Hunger.
That was what he felt when he woke up.
"...?"
Creak
The wooden bed that he was sleeping on made a rasping sound—as if telling him to start moving. Looking around, the room was empty, almost too empty.
This was Fran's room.
"How long was I out for..."
[Two days. You've been out for the whole day yesterday, King Fran.]
That's right, after the battle two days ago, Fran was knocked out cold and is recovering from physical and mental fatigue.
"It was that bad, huh..."
Fran scanned his surroundings before standing up. No one was here. He began to stretch his muscles and suddenly was made aware of his bodily needs.
"I'm hungry."
[Resident Vaclova is downstairs.]
Fran made his way outside his room, still having a slight concussion.
Gritting his teeth, he moved his sluggish body towards the dining hall of the inn—searching for anything edible.
<<----------->>
[Fran Asroth ✦]
[Lvl. 3]
[Equipped Beginner Sword (C)(42%)]
[Strength - 2 (34%)] [Agility - 3 (11%)] [Intelligence - 2 (98%)] [Endurance - 1 (87%)] [Stamina - 2 (52%)]
[Unique Gift - King's Authority]
[Vulnerable Strike Lv. 1 (U)]
[Endless Strike Lv. 1 (R)]
[Goblin Slayer Lv. 1 (C)]
[Status Report: Due to physical exhaustion reached, (Stamina) was greatly increased]
"They don't want to fight anymore... well, that's to be expected."
After having a somewhat palatable bread with a little bit of sugar, Fran was currently jogging around the Cradle. He had just talked to Vaclova, who looked and felt different than the fiery personality she had previously.
"Her right arm is broken, and she's not in fighting condition anymore."
That's right, the battle had taken a toll on her—costing her an arm.
Vaclova was assigned to manage the inn, seeing as she was the better choice out of the three he had been with. She was surprisingly adept at housekeeping and maintaining order. If the Cradle were more developed, she would be able to make proper food.
She remarked that she and her left arm will take care of the Inn until Fran finds a way to return to our original world—to which he could wryly smile.
[Currently in Effect: Training Stone (Stamina)]
[Twice the effectivity of training (Stamina) for 1 day]
"It's time to use all the attribute stones."
Attribute Stones.
These are items that allow a user to instantly increase the progression of developing their status, typically resulting in a 2-5% increase in progress, regardless of how highly developed the stat is. With this, some would hoard these stones for later, and some prefer to use them immediately.
[Endurance - 1 (87%) -> Endurance - 1 (93%)]
[Stamina - 2 (52%) -> Stamina - 2 (54%)
[Intelligence - 2 (98%) -> Intelligence - 3 (2%)]
"..."
"To think two of my attribute stones applied to Endurance..."
Fran stopped and sighed in disappointment. While which stat is better is subjective, Fran considered it to be the weakest of the five. Mainly because it just makes you tougher and harder to kill, which isn't really important if you have superior agility and stamina. Additionally
Endurance can easily be supplemented by armor and accessories, which is why Fran doesn't see the point in developing it.
"Hah... Let's keep going."
Fran kept on running. Soon, he will go back to the inn, hitting the wooden dummies that Albert had installed in the inn's yard. It was like something had possessed him.
"These memories, it was like I was living them."
[That is a King's curse. You need to get used to it. :| ]
As Axy had explained, Fran was experiencing [Resident Desynchronization]. The phenomenon in which the soul of the resident becomes unbounded from the King, or at least how it was explained to him. As a side effect, the person's last memories before coming to the cradle are revealed and experienced by the King themselves.
<<----------->>
Three days have passed.
It has been one week since Fran became King.
[Summoning 6 Otherworlders -> Common Wishing Ticket x6 consumed]
"This rotten king, to think he will curse more people coming into this place."
"The Little Helper mentioned that this cannot be helped. This is how this place is set up, I suppose."
"..."
Fran remained silent, feeling the heavy burden of responsibility from their remarks.
"I'd like to think that I have no choice..."
Fran thought to himself and sighed like the two people he was with—but for an entirely different reason. He was not the type to be this emotional and hesitant, but to think the death of a person had affected him this much, even Fran didn't expect it.
"So this was how we are summoned. Fran boy, what were you doing before you got summoned? For me, I was the head of my mercenary group. I was tending to this rookie who annoyed me a lot, haha."
"That's..."
Bright golden light enveloped the room, dazzling and sparkling. Fran couldn't see it quite clearly before because he was under it, however...
Beautiful.
"It's brighter..."
Fran covered his eyes; the light was strong, too strong.
"..."
Silence.
A second passed.
Then a minute.
Murmurs could be heard, and shadows of what appeared to be the otherworlders began to be visible amidst the intense light.
"It really works!"
"...?"
As if disturbing the serene and grandeur mood of the summoning, someone exclaimed.
"I'm in King's Cradle! This is like a dream come true!"
The voice could be heard all over the Cradle's heart, echoing throughout the dome.
"Annoying..."
Fran squinted his eyes as he looked for the other voice that seemed to have vocalized his thoughts. Soon, the figures became clear. Two people stood directly below the floating crystal while the rest were still unconscious.
[Dorothy Mayers ✦✦]
[Lvl. 1]
[Strength - 1 (91%)] [Agility - 2 (72%)] [Intelligence - 4 (17%)] [Endurance - 1 (79%)] [Stamina - 2 (31%)]
[Unique Gift - Ranker Player]
[Being the 26th on the Global Pawn Ranking, they have a hidden Unique Gift. Additionally, their growth is enhanced due to the accumulation of (Evanescence)]
[Gamon ✦✦]
[Lvl. 1]
[Strength - 3 (71%)] [Agility - 2 (72%)] [Intelligence - 2 (17%)] [Endurance - 2 (60%)] [Stamina - 2 (61%)]
[Unique Gift - Demon Blessing (Weak)]
[Coming from the demon realm, training is enhanced, and growth from battles is significantly enhanced.]
"Hehe, I'm sorry!"
She smiled and bowed to the man beside him—which irked him further, thinking she was mocking him.
Dorothy Mayers, as if her mood just switched, turned to look at the people who were watching them play out their skit. She scanned them from head to toe, and...
"..! Oh!!!"
"...?"
Her eyes glinted as she looked in their general direction.
"She's quite lively, isn't she, Little Helper?"
"Fran boy, that little girl is looking at you."
The girl, who's short in nature, looked at Fran as if she had found a gemstone. Her attire was, fancy to say the least, Fran thought. Dorothy wore a comfortable-looking wool sweater with a checkered skirt. Her beret accentuated her bob-cut hairstyle and face.
"Wait...! Number 26th...!"
That's right, there were a few players that Fran could never grasp in the leaderboard. She was one of them, despite only being 26th, she could easily climb the leaderboards if it wasn't for her whimsical and carefree nature. Everyone recognized her, as she always made sure to capture fragments in style... or chaos.
"DoroDoro the Eccentric!"