Through his metal gauntlets, Alsten felt the pure surface of the blade. Despite its simplistic design, it was probably the most majestic sword he had ever seen.
The double edged blade was massive. Its length was greater than Lana's height, and she was a full grown woman.
It was made of a material that very much resembled silver, though it felt extremely sturdy.
While Yobu was picking it up, Alsten saw him straining from the weight. And rightfully so, because this giant slab of metal should easily weigh over a hundred pounds.
Yet, the Hero can swing it easily with one hand.
'Why did I take over the Hero's body?' was the question that kept floating in his mind.
Why was he, of all people, given this tremendous power and responsibilities? According to the information the party members gave him, the fate of the world practically rested on his shoulders!
He also couldn't believe that he was worthy of such a role. Not in a million years could he be a Hero.
Then he remembered. That last thought he had before dying on Earth:
'If... by some miracle, I gained power beyond anyone's comprehension, I would fix this world by force. If the world is unfair, I'll bend and break it until justice is above all.'
Suddenly, it all made sense.
The world was unfair, and no matter how much people denied it, that fact will never change.
Some were born stronger than others. Some were wealthy, and some struggled to even make it through the day.
Without needing to work for it, some people just had unfair advantages that they would naturally use to oppress the less fortunate. And no one can change that...
...Until this moment. If he truly was the hero, a man capable of slaying a world-threatening being, then surely, he must have powers able to impose above the rest. His words carried weight, and his actions would directly affect the society in a significant way.
All the pieces fell into place. No one knew unfairness and injustice more than he did, and there was no better man to deliver justice than the Hero himself. He was suddenly able to clearly see the purpose of this bizarre situation.
'With your strength and my wisdom...'
The Hero clenched his fist, and a burning glint appeared in his eyes.
'We will fix this unjust world.'
Establishing a clear purpose felt liberating, especially in the circumstances he was under. Now that he knew what he had to do, he was ready to embrace his new identity.
The Hero cleared his throat and said:
"Thank you for telling me all that."
Even though he had decided to pretend as Alsten, he was still considerably nervous. After all, these people should know him very well if they truly were his travel companions.
One slip up would reveal the truth. The new Alsten had to be careful about everything he says.
Alsten was about to say more when Lana stepped closer.
The elf put her hands on the Hero's arms. She worriedly inspected him and said:
"What else are you feeling? Does your head hurt?"
Alsten completely forgot what he was about to say. He got mesmerized by the woman in front of him.
Actually, this was probably the closest he had been to a woman in a long time...
Alsten's heart began to pound wildly.
He immediately looked away.
'Shit... at this rate, they'll know I'm a fraud or something.'
Lana looked like a loving wife checking up on her husband, or at least that was what Alsten had imagined.
Despite the unsightly state he was in, he forced out a response.
"N-N-No, I'm fine, thank you."
He grimaced at his own lameness.
Lana stopped for a second and turned to Yobu who was chuckling.
"You're overreacting, Lana. Alsten isn't going to die to something like this," the humanoid wolf stated.
Hetaphar the giant nodded. "Agreed. We've been through worse," he said, laughing.
"What, are the two of you sharing a memory that you can't bear Alsten forgetting?"
Lana, immediately understanding the implication of the giant's words, shot him a deadly glance.
"Wow, look, butterflies," Hetaphar looked away, whistling, instantly pulling himself out of the conversation.
Trying not to laugh, the wolfman redirected the subject.
"In any case, there should be a few organelle mages in nearby towns who can deal with Alsten's curse. He'll be fine in no time."
Alsten furtively glanced at Yobu. His face quickly paled.
'That isn't good.'
"I don't think so," Genler butted in, raising his hand. "Organelle mages specialize in cell manipulation. A curse of this caliber is way out of their scope of study. Even I only knew about this curse in abandoned libraries."
'Phew...'
"Wow, Genler. You must be really old then!" The giant unnecessarily remarked. He also dodged the old man's death stare.
Ignoring Hetaphar, Genler continued.
"Nevertheless, consulting an organelle mage should be a good first step in lifting Alsten's curse."
He looked at Lana with that same cold demeanor and then said:
"So don't stress too much. We'll get through this."
Letting out a deep breath, the beautiful elf finally let go and gave the Hero some space. Her face was still contorted in worry.
"I know, it's just... what if there are side effects?" she replied.
"I've been around for a long time and even I have never seen a curse like this!"
Genler raised his hand before speaking.
"There are no reported harmful side effects from this curse in history. Except, of course, for the subjects losing their memories."
The healer's words seemed to calm everyone down a bit.
Lana gave Alsten one last look and asked:
"Are you sure you're okay?"
The Hero stared for a moment.
Whoever Alsten was, he should have been very, very important to Lana.
'I should ask them about our relationships with each other sometime.'
Ultimately the Hero answered.
"Yes, I'm okay."
Feeling that staying in this topic would only cause him trouble, Alsten brought up the question he'd been wanting to ask.
"By the way, you were arguing about a quest earlier. May I know the details about that?"
The wolf man scratched inside his ear with his claws before giving Alsten a reply.
"Yes. About a week ago, we were staying in a small town by the borders of Remannlei. We accepted a quest called Troll Nest Subjugation."
Yobu paused and then blew the dirt off his claw. The laid-back air around him vanished, replaced by sudden seriousness.
"That town has been suffering from monster attacks for months, caused by the birth of a new Troll King. Over a hundred people have died already. When the chieftain discovered that the Hero from Philgem was in their town, she immediately begged us to accept this quest."
The group fell silent while Alsten was deep in thought. Eventually, Hetaphar spoke.
"We've just arrived at the quest area when you suddenly lost your memories. That's why we couldn't agree on our next move. Whether to go back or press on."
Lana sighed and then asked:
"Alsten, what do you think we should do?"
The Hero thought about it thoroughly. His two options both had risks.
If he wanted safety, going back to the town would be his best choice. However, there could be a chance that someone who can banish him from this body resided there.
On the other hand, continuing the quest would be a dangerous move, too. Even though he was the Hero, Alsten was still utterly unfamiliar with this world.
And the fact that they had to send this elite group of warriors for this quest raised a lot of red flags.
However, the one thing he had to do the most was to gain his party members' trust. He shouldn't just pretend to be the Hero. He had to be the Hero.
With that said, what would the real Alsten do?
After thinking some more, the Hero finally spoke.
"We should finish this quest first."
Upon hearing that, the elf tilted her head and pierced Alsten with a glare.
"Are you serious?"
The Hero was startled by her reaction but luckily, the trusty giant backed him up, saying:
"I think it's for the best. We need to prevent more civilian casualties."
Steeling his resolve, Alsten opened his mouth to speak.
"That's right. Based on the information you gave me, the longer we delay the quest, the more innocent people will suffer."
Seeing everyone listening to him wholeheartedly made him feel a strange emotion. One that he hadn't felt in a long time.
He almost got distracted by this, but he resumed to speak.
"I can handle myself, probably... Besides, I trust you guys to have my back if things take a turn for the worst!"
Alsten was shooting in the dark here. Thinking that those were the words a hero would probably say, he just hoped that saying those words would strengthen his disguise.
Lana just sighed in defeat.
"You're already cursed and everything but you're still thinking of saving people," she mumbled with a sour expression.
She crossed her arms and then looked away.
"It's not evil to be selfish from time to time," she added.
Alsten spaced out mid conversation and stared a little too hard at the pouting elf.
'God, she's so beautiful...'
He'd thought it was physically impossible to lack any flaws like Lana did. Her face was just too perfectly designed to be unrealistically attractive. The celebrities back on Earth had absolutely nothing on her.
Perhaps such is a trait of an elf.
Genler spoke, raising his hand again.
"Regardless, Alsten has the final say in this party. If he wants to finish this quest now, that's what we will do."
The elf threw her hands up in surrender.
"Well, that's true."
She then turned to Alsten with a stern expression.
"Just be careful, okay? If you feel anything weird, tell us immediately!"
The Hero nodded, gulping.
With that, the Hero's Party continued their journey.
While on their way, the members asked the Hero all sorts of questions such as:
"How much can you remember?"
"Did you also forget about your childhood?"
"How does it feel having no memories?"
Most of them were curious questions from Hetaphar while some were Genler's for research purposes.
Alsten played it safe. He made it very clear that he forgot everything except for the language they were speaking. Because that was technically the truth. He was pretty sure it wasn't a language back on Earth, but he was somehow able to use it.
Pretending to be someone who'd lost their memories should be pretty easy as long as he didn't show any sense of his former self.
He'd already decided to live in this world. And he would do everything to make that possible.
While on their way, Alsten took the chance to observe his party members.
Yobu wore simple pants and a robe. But generally, he let his silvery fur cover his upper half. Two black daggers were hanging from his belt. From the looks of it, he should be a dagger wielding warrior — swift and deadly in combat.
Lana, of course, was an archer. There were capsules of liquid hanging from her belt. They varied in color and sizes. What could those be?
Hetaphar seemed to be a guardian or protector. The shield on his back could easily cover the five of them for protection.
Genler said he was the healer, so that was reassuring. With him around, the party members didn't have to worry about sustaining serious injuries.
Still, Alsten couldn't help but tremble. Venturing towards the unknown utterly terrified him, but at the same time, he was excited to see how strong he really was. He almost couldn't wait to have his first battle!
In all seriousness though, what could possibly go wrong? They are the Hero's Party, a powerful group of people capable of slaying a world level threat.
Surely, fighting a few monsters here and there should be no problem.
But as they arrived at the frozen lands of the Northern Mountains, Alsten would realize that being a Hero was anything but easy.
Let alone being a false one.