While Anthony was looking at a video on how to cook using a wood stove on a famous video streaming site, he finally admitted to himself that he was not a great Diablo II gamer. He wasn’t even that good. He knew how to play the game and he could compare himself to an average player but not the same as the truly hardcore Diablo II gamer. He didn’t know the game mechanics that well compared to the truly famous Diablo II streamers. He even remembered his confusion when he heard about the Fast Cast Rate mechanic.
The main reason for that was he didn’t have time to be a gamer. When he was in high school, they didn’t have a computer since their family was very poor. Before his parents died, his father gifted him a secondhand laptop and the only game it could run was Diablo II and for some reason, the game was already installed in it. When his parents died, he needed to work to make ends meet and he was truly tired after work. He could only play about half an hour a day and the rest of his miniscule time was spent surfing the internet or watching animes. It was still one of his biggest regrets that he didn’t even finish high school.
None of those matter now. The only thing that he needed to learn was how to become more powerful in this world so he could have the wealth and security to protect himself and his family and the way to do that was through his transmigration gift. Being connected to the internet would help him tremendously since he could research game mechanics and items.
Anthony was halfway through watching how to cook using a wood stove when his father and sister came inside the house. He immediately closed the browser and turned to his family.
“I would have prepared dinner, but I don’t know how to use the stove,” Anthony told his father and sister.
“So, it’s true! You’re like a baby not knowing anything!”
Anders admonished Anna.
“As I’ve said, you don’t need to worry. We’ll teach you all you will need to know.”
“Can I read and write?” He asked his father.
“I would have said yes since all children needed to go to school in the village starting from seven years old up until eleven and you and Anna have finished your schooling for quite some time.”
Anna took a book from somewhere and gave it to Anthony. When he looked at the book, he was glad to see that he was able to read it which he informed his family. The book was a children's story about a dog on a farm.
“And I’m not like a baby. I think I know how to craft stories extremely well. I’ll tell you one after we eat. For our entertainment. What do people usually do for entertainment?”
“Well men sometimes go to the tavern in the village to drink but here at home we usually tell stories or read books or sing songs. When Mama was alive, she told us the most beautiful stories.” Anna said reminiscing about her mother.
Anders began heating the stove using wood located beside it and Anna prepared the ingredients. It was still potato, cabbage, some carrots, and a little meat from what he saw. When Anna saw him looking, he told Anthony that it was meat from a hare that was hunted by Anders in the woods.
When the stove was ready, Anders left Anna to handle the cooking and sat beside Anthony.
“Let’s go ahead and talk. I’ll answer any questions you have.”
Anthony contemplated for a bit and began asking his father several questions.
“Do we have a last name?”
“No. Only nobles have last names.”
“Our names are a bit similar, Anders, Anton, Annette for mother and Anna. Is there a reason for that?”
Anthony’s father smiled when he heard that question.
“When your mother and I met, we thought it was fate how similar our names were and how we are so in love with each other so we made a promise that our children would have names that would start the same as ours.”
“I would have more questions when I begin learning how the farm works so please expect to be annoyed by how endless they would be.”
Anders laughed heartily when he heard that and even Anna smiled.
When dinner was made, Anthony complimented Anna since the previous soup or stew was very bland. Anna mentioned that they intentionally made it bland since sick people should avoid eating food that had salt or spices. Aside from the stew, there was also bread which was a bit hard but dunking it on the stew softened it enough to make it delicious. When everyone was done eating their dinner, Anna turned to Anthony.
“You said that you have a story to tell. You can tell us the story now.”
All of them went and sat on the chairs in front of the fireplace. While looking at the fire, Anthony opened his search engine and searched for a fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen. He decided to tell the story of The Little Mermaid on how it was crafted by the famed author.
Anthony began telling the story of The Little Mermaid. He made sure that his tone was low, and the pace slow enough to be understood clearly. He added color and expression to how he was reading the story to make sure that his father and sister were entertained.
When he came to the part where the little mermaid threw the dagger to the sea and threw herself in it to become foam, Anthony could see his sister cry. The little mermaid becoming one of the spirits of the air due to her self-sacrifice was a bittersweet ending and even his father was a bit teary-eyed by the end.
“That was a wonderful sad story, Anton. You have the makings of a bard! Can you write it down for me so I can share it with my friends?” Anna praised him.
“Oh, you have something to write with?”
“Of course! We’re not barbarians.” Anna ran to her room and when she returned, she brought a notebook and a charcoal pencil with her.
“It was truly a beautiful story Anton. Thank you for telling it to us. Where did you learn that story?” Anders asked.
“Remember earlier when I was asking you about mages and magic since I’ve dreamt it? There were a lot of things that I’ve dreamt about and some of them are fading already.” Anthony said feigning sadness.
When Anna heard that comment, she gasped and urged him to write the story immediately before it faded from his mind.
Anthony wrote the first paragraph first to check his handwriting and when Anders and Anna saw it, they said that his handwriting was as beautiful as a scribe. Anders then admitted that some things would not be answered since what happened to him was not a rare case. Even the others who lost their memory were showing knowledge and capabilities they didn’t have before.