Visionless

I hear a knock on the door to the makeshift infirmary.

"Come in!" I yell, immediately regretting it as a sharp pain shoots through my head.

The door opens, and in walks Ms. Eldez in her usual attire: a beige button-up shirt and a dark green long skirt. Her presence is always accompanied by an air of authority and calm. She makes her way to my bed and takes a seat on the chair next to it, placing a suitcase on the floor.

"How are you doing? Feeling any better?" she asks with her usual calm tone and lack of facial expression.

"I feel like crap! Everything feels like crap right now!" I exclaim, the frustration evident in my voice. Despite my outburst, she smiles faintly, as if my reaction was expected.

"That's good. Then let's finish where we left off," she says, opening the suitcase. She takes out a bunch of items, including a ledger, some blank paper, and an odd device made of crystal and metal with what looks like a mouth filled with teeth. The device has a small hand crank on the side, though I'm not sure what it's for.

"What do you mean?" I ask, confused and a bit apprehensive.

She looks at me with her calm yet empty eyes, but I swear I can sense a bit of malice in them. "To get registered as an adventurer. You went out before you could do it, which is quite rude of you," she says, her tone icy yet controlled.

(Did I do something wrong? What is she going to do to me?!) "Oh... right, I forgot. I'm sorry for being rude. Please forgive me," I apologize quickly, not wishing to know what that device can do.

"I accept your apology. Make sure not to do it again. Now, let's get you registered." She opens the ledger and takes out a feather and an ink bottle.

(Where did those come from? I don't remember her taking them out of her suitcase, and they weren't here before... whatever, best not to question it) I think to myself.

"Alright, let's get started with your name," she says, dipping the feather into the ink.

(My name? What is my name? Should I go with my old name before I got transmigrated, or would that be disrespectful to the original owner of this body? What if he is still somewhere inside my mind and gets mad that I took over his body and even changed his name? But I don't even know his name, so how can I use it? Maybe I should choose a different name until I can figure it out. I don't want this to come and bite me in the ass later in life) I think to myself.

Ms. Eldez waits patiently, her expression inscrutable. The only sound in the room is the soft scratching of the feather against the paper as she prepares to write.

(But what name should I give myself? Up until now, I haven't really used my name and everyone calls me "kid," but that will most likely cause a lot of problems. I try to think of a name for myself and eventually come up with two options: Ash or Adam. Ash, because I have nothing left—all that I have known in life has completely disappeared almost as if in a house fire, and I'm what's left: ash. Is it too edgy? And Adam... well, it might be a bit presumptuous of me to assume that I am the first human to get reincarnated, but I still think it fits pretty well. After all, Adam was the first human to get created, and I'm possibly the first human to get reincarnated. So there is that.) I think about those two options for a few minutes, and Ms. Eldez patiently waits for my answer.

"Well?" she prompts gently, raising an eyebrow.

I take a deep breath, making my decision. "Call me Adam.... Adam Terra." i cringe a little at my new name.

Ms. Eldez writes it down in the ledger, her expression still unreadable. "Alright, Adam Terra. Now, let's proceed with the rest of the registration."

Her feather glides across the page, recording my name with elegant strokes. "What is your age?" she asks.

"Uh... twelve reply, trying to sound certain. I have no idea how old this body is, but twelve seems like a safe guess considring how small this body is then again that could be due to malnutrition.

"Next, any notable skills or abilities?" she continues, her tone methodical.

"Well, I'm decent with a crossbow," I say, thinking back to my recent use of the mini crossbow. "And... I have some basic survival skills."

She nods, writing it down. "Do you have any magical abilities or affinities?"

"None that I know of," I answer truthfully.

Ms. Eldez finishes writing and closes the ledger. She then picks up the odd device with the teeth, retrieves a rectangular piece of metal, and places it inside the mouth of the device. She begins to crank the hand crank on the side. After a few minutes, she takes out the rectangle, now inscribed with what seem to be letters and symbols.

"This is your identification badge. It also works as a bank card, allowing you to store coins inside all major adventurer guilds across the country and in some places outside of it," she explains. "See these symbols? Those are unique to each badge and are used to create a bank account within the adventurers guild. It's also used for identification in case of death or other situations, so make sure not to lose it."

I take the badge from her, inspecting the intricate symbols and my newly inscribed name, Adam Terra. The metal feels cool and heavy in my hand, a tangible representation of my new identity and status as an adventurer.

"Thank you," I say, still marveling at the craftsmanship of the badge.

Ms. Eldez gives a brief nod. "Now, take some time to recover. The guild master will want to speak with you once you're feeling better."

"Hey, Ms. Eldez? Are you... mad at me?" I ask her, still sensing an undercurrent of malice that seems to be growing.

Ms. Eldez looks at me with a confused expression. "No, I'm not mad. Why would you think that?" she replies, genuine confusion and surprise in her voice.

"Well, it's just that you seem angry, and the more I look at you, the angrier you seem to get," I try to explain. "It just feels like you have some sort of malicious energy about you today..."

Ms. Eldez looks at me silently for a second before smiling. "Oh, is that so? Tell me, what does it feel like when I do this?" As she finishes her words, an overwhelming sense of dread creeps up on me, making my body crumple onto the bed for a moment before the pressure suddenly ends and I return to normal.

"What was that?!" I ask, a hint of fear in my voice.

Ms. Eldez responds, "Magic, my dear. Magic. It seems you have gained the ability to sense it, though only a little bit as I had to put quite the amount into that little trick."

I look at her with shock in my eyes. "But I thought I couldn't do magic? You said so yourself!"

"If I had to guess, it had something to do with you picking up that dagger. Perhaps encountering an item with a large quantity of magic caused your body to undergo some kind of awakening?" Ms. Eldez seems to be pondering this thought.

"So, you think I can sense magic now?" I ask, still trying to wrap my head around the idea.

"It's a possibility," she replies. "Magic is a mysterious force, and sometimes exposure to powerful magical artifacts can awaken latent abilities. You should be careful, though. Sensitivity to magic can be both a blessing and a curse.

"Oh... does all magic feel like that?" I ask Ms. Eldez, still shaken from the experience.

"No, that's due to the quantity or type of magic," she explains. "What you felt was specifically from my type of magic. You can achieve the same effect with quantity."

Ms. Eldez goes deeper into explaining magic. "The reason you might feel this pressure is due to your nervous system getting a surplus of information from sensing large quantities of magic or specific types of magic. The sudden influx of information rushing into your brain causes your body to collapse from the stress. In response, your body goes into fight or flight mode in an attempt to do something to save itself from perceived danger."

I nod, trying to take in the information. "So, it's not just the type of magic, but also how much of it there is that can cause that feeling?"

"Exactly," Ms. Eldez confirms. "Different types of magic can affect you in various ways, but it's the sudden and intense exposure to large amounts of magic that typically causes such a strong reaction. Your body is simply not used to processing that much information at once."

"Will I get used to it over time?" I ask, hoping that this newfound ability won't always be so overwhelming.

"Possibly," she replies. "With practice and gradual exposure, your body and mind might adapt. But be cautious. Too much too soon could have adverse effects."

"Thank you for explaining, Ms. Eldez," I say, feeling a bit more at ease.

She gives a brief nod. "Take some time to recover, Adam. The guild master will want to speak with you once you're feeling better. And remember, don't lose that badge."