men, this man had a large belly like someone who was about to give birth after ten months of pregnancy, a shiny bald spot, and his bright red and green clothes, along with the smell of sweat mixed with perfume, made Zhang Yuan unsure whether to cover his eyes or his nose first.

"I can't afford to mess with them, I can't afford to mess with them," Zhang Yuan quickly jumped to the side and looked around. The unfamiliar environment made him feel a little lost. His lofty goal was one thing, but his current direction was another.

Just then, a rich aroma of meat wafted into his nostrils. He sniffed and looked in the direction from which the aroma was coming.

At the entrance of a simple but tidy little bakery, there was a frying pan. A middle-aged woman used wooden tongs to scoop freshly fried meat patties out of the pan, sandwiched them between freshly baked round bread, placed two green vegetable leaves on top, and drizzled a thick layer of white sauce over them.

The hamburger-like sandwich made Zhang Yuan, who hadn't eaten or drunk anything before he fell into a coma, very hungry. Just as he was about to ask the price, he realized, "I have no money!"

(End of this chapter)